Friends of Mick Wall have reached out to ask for help during a challenging time. The British music journalist, broadcaster, and author, widely respected as one of the world’s leading specialists in rock and Heavy Metal, has suffered a second heart attack on 14 June 2025 and is in desperate need of help.
He was immediately admitted for care. “His doctors shared that stress contributed to this episode,” Jon Hotten says in a new JustGiving appeal. “Though he’s now home recovering, his medical team has advised complete rest over the next 3–6 months to allow his heart to heal. While his consultant suggested retirement, Mick remains hopeful about returning to work.”
The real problem is not his heart but the stress, which is ongoing. “Mick and his wife Linda are being evicted from their home by their landlord, Jon says. “They must vacate the premises by 1 August 2025. After being on the council list for six years, they have just yesterday been offered the chance of a property, for which they are incredibly grateful.
“Like many writers, Mick is a freelancer, living month to month. He has no job security, no savings, no pension, and when he can’t work, no income.
“As I write this, he has £70 in his bank account. He was already facing serious health problems after a disastrous bowel operation in December.”
Mick Wall is the author of over 30 critically acclaimed biographies, including bestselling titles on Led Zeppelin (When Giants Walked The Earth), Metallica (Enter Night), Black Sabbath, Guns N’ Roses, Lou Reed, Foo Fighters, Elton John, and The Eagles.
Mick was also heavily involved in the Ronnie James Dio autobiography released in August 2021. as Mick told MetalTalk, him and Ronnie go back a long way. “I met Ronnie in 1980,” Mick told us. “I was 21, and I became the UK PR for Black Sabbath. We stayed close. Ronnie, Wendy and I were close. I interviewed Ronnie dozens of times. We hung out, we talked.
“In the mid-’90s, I started doing his PR again. We had many dinners, sitting around in hotel rooms talking, so right now, I can still hear his voice in my head because it was so distinctive how he would articulate himself and tell his stories. So I had my massive archive, and Wendy had this huge archive, so we took it from his words.”
After Mick’s first heart attack, hiw wife Linda became ill and was unable to work for nine months. “They had to borrow to survive,” Jon Hotten says, “and after their debts began to compound, both Mick and Linda were declared bankrupt. They have worked exceedingly hard to discharge those bankruptcies and get back on their feet.
“As a result, they cannot obtain credit and can’t rent privately without an unrealistic sum of money to pay their first six months’ rent in advance, plus a deposit. The council require a month’s rent, plus a deposit. The final rent payment on their current home is due and they don’t have the money to pay it. They’re dependent on a landlord reference to be consideredfor any council accommodation.
“Mick is unable to undertake any of the physical work of moving out of their current home and into any new one. They are yet to see the council house they have been offered, but have been told it is unfurnished, and should they be in a position to take it, requires deep cleaning and repainting before it is habitable.”
The aim of the JustGiving appeal is to help Mick Wall and his wife with rent and the costs of moving house, as well as settlingtheir outstanding bills and, if possible, get a little financial buffer in place while Mick recovers over the next three to six months.
“Despite his consultant advising him to retire,” Jon says, “he is determined to return to the work he loves.”
If you have loved Mick Wall’s work in the past and want to help, the JustGiving page can be found at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jon-hotten-2.
Mick Wall and his wife Linda would hugely appreciate it.
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Mick Wall / JustGiving Appeal Launched Amid Health And Housing Crisis first appeared on
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