Articles by Jon Hotten

Jon Hotten is an English author and journalist. He is best known for the books Muscle: A Writer's Trip Through a Sport with No Boundaries and The Years of the Locust. In June 2015 he published a novel, My Life And The Beautiful Music (Cape), based on his time in LA in the late 80s reporting on the heavy metal scene. He was a contributor to Kerrang! magazine from 1987–92 and currently contributes to Classic Rock. Hotten is the author of the popular cricket blog, The Old Batsman, and since February 2013 is a frequent contributor to The Cordon cricket blog at Cricinfo. His most recent book, Bat, Ball & Field, was published in 2022.

Articles by: Jon Hotten

Crazy, overblown and brilliant: How Meat Loaf and Jim Steinman made Bat Out Of Hell

By Jon Hotten last updated 2 August 22

It launched Meat Loaf onto an unsuspecting world. It stayed in the UK charts for eight years and became the biggest selling debut album of all time. It also nearly finished off the singer for good. This is the story of Bat Out Of Hell

Velvet Revolver backstage at the American Music Awards at Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California in 2004

Velvet Revolver's Contraband: a triumph of faith over circumstance

By Jon Hotten published 8 June 22

The most eagerly awaited album of 2004 - Velvet Revolver's Contraband – came from a grizzled gaggle of rusty Gunners and a frontman with toxicology trouble

10 great bands whose debut albums weren't actually that great

By Fraser Lewry, Dom Lawson, Malcolm Dome, Jon Hotten, Sleazegrinder, Stephen Hill, Rob Hughes, Dave Ling, Alec Chillingworth published 15 October 21

Everybody's got to start somewhere, and some of our very best bands started slowly. Here's 10 great bands whose debut albums weren't actually great

Nirvana's Nevermind and the rock'n'roll revolution that came from nowhere

By Jon Hotten last updated 12 August 21

Nirvana’s Nevermind album introduced 90s grunge to the mainstream and sounded the death knell for the 80s

10 glam metal albums you should definitely own

By Jon Hotten last updated 25 June 21

Equal parts hooks and hairspray, glam metal's brief moment in the Hollywood limelight was both brash and brilliant. These are the best albums

How David Coverdale, Tawny Kitaen and MTV turned Whitesnake into megastars

By Jon Hotten last updated 12 May 21

Whitesnake’s album 1987 sold millions and turned David Coverdale into a rock legend. It also made David’s future wife Tawny Kitaen a star

"We had the desire to create something extraordinary" - how Queen found themselves and made Queen II

By Jon Hotten published 28 April 21

In 1974 Queen released the album that would define their sound, capture their grand ambition and vindicate their unshakeable self-belief. This is the story of Queen II and the real birth of the legend

How Guitar Hero III made Slash famous all over again

By Jon Hotten published 31 March 21

It's one of the biggest-grossing computer games of all time. Slash talks about how he became famous all over again through Guitar Hero III

Guns N' Roses: The real story behind their reunion

By Jon Hotten last updated 5 January 21

Rehearsal no-shows? Lingering bad blood? Fragile egos? A $3 million-per-night pay day? And where's Izzy?

The 10 best Power Pop albums

By Jon Hotten published 24 November 20

Power pop is the cheeky little cousin of pop-rock. It’s one of rock’s most accessible genres, and it’s not so easy to define, but these are its best albums

The triumph of the gentleman rockers: How Led Zeppelin IV was made

By Jon Hotten published 4 November 20

In 1971, Led Zeppelin released their untitled fourth album and changed the face of rock forever. This is the story of the album known variously as Led Zeppelin IV, Runes, Four Symbols or simply Untitled

How Led Zeppelin plundered music's past to create a blueprint for its future

By Jon Hotten published 3 September 20

From the ashes of 60s blues rock, Led Zeppelin took off and wrote the template for all hard rock that followed. But it was all just an extension of the blues tradition itself

Def Leppard's Hysteria: Every Song Ranked From Worst To Best

By Jon Hotten last updated 3 August 20

We rank every song on Def Leppard's multi-platinum classic Hysteria – in order of greatness

Life in the fast lane: the turbulent tale of The Eagles

By Jon Hotten published 19 May 20

Fistfights, ulcers and run-ins with the law were all part of the Eagles’ everyday life: A look behind the rise, fall and unexpected rise again of the ultimate Californian band

The Bizarre Life & Sad Death Of Nikki Sixx’s Doppelganger

By Jon Hotten last updated 6 May 20

In the late 80s, unknown musician Matthew Trippe claimed to have replaced Nikki Sixx in Motley Crue. Now the true story of Trippe’s strange life can finally be told

Poison, CC DeVille, Bret Michaels and Bobby Dall performing on stage

Poison - From The Gutter to Glam Rock Superstars

By Jon Hotten last updated 30 April 20

Poison's debut album was recorded on a tight budget and in eight days, it would go triple platinum and turn the band into hair metal heroes

Nikki Sixx interview: The Dirt, the Heroin Diaries, and the wreck of Motley Crue

By Jon Hotten published 24 January 20

In 2003 Classic Rock spoke to Nikki Sixx about Motley Crue's upcoming movie The Dirt. It wouldn't see the light of day for another sixteen years

Journey: The Great Escape

By Jon Hotten published 19 July 19

It’s not just the greatest AOR album ever made, Journey’s Escape also flies high outside the genre as one of the greatest albums in rock

Interview: Duff McKagan on sobriety, Velvet Revolver and Chinese Democracy

By Jon Hotten published 3 September 17

In 2009, the sobered-up Guns N' Roses veteran spoke to Classic Rock from a position of domestic bliss and reduced drama, while promoting a new Loaded album

Last of the Giants: The True Story of Guns N' Roses - book review

By Jon Hotten published 18 November 16

Legendary rock journalist Mick Wall was famously called out by Axl Rose on Guns N' Roses' furious Get In The Ring. Is his new book about the band the chance to settle old scores?

Sebastian Bach at this year's Heavy Montreal

Sebastian Bach: "It's the music that people remember, not all the other stuff”

By Jon Hotten published 23 September 16

Former Skid Row singer, Broadway star and reality TV stalwart Sebastian Bach on the best and worst drugs, Axl Rose, and working until the day you die...