Overview

Born to Play Loud is the first biography of Irish guitarist Vivian Campbell. Campbell's full career is chronicled, from his early influences (Marc Bolan, Rory Gallagher and Gary Moore), his first semi-professional band, Sweet Savage, through to his first real musical break and success with Dio. Followed by a tumultuous breakup with Ronnie James Dio, Campbell toured with Whitesnake on the strength of their multi-platinum selling 1987 album. In 1992 Campbell started what has become his decades-long relationship with Def Leppard. Campbell's work with Lou Gramm in the band Shadow King, and his time spent with Riverdogs is also explored, all of which helps to shed light on Campbell's evolution from heavy rock 'guitar hero' to a more nuanced player who would rather serve the song with his playing than bring down the house with a 20-minute guitar solo. Campbell also created Last In Line, basically a rebirth of the Dio band minus it's frontman. In summing up, when Campbell received the Oh Yeah Legend Award in 2017, he said 'I am not used to getting awards. I am not a celebrity, the only people who know me are the hard rock fans and guitar junkies.' The 2017 award marked some belated recognition for Campbell in his hometown. This book is an attempt to build on that acknowledgement and to introduce Campbell to a wider, modern audience.

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9781915246707

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I am a cultural historian, with a particular interest in modern American history. I've written about public history and heritage, and I am also interested in representations of historical events in mediums such as movies, comic books, television programmes, music and literature. I am the author of four books of modern history, and about a dozen book chapters and journal articles on such diverse topics as war memorials, road movies, Judge Dredd (fictional character), science fiction author Harry Harrison, Supernatural (tv series), William Golding's Lord of the Flies, Dante's Inferno, Jack Kerouac's influence on British hippies, and rock and pop music in the 1960s. I've published books on the US Military in Hawaii, the Hippie Trail (co-authored with Sharif Gemie), and the Woodstock and Altamont music festivals. My latest book was about the Rolling Stones in America, and my next book -- due in February 2024 from Wymer -- is a biography of Northern Irish guitarist Gary Moore.. Before becoming a freelance writer, I used to be a university history lecturer.

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