Snakes and Ladders - My Autobiography

A Rock 'n' Roll Odyssey as Whitesnake's Guitarist

Micky Moody

• Publisher: Music Press Books
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN:
  9781786063489
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts

WHEN THE WORLD WAS BITTEN BY THE HARD-ROCKING, HARD-TOURING AND HARDDRINKING WHITESNAKE, IT WAS MICKY MOODY'S GRITTY RIFFS AND SIGNATURE BLUESY SLIDE-GUITAR THAT HELPED PROPEL THEM TO INTERNATIONAL STARDOM, AS THEY SHOULDERED ASIDE CONTEMPORARY RIVALS, GOING ON TO SELL MILLIONS OF ALBUMS WORLDWIDE.
But before Whitesnake—and life on the road with former Deep Purple singer David Coverdale—became a chaotic reality, Moody had already formed a teenaged band with Free's Paul Rodgers, played with Juicy Lucy, been a founder member of Snafu and worked as an in-demand session musician. This saw him play with performers whose egos, neuroses—and, in some cases, supreme talent—led to some memorable encounters, giving him the opportunity to contribute, with some gusto, to the hedonism of the Seventies. His musical footprint has been nothing short of epic.
But how did such a party-loving, excess-fueled outfit as Whitesnake conquer the mighty world of hard rock—and at what cost? Outrageous stories about catastrophic narcotic mix-ups and infamous groupies come as thick and fast as the band's musical output itself. However, with success comes a price, and as global domination, commercial success and late-night carousing began to give way to suspicion, greed and the repercussions of excess on the road, serious fallout was inevitable.
In his memoir Snakes and Ladders, Micky relates his musical odyssey with fondness and a wry sense of humour. From, guitar lessons to guitar hero, this is his story of climbing the ladder—and surviving the 'Snake.

Table of contents

• Cover
• TITLE PAGE
• DEDICATION
• CONTENTS
• INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER 1: A PLECTRUM TOO FAR
• CHAPTER 2: CLASS OF 1964
• CHAPTER 3: I’M A ROAD RUNNER, HONEY!
• CHAPTER 4: RUNNING OUT OF ROAD AND TRAMLINES
• CHAPTER 5: TWENTY-FOUR HOURS FROM TULSE HILL
• CHAPTER 6: EURO TRAVELLER
• CHAPTER 7: MADMAN WADING THROUGH A SEA OF MARS BARS
• CHAPTER 8: GET YOUR KICKS IN TORQUAY
• CHAPTER 9: JAMES BROWN – BIG IN BOSTON
• CHAPTER 10: GET A WHIFF A THIS… AND THIS… AND THIS…
• CHAPTER 11: TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN NONE
• CHAPTER 12: FUNKY SHITKICKERS
• CHAPTER 13: SITUATION NORMAL
• CHAPTER 14: SITUATION RELATIVELY NORMAL
• CHAPTER 15: SITUATION FAR FROM NORMAL
• CHAPTER 16: FRESH FIELDS, FIRES AND FARTS
• CHAPTER 17: ONE SPLIFF TOO MANY
• CHAPTER 18: CANED IN CANNES
• CHAPTER 19: STUDIO FEVER
• CHAPTER 20: HEROES AND DYLANS
• CHAPTER 21: THE SNAKE’S FIRST BITE
• CHAPTER 22: OH, LORD! THE TROUBLE WE’RE IN!
• CHAPTER 23: LIVE IN THE HEART OF EUROPE
• CHAPTER 24: NOBODY EXPECTS THE SPANISH TOUR
• CHAPTER 25: MUSIC, MIRTH AND MADNESS
• CHAPTER 26: TROUSERS TO BE DROPPED, TORN AND DANCED IN
• CHAPTER 27: LOVE HUNTERS READY AND WILLING
• CHAPTER 28: IT’S GOOD TO BE THE EMPEROR
• CHAPTER 29: WIND-UPS AT RINGO’S
• CHAPTER 30: THANKS FOR THE SUPPORT: WE SHALL ALWAYS WEAR IT
• CHAPTER 31: SNAKES AND DINNERS, BANJOS AND BREAK-UPS
• SPECIAL THANKS
• PLATES
• COPYRIGHT