‘I loved music from the moment I saw the needle drop onto my parents’ Beatles album as a kid. The fact I made a career out of it still amazes me. I’ve travelled the world and found myself in places I never could’ve imagined as a boy from Wellington,NZ. I’ve met so many of my heroes and played alongside them on stages big and small. Written songs that could make a field of people jump and scream. I spent almost 40 years in a band called Shihad that on a good day was one of the best live rock bands on the planet. I made some of the biggest mistakes along the way and still have the scars to prove it. I’ve been cool then seriously uncool and survived to tell the tale. Met the love of my life who came from the other side of the planet and who changed the way I saw this beautiful thing called life.

If I had the chance to do it all again, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’ve lived a charmed life, and this is my story.’

Join rock-legend, former Shihad frontman and lead singer of The Adults, Jon Toogood in this unflinching and no-holds-barred memoir Home Again out 25th August 2026.

This is more than a rock story.

Toogood looks back on a 37-year career that helped define New Zealand rock music, and the personal cost that came with it.

From a music-obsessed childhood in Wellington to the deafening roar of international stages, this is the story of a relentless quest for musical greatness.

Beginning with his childhood and the formation of a band that would go on to become a cultural force, Jon Toogood takes us inside the chaos and camaraderie of life on the road – the rock ‘n’ roll antics, touring with icons, chasing global success, and the pressure to perform across the ages.

Digging into his past and sharing never-before-told stories, Jon Toogood opens the doors to the recording studio and the artistic process of songwriting, while reflecting on his long-term struggle with anxiety, the breakdown of relationships, and the moments that forced him to confront who he was beyond the stage.

There’s also a deeply personal story of redemption found through love. In the coming together of two different worlds, Toogood discovered a renewed sense of purpose, and the beginning of a new adventure shaped by family, connection, and an unexpected, hard-won peace.

At its heart, this is a book about why we create, how music becomes survival, and what is possible when the noise finally stops.

Intimate, searching and uncompromising, this memoir is the story of a rock icon and Kiwi legend. 

Pre-order your copy of Home Again today! 

OFF THE RECORD WITH JON TOOGOOD

An intimate conversation and a few songs with one of NZ music's defining voices with host Charlotte Ryan.

Q Theatre, Auckland

7pm, Tuesday 25th August

Tickets available from 5pm tonight at QTheatre.co.nz

More NZ-wide events to be announced