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Jeff Apter
Jeff Apter
Jeff Apter is one of Australia's foremost writers of non-fiction. In a career spanning more than 20 years he has written 10 commercially and critically well-received biographies, and has contributed to such publications as Rolling Stone (where he spent five years as Music Editor), the Sydney Morning Herald and GQ. Jeff is the Music Contributor to Australian Vogue and was the music reviewer for The Bulletin for many years.

His books include studies of Silverchair, the Cure and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jeff Buckley, Keith Urban and test cricketer Michael Slater. Jeff's latest projects include a biography of the Finn brothers, Neil and Tim (see right), and a co-writing project with Kasey Chambers, due in 2011 through Harper Collins.
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radio interviewClick here to hear Jeff interviewed about A Pure Drop.


To read an interview with Jeff, click on the link below:
www.neildaniels.com/Apter.html
 
Upcoming Projects

Together Alone: The Story of the Finn Brothers

Fin BrothersMy latest book, Together Alone: The Story of the Finn Brothers, was released 1 June 2010 through Random House in Australia and New Zealand and 1 September 2010 through Omnibus Press in the UK. It's a story that, in its own odd way, has been 30 years in the telling. What follows is an abridged version of Together Alone's opening.

Further info can be found at www.randomhouse.com.au  There's a forum talking about the book at the Finns' website. You can hear a podcast of my talk with Kim Hill from Radio NZ National. The book featured on Border's Top 5 Biography list and made the Top 10 Biography bestseller's lists in Australia and New Zealand.

I recently spoke about the book on TV NZ. I also spoke with Louise Poole from Mix 104.9 in the Top End. Click here to read an interview about the book, with William Verity of the Illawarra Mercury.The Otago Daily Times review can be read here.

The Waikato Times said this about Together Alone: “Apter’s fast-moving writing style makes for a detailed yet easy to read analysis of the triumphs and despairs the Finn family experienced on the way to the top of their game.” You can read the full review here. Writing in the Sydney Morning Herald, Bruce Elder said this: 'Apter has become Australia's most prolific musical biographer. With this biography of the Finn brothers, he attempts a task of subtlety and complexity. How does anyone tell the story of two brothers and sensitively explore all the potent jealousies and antagonisms that have characterised their deep sibling rivalry?' 'There could be no better biographer for the story of the Brothers Finn,' noted the Courier-Mail. 'In fact, it’s Apter’s encyclopedic knowledge of rock and roll history combined with his punchy prose that makes Together Alone such compelling reading.' Dan Lander of Rolling Stone wrote: 'Apter desn't hesitate to point out the flaws and failures of both men, but he does it in a way that endears them further to us. He also makes it clear that for all the rivalry, neither brother would be what he is without the other.'

 

Pitt Street Gardens Sydney
July 1979

Sydney's Pitt Street Gardens is not your typical rock-and-roll venue. The decor puts a whole new spin on the term lurid: a cheesy mirrorball hovers above the dance floor, and there's a sea of dark carpet to hide the stains of spilled drinks and worse, while its location – smack dab in the centre of Sydney's retail strip – made most serious music fans wary of the place. By its very nature, and location, this was a meat market, where over-dressed suburban Kevins and Sharlenes came together and commingled on the dance floor, ideally to the soundtrack of the Village People. It was not the kind of joint where you'd expect to catch a greasepaint-splattered, be-suited group of expat Kiwis.

Yet there were enough 'real' music lovers assembled on this weeknight, me included, to check out the band that would soon become the hottest act either side of the Tasman. I was still a few months shy of legal drinking age, but when a buddy suggested, strongly, that we check out this 'weird' band that the cool crowd was raving about, I knew it was my duty to catch the next city-bound train. That was more than enough to entice me, a restless teenager living in humdrum suburbia, to scratch together the cover charge and, hopefully, talk my way past the security guy on the door. I was mad keen to check out the freak show.

finn brothers

Split Enz weren't totally new to me. I had heard some of their recent offerings on Sydney's left-of-the-dial radio station 2JJ, such as the tearaway rant 'I See Red' and the heady, giddy 'Give it a Whirl', among others, to know them well enough. But up until now I hadn't had the chance to see them in the flesh – not many rock shows of their theatrical bent included my neighbourhood in their tour schedule. Mine was more a 'beer and Chisel' kind of town, where the louder the band played, the better the response. I knew that the Enz weren't one of those bands, even if I wasn't completely sure what to expect.

Tim Finn once wrote a song called 'Hard Act to Follow' and, though legend suggests it's a nod to Midnight Oil, he may well have been talking about Jimmy and the Boys, their wild opening act for the night. But once the Enz began to play it became apparent they were almost as visual a band as their opening act, and not just because of their garish bespoke suits and eye-popping light show. It was as if each member of the band had rubbed up against a live electrical wire: they crashed into one another while hurling themselves around the stage, their manic stares set just above the crowd's head, their wild hair and pancake make-up greasy and running within minutes. It was impossible to tell if they were laughing, crying or sneering. To me, the impact was as much physical as it was musical – and I had no doubt this band could play – as they caromed off each other like human pinballs. And out front stood Tim Finn, whose dark, towering quiff gave him an extra few inches over the rest of the band, and whose intense stare, ghost-white face dripping sweat, suggested a man who meant business. more...


Book Reviews for A Pure Drop

A Pure Drop "This solid biography records in great detail not only the life of Jeff Buckley but also that of his father, Tim Buckley. This a book for anyone who wants to know everything about young Buckley. Apter has done his research."
Bruce Elder Sydney Morning Herald

“Jeff Apter’s lively biography, sympathetic but not hagiographical, makes you feel for those who have to have the struggle with their father in public. As Apter remarks, Buckley paved the way for a whole legion of maudlin boys, from Coldplay to Snow Patrol, who can’t compare with his vitality: Buckley could do the emotional splurge, and how.”
Owen Richardson The Age / A2

"This candid biography shows his many faces: a gifted impressionist, covers enthusiast, prankster and, most comically, an avid dog stalker . . . We get to see Buckley's personality crack as relationships strain due to touring Grace (his drinking put him on 'an emotional asteroid'), although he finds peace again cycling around Memphis shortly before that fateful swim."
Classic Rock 7/10

"In A Pure Drop: The Life of Jeff Buckley, Australian Jeff Apter explores the nooks and crannies of Buckley's short life, from his California childhood through to his fledgling music career in New York and beyond, and includes a chapter, The Wizard of Oz, that draws on accounts of those who were around him in Australia to paint a picture of a multi-layered personality; a fun-loving, mischievous party animal who was also quiet, introverted, secretive and volatile, and a great musician."
Iain Shedden The Australian
      

"Apter resists mawkishness or sentimentality in this account of Buckley's life and death, to reveal a difficult – if charismatic – man who doesn't quite match the idealised image of the gifted lost boy destroyed by fame and family." Q

more reviews... 
 
Current Releases

SilverchairFortunate Son
The Unlikely Rise of Keith Urban

Softcover, 314 pages,
January 2009
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Jeff BuckleyA Pure Drop
The Life of Jeff Buckley

Hardcover, 256 pages,
North America, March 2009
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For details of non-English language versions, click here.

Jeff BuckleyA Pure Drop
The Life of Jeff Buckley

Hardcover, 256 pages,
Published in UK, Australia and Germany, September 2008; North America March 2009
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SilverchairA New Tomorrow -
The Silverchair Story

Paperback, 360 pages,
December 2006
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Click here to read a Q&A about this book 

Gwen StefaniA Simple Kind Of Life:
Gwen Stefani & No Doubt
Hardcover, 232 pages, July 2007
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chilli peppersFornication:
The Red Hot Chilli Peppers
Hardcover, 360 pages,
July 2004,
Paperback August 2005

Also published in German, Dutch and Italian
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Cure - never enoughNever Enough:
The Story Of The Cure

Hardcover, 338 pages, September 2005,
Updated Paperback April 2009

Also published in German, Italian, French, Greek and Polish
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Dave GrohlThe Dave Grohl Story
Hardcover, 277 pages,
January 2006,
Paperback April 2008

Also published in German
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Michael SlaterSlats: The Michael Slater Story
Published 2005
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In Harms WayIn Harm's Way
Paperback, 288 pages,
September 2008

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