Jesse Fink

Last updated

Jesse Fink
Born1973 (age 50–51)
London, United Kingdom
OccupationAuthor
Period2007–present
Genre Nonfiction
Website
www.jessefinkbooks.com

Jesse Fink (born 1973) is a British-Australian author of six books including twin biographies of the hard-rock band AC/DC (The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC and Bon: The Last Highway), [1] the cocaine-trafficking story Pure Narco [2] and The Eagle in the Mirror, a biography of British intelligence officer Dick Ellis. His books have been translated into several languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, German and French.

Contents

Biography

Born in London, United Kingdom, Fink was educated at schools in Sydney, Australia. He attended the University of Technology, majoring in journalism.

Early career

Fink began his writing career in sports journalism, working as an editor of sports and nonfiction titles for the Australian arm of book publisher HarperCollins and later as a deputy editor of Inside Sport . In 2003, he was nominated for a Walkley Award for a feature about the sports memorabilia industry. It was included in the Black Inc. anthology The Best Australian Sportswriting 2004, [3] as was "Safari Politics", a feature on trophy hunting. Another Inside Sport feature, "Silent Witness", about mental illness among high-performance athletes, won an Australian Sports Commission Media Award.

Fink left Inside Sport magazine to work as a soccer writer for Fox Sports Australia in 2006. In 2007, under the moniker Half-Time Orange, he began writing soccer columns for SBS Television's The World Game website as well as columns for ESPN Star Sports (later Fox Sports Asia) in Singapore, Tribal Football and The Roar.

In 2011 departed SBS after an editorial disagreement with late network anchor Les Murray over what he alleged was interference from Murray in his critical reporting of Australia's 2022 World Cup bid and general commentary on Football Federation Australia. [4] Fink appeared on ABC Television's 7.30 [5] to give his side of the story and in a number of online editorials, including Qatari network Al Jazeera, [6] accused then-FIFA Ethics Committee member Murray of conflict of interest in his SBS position. [7]

Books

15 Days in June (2007)

In 2007 Fink published his first book, 15 Days in June, the story of the Socceroos at the 2006 FIFA World Cup. It was re-released by Xoum Publishing in a special e-book edition [8] before the 2014 FIFA World Cup under the new title World Party. Socceroos star Tim Cahill wrote the foreword. [9] In 2021, the book was chosen for the Untapped project and digital and print editions under the original title were released by Ligature. [10]

Laid Bare (2012)

In 2012 Fink published his second book, Laid Bare: One Man’s Story of Sex, Love and Other Disorders (Hachette Australia), a memoir of divorce and dating. It was re-published in 2017 by Xoum Publishing (which changed its name to Brio Books in 2018). His writing on relationships regularly appeared in News Limited's Sunday Style magazine. [11]

The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC (2013)

His third book, The Youngs: The Brothers Who Built AC/DC, a ‘critical appreciation’ of Angus Young, George Young and Malcolm Young, was named one of Public Radio International's The World Books of the Year in 2014. [12] The New Yorker called it "an essential read for fans of the band". [13]

Bon: The Last Highway (2017)

Fink's fourth book, Bon: The Last Highway, was a biography of deceased AC/DC singer Bon Scott. Bon was the cover story in the December 2017 issue of Classic Rock . In the book, Fink concludes that Scott died of a mix of alcohol and heroin and not the official cause, acute alcohol poisoning. The book disputes the story that Scott was alone with London musician and alleged drug dealer Alistair Kinnear when he died and produces evidence that at least two other people were with Scott and Kinnear. [14]

Fink also addresses and provides new information regarding the widespread speculation that Scott contributed uncredited lyrics to the AC/DC album Back in Black. Fink later responded to comments made by AC/DC singer Brian Johnson in Rolling Stone magazine about the lyrics issue. [15] It was the first time Johnson had publicly addressed Fink's claims that Scott was an uncredited contributor of lyrics to the Back in Black album. [16] After Johnson gave an interview to Metal Edge magazine again addressing the issue, Fink wrote a second response to Johnson. [17]

In November 2022, the Bon Scott Estate issued a statement on its website to say the estate had never received 'any songwriting royalties for any songs’ on Back in Black, [18] though this was contradicted in 2006 by the late Vince Lovegrove, former bandmate of Scott in The Valentines, who reported the estate received 'a small share of royalties from Back in Black, which comes in the form of half-yearly payments' and wrote of Scott's 'uncredited but royalty-paid contribution to the monumental Back in Black album'. [19] Lovegrove also wrote on his personal website in 2011 before his death in 2012 that Scott's brother Derek Scott 'told me that the family has always received Scott's songwriting royalties for the album'. [20]

Updated editions of Fink's book were released in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. [21]

Fink was the first journalist to identify the long-unknown woman who inspired the AC/DC song 'Whole Lotta Rosie' as Rosemaree (Rose-Maree) Garcia and released the first photograph of Garcia. [22]

Pure Narco (2020)

In 2020 Penguin Books Australia announced it was releasing his fifth book, Pure Narco, the life story of cocaine trafficker Luis Navia and the 12-nation law-enforcement operation that brought him down. [23] It was published in the United Kingdom by John Blake and the United States by Rowman & Littlefield. [24]

The Eagle in the Mirror (2023)

Fink's sixth book was a biography of Australian-born British intelligence officer Charles Howard "Dick" Ellis called The Eagle in the Mirror. [25] The book was released in Australia and the United Kingdom in August 2023 and included in Publishers Weekly's Spring 2024 longlist for history. [26] It will be published by Citadel in the United States in May 2024. [27]

Personal life

Fink has one daughter and is divorced. [28] Fink wrote about his 10-year marriage in Laid Bare.

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AC/DC</span> Australian rock band

AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in 1973. They were founded by brothers Malcolm Young on rhythm guitar and Angus Young on lead guitar. Their current lineup comprises Angus, bassist Cliff Williams, drummer Phil Rudd, lead vocalist Brian Johnson, and rhythm guitarist Stevie Young, nephew of Angus and Malcolm. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and heavy metal, but the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formative influence on the new wave of British heavy metal bands, such as Def Leppard and Saxon. AC/DC were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

<i>Back in Black</i> 1980 studio album by AC/DC

Back in Black is the seventh studio album by Australian rock band AC/DC, released by Albert Productions and Atlantic Records on 25 July 1980. It was the band's first album to feature Brian Johnson as lead singer, following the death of Bon Scott, their previous vocalist.

<i>Highway to Hell</i> 1979 studio album by AC/DC

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<i>Flick of the Switch</i> 1983 studio album by AC/DC

Flick of the Switch is the ninth studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. The album was deemed a commercial disappointment after it failed to match the sales figures of the band's two previous releases, 1980's Back in Black and 1981's For Those About to Rock, and its release represented the beginning of the band's commercial decline. The third AC/DC album to feature lead vocalist Brian Johnson, the album is also the last to feature drummer Phil Rudd before his return on Ballbreaker (1995). The album was re-released in 2003 as part of the AC/DC Remasters series.

<i>Let There Be Rock</i> 1977 studio album by AC/DC

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whole Lotta Rosie</span> 1977 single by AC/DC

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Les Murray (broadcaster)</span> Australian sports journalist (1945–2017)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highway to Hell (song)</span> 1979 single by AC/DC

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<i>Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap</i> 1976 studio album by AC/DC

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Highway to Hell Tour</span> 1979–1980 concert tour by AC/DC

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References

  1. ↑ "Bon Scott, AC/DC's lost leader, is uncovered". The Irish Times. November 24, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Luis Navia: 25 Years Inside the Narco Cartels". The Jordan Harbinger Show. May 10, 2022.
  3. ↑ Garrie Hutchinson (2004). The Best Australian Sports Writing 2004. Black Inc. p. 214. ISBN   978-1-86395-213-2.
  4. ↑ Fink, Jesse (May 15, 2020). "Why I stopped writing about soccer". jessefinkbooks.com.
  5. ↑ Jesse Fink 7.30 , retrieved November 20, 2022
  6. ↑ Fink, Jesse (July 26, 2011). "FIFA's judges should also be judged". www.aljazeera.com.
  7. ↑ Tuckerman, Mike (July 7, 2011). "Jesse Fink blows the lid on SBS editorial pressure". www.theroar.com.au.
  8. ↑ "This is Australia's greatest football moment". The Advertiser. May 22, 2014.
  9. ↑ Jesse Fink (April 7, 2014). World Party: The Inside Story of the Socceroos' Greatest Campaign. Xou Pty. Limited. ISBN   978-1-922057-99-0.
  10. ↑ Jesse Fink (December 5, 2021). 15 Days in June. Ligature. ISBN   978-1-922730-19-0.
  11. ↑ Fink, Jesse (August 10, 2015). "Divorce doesn't make you a bad parent". news.com.au.
  12. ↑ Davy, Steven (December 18, 2014). "Here are the books we read this year that we think you'll love". pri.org.
  13. ↑ Michaud, Jon (December 2, 2014). "The brothers who built AC/DC". newyorker.com.
  14. ↑ Fink, Jesse (2018). Bon: The Last Highway. Sydney: Ebury Press. p. xxiii.
  15. ↑ Fink, Jesse (October 26, 2022). "My response to Brian Johnson". jessefinkbooks.com.
  16. ↑ Irwin, Corey. "Brian Johnson Shoots Down Bon Scott 'Back in Black' Rumors". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved November 20, 2022.
  17. ↑ Fink, Jesse (December 21, 2022). "My response to Brian Johnson – Part II". jessefinkbooks.com.
  18. ↑ "FAQ". Bon Scott. Retrieved November 22, 2022.
  19. ↑ Fink, Jesse (2022). Bon: The Last Highway. Toronto: ECW Press. p. 325. ISBN   9781770414969.
  20. ↑ Fink, Jesse (2022). Bon: The Last Highway. Toronto: ECW Press. p. 333. ISBN   9781770414969.
  21. ↑ "Bon: The Last Highway: The Untold Story of Bon Scott and AC/DC's Back in Black, Updated Edition of the Definitive Biography". libraryjournal.com. April 2, 2022.
  22. ↑ "The Identity of the Woman Who Inspired AC/DC's 'Whole Lotta Rosie' May Have Been Found". loudwire.com. May 8, 2023.
  23. ↑ "Narcos unmasked: Notorious real-life drug trafficker's brutal 21 days held hostage exposed". The Daily Express. October 23, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Pure Narco: One Man's Story of 25 Years Inside the Cartels". publishersweekly.com. August 25, 2021.
  25. ↑ "The Eagle in the Mirror". penguin.com.au. February 28, 2023.
  26. ↑ "Spring 2024 Adult Announcements: History". December 1, 2023.
  27. ↑ "The Eagle in the Mirror". December 1, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Liquid love laid bare". ABC News (Australia). October 29, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2023.
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