Uncommon People

The Rise and Fall of the Rock Stars 1955-1994

Preview

Failed to add items

Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.

Add to basket failed.

Please try again later

Add to wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Remove from wishlist failed.

Please try again later

Adding to library failed

Please try again

Follow podcast failed

Unfollow podcast failed

LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free + £10 Audible voucher

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Get this deal

Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.

More purchase options

Uncommon People

By: David Hepworth

Narrated by: David Hepworth

Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends on 5 July 2026 at 11:59 BST. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £10.34

The age of the rock star, like the age of the cowboy, has passed. Like the cowboy, the idea of the rock star lives on in our imaginations.

What did we see in them? Swagger. Recklessness. Sexual charisma. Damn-the-torpedoes self-belief. A certain way of carrying themselves. Good hair. Interesting shoes. Talent we wished we had.

What did we want of them? To be larger than life but also like us. To live out their songs. To stay young forever. No wonder many didn't stay the course.

In Uncommon People, David Hepworth zeroes in on defining moments and turning points in the lives of 40 rock stars from 1955 to 1995, taking us on a journey to burst 100 myths and create 100 more. As this tribe of uniquely motivated nobodies went about turning themselves into the ultimate somebodies, they also shaped us, our real lives and our fantasies. Uncommon People isn't just their story. It's ours as well.

David HepworthDavid HepworthPenguin Audio

Entertainment & Celebrities

Music

Celebrity

Thought-Provoking

cowboy

Entertainment & Celebrities Music Celebrity Thought-Provoking cowboy

Most relevant

One of those books that you are slightly bereft when it finishes. Hepworth has a point of view which he expresses beautifully through stories and his own recollection. It’s detailed but fantastically entertaining. A high point was his account of the death of Kurt Cobain. The description of what Elvis’ life was like before he died was so engaging I became almost depressed. I loved every minute.