The musician was at the forefront of the U.S. punk scene with pioneering bands Television and The Heartbreakers, and he was cited by Sex Pistols manager Malcolm MCLaren as a major influence on the group.

Since the 1980s, Hell has dedicated himself mainly to writing books, and his latest tome contains his thoughts on punk rock, along with sections on the Rolling Stones, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, French poet Arthur Rimbaud, and legendary music journalist Lester Bangs.

Now Hell has revealed he secretly hopes the book, titled Massive P**sed Love, will stop fans pestering him for his memories of the punk era as he is sick of discussing it.

He tells Uncut magazine, "I hoped I might earn a little respect from it... It covers a lot of subjects, but the taste and sensibility seem consistent... I end up writing about punk more than I want to. People want to talk about it so much but it bores the f**k out of me, so I try to write something definitive. But that doesn't work; I get the same questions... I just want to put it to f**king sleep by sorting out my take in a piece of writing."