Started Out Just Drinking Beer is the official biography of Mental as Anything. It captures the Riotous Rollercoaster Ride of one of Australia's greatest bands, The Mentals, from 1976-2019 as they went from the top of a pool table to the top of the charts.

VOTED ONE OF THE TOP 10 MUSIC BOOKS OF 2023 by Australian Financial Review.



Enjoy the untold stories behind Aussie classics like: Live It Up, Too Many Times, If You Leave Me Can I Come Too?, Berserk Warriors, Egypt, The Nips are Getting Bigger, Whole Wide World, Concrete & Clay, and a whole lot more.



Plus tales from the road as told by Greedy Smith, Martin Plaza, Bird Twohill, Peter O'Doherty & Reg Mombassa — and a star-studded cast including Colin Hay (Men at Work), Richard Gottehrer, Mark Opitz, Ross Wilson (Mondo Rock), Swanee, Anthony Field (The Cockroaches and the Wiggles), Wreckless Eric, Kirk Pengilly (INXS) and many more.

“Stuart Lloyd had great access to the band (plus those in their inner sanctum including wives and ex-girlfriends), resulting in very frank, revealing human portraits. It contains a lot of amusing and amazing behind-the-scenes stories. Stu “takes us behind the showbiz curtain” as Jane Gazzo writes. It wasn’t all beer and skittles.” - Sydney Scoop.

“Lloyd’s engaging new book... A captivating read.

—The Saturday Paper

“This isn’t the usual rock ‘n’ roll expose – the band members had a moral compass – but instead it is a tremendous record of one of Australia’s most enduring and innovative bands.”

—CHERYL AKLE, The Weekend Australian



“Lloyd has gone the hard yards to ensure that recollections over many years from numerous interviewees are as accurate as possible.”

—JOHN MOYLE

'I love this book!'

- DAVE WARNER.

“Stuart Lloyd’s extremely well-researched history reminds us, the quintet had a rare versatility which saw them play everything from rockabilly to new wave. a page-turning good time, befitting of its party-starting subjects.”

—MICHAEL BAILEY, Australian Financial Review