To Hell and Back

My Life in Johnny Thunders' Heartbreakers, in the Words of the Last Man Standing

By: Walter Lure, Dave Thompson - contributor

Narrated by: BJ Harrison

Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

There have been many books written about Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, but only by people who weren't there. Walter Lure was - from the band's chaotic beginnings on New York's Lower East Side, through a now-legendary UK tour with the Sex Pistols and the Clash, and on to a yearlong stay in London - eyewitness and midwife to the birth of UK punk.

Now, he tells his story in To Hell and Back, a thrilling ride through the clubs and dives of two continents, in the company of one of the most notorious junkies in rock 'n' roll history. Drawing from his own contemporary journals, Lure paints a vivid portrait of life in both cities, during perhaps the most crucial musical uprising of the past 40 years...the music, the characters, the clothes, the fights, the drugs, the orgies, the lot.

Lure lays bare his own battle with drugs and reflects upon his life after the band's split - rising to become a Wall Street fixture yet still finding time to make music.

©2020 Walter Lure and Dave Thompson (P)2020 Tantor

A true must have for Heartbreakers fans

Mr. Lure’s book certainly doesn’t disappoint. Any fan of his and any fan of the Heartbreakers will certainly enjoy this one. Stay well. Take care of each other.
JT-

A Great Listen!

A fan of The Heartbreakers, The Waldo's, New York Dolls, Johnny Thunders, Walter Lure, or just early punk rock in general? This is a must listen for you. I fully intend to buy it in paperback to read again. My morning drive to work these past few weeks have been a treat listening to this.
RIP Heartbreakers, Walter Lure was the last surviving member but sadly passed away not long after finishing this book

A tell all of the 70's PUNK story!

From CBGB's to London and beyond! I love PUNK but Thunders is king! He never wrote a book and this is the closest account of Johnny's music career otherwise! Plus Walter mentions shows I actually attended

Great account of LAMF era Thunders.

Walter great fully wrote this book as no other Heartbreakers lived or bothered to tell the tale.
the problem i had with this is the lack of attention to Walters decent inti smack addiction.

in the beginning he repeatedly States that he did not think of himself as a junkie and while he had tried heroin, he never used a needle, Setting him apart from thunders, nolan, and the other average old junkie.

By the end of the heartbreakers He was obviously a junkie and for years afterwards until he got a job which he stayed saved his life, but there is no real description of his descent no timeline no of his descent into and to joining a band with junkies and then becoming one it felt like he was exonerating himself.

There are some great stories involving childers and Wayne County as well as some other things in the beginning of the heartbreakers not very much detail on the Anarchy tour that was a disappointment.

A must read for any Johnny Thunders or heartbreakers fan that is without saying.

RIP Walter Lure

I wish Lure could have narrated this but he unfortunately passed in 2020, I am so glad he got this out!

Best punk autobiography

Raw, gritty, well-written, and full of the legends. Lure’s intelligence shines through and makes this one really click.

A must read for NY Dolls + Heartbreakers fans!

Well composed and engagingly told, this is one of the few takes on Johnny Thunders + The Heartbreakers from inside the actual band.

It's also an encouraging tale, in that Walter, unlike many of his compatriots, did not fall victim to too much junky business...

I am not a Punk Fan But…

I would argue Walter Lure and the Heartbreakers were influential on hard/rock metal in many of the same ways the New York Dolls were. Great read and story. I am happy Walter made it out to tell the tale. I highly recommend this book!

A Real Heartbreaker

Excellent book on Walter’s time in the Heartbreakers. Would be better if he was narrating, but that’s not going to happen. Some of the narration is a little distracting (CBDBs for CBGBs) but the story is good enough to mostly overlook it. Hail hail rock n roll! Hail hail Walter Lure!

Great piece of music history

This book ranks in my top favorites of books about the music scene of the time.
The narration is a little dry but I was never bothered by it.