Nina Antonia Interview
Nina Antonia is author of Johnny Thunders: In Cold Blood. The book was first published in 1987, but has been revised and expanded to coincide with the 50th anniversary of his debut album with the New York Dolls.
How did you get to where you are today, professionally?
If I was to tell you about my journey as a music journalist and author, we would be here all day and night! I didn't go to school to study journalism and always wrote from the heart, for the passion of the subject rather than cold objectivity. People have different ways of getting into the field and although education and a university degree is helpful, sometimes it can make people's work a little homogenised. The people I looked up to as music journalists were Lester Bangs and Nick Kent whose personalities seep through in their writing. They are very much products of their time but still readable, they capture the energy of those times.
The first edition of Johnny Thunders - In Cold Blood which came out in 1987, when I was 27, is very different to the updated 1992 version, I'd had time to grow as a writer and gather more material. I've written countless liner notes, aside from Thunders, there has been the Dolls, Stooges, Velvet Underground & Nico, in fact I think there is a kindle book of the sleeve notes that Jungle Records compiled. I never looked upon writing as a profession or a job. For me, it was a vocation and I still feel that way.