Harry Shapiro

Harry Shapiro

Harry Shapiro has been a writer, journalist and editor for over forty years specialising in all aspects of drug use and addiction and also popular music – rock, jazz and blues. He has  an extensive portfolio of books and articles – from popular biography and books for young people through to peer-reviewed academic journal articles. He is also the Director of DrugWise, an online drug information service, and active in the world of tobacco harm reduction through the Global Forum on Nicotine. He is the author of Jimi Hendrix: Electric Gypsy, Eric Clapton: Lost in the Blues, Waiting for the Man: the Story of Drugs and Popular Music and many other titles. 

Articles by: Harry Shapiro

Jimi Hendrix studio portrait

Jimi Hendrix: murder, the mafia, and the multiple mysteries surrounding the death of rock's most influential guitarist

By Harry Shapiro published

Jimi Hendrix biographer Harry Shapiro talks to former Jimi Hendrix roadie James ‘Tappy’ Wright and reconsiders the mysteries surrounding Jimi's death

Pacific Gas & Electric

"We got mobbed for autographs – thousands of screaming schoolgirls and we had to escape in a limo": the wild ride of Pacific Gas & Electric

By Harry Shapiro published

Fêted by critics, mobbed by crowds, admired by Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton… then God intervened to dim the lights of Pacific Gas & Electric

Gary Moore in 1979

Gary Moore: leaving Thin Lizzy, the story of G-Force, and the terror of success

By Harry Shapiro published

In June 1979, Gary Moore sensationally quit Thin Lizzy mid-tour. In this exclusive extract from his official biography, we look back at his post-Lizzy period and the formation of G-Force

Jimi Hendrix in Sacramento

How Jimi Hendrix died - and the mysteries surrounding his death

By Harry Shapiro published

Was Hendrix murdered by a manager with debts to the Mafia? Hendrix biographer Harry Shapiro talks to former roadie James ‘Tappy’ Wright and reconsiders the mysteries surrounding Jimi's death

A shot of Gary Moore playing live

Ego, tempers, affairs: The tumultuous story of BBM

By Harry Shapiro published

When Gary Moore joined Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker in the ‘ersatz Cream’ BBM, it was a dream come true for the guitarist – but one that was over almost as soon as it began

John Mayall's Bluesbreakers sitting against a wall, Eric Clapton reading a copy of the Beano comic.

John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton: The Making of 'the Beano album'…

By Harry Shapiro published

Released in 1966, John Mayall’s Blues Breakers With Eric Clapton changed the musical landscape. Here’s how Beano came to be…

BBM: Gary Moore, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce

'We're not Cream!' - How Gary Moore, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker made an album

By Harry Shapiro published

In 1983 Gary Moore, Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce joined forces to form BBM. When they got to the studio, it started to get really interesting...

A close-up of Gary Moore

How Gary Moore reignited the British blues scene with the help of a famous guitar

By Harry Shapiro last updated

1990's Still Got The Blues album was an abrupt and risky game-changer that reignited the tradition of blistering British blues guitar

Jack Bruce 1943-2014

By Harry Shapiro published

The bass master, as remembered by his official biographer.