A fantastic writer who got under the skin of some of his subjects who didn't always appreciate it - fair enough, it's their life and nobody likes their life picked over, including the flaws, but Rogan did it without ever losing sight of the music and how the musicians involved worked together or against each other to produce the magic.
The first of his I read was
Starmakers and Svengalis which I got in a remainder ship in the eighties and I looked out for him everafter. I'm not a Smiths fan (always loved Marr), but his book was engrossing. Anyone who is a fan of The Byrds has to read his biographies. His final, wrist breaking book
Byrds: Requiem for the Timeless: Volume 2: is waiting for the day I can employ someone to turn the pages for me so I have only read the Gene Clark section. His biography of Ray Davis, despite the subject not being enamoured, is the biography such a genius deserved as it doesn't just go '...then there was Lola, some mad dramatic shows, and Come Dancing".
The obituary in The Guardian is a nice, heartfelt tribute and has a beautiful remembrance in the comments by Colin Larkin.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/ ... n-obituary