Shamelessly I am posting this in the hope that I get some good recommendations. Ordinarily most of my reading is fiction but I have phases of reading biographical/autobiographical books and get a lot of enjoyment out of the good ones.
Over the years the ones I recall enjoying most are:-
Bob Geldof – Is that it?
Viv Nicholson – Spend,spend, spend.
Miles Davis – The autobiography with Quincy Troupe.
Also an honourable mention for Strange affair – the biography about Richard Thompson by Patrick Humphreys.
So recommendations please or if you prefer just your favourites if you don’t mind another list post.
In no particular order…
Lewisohn – Turn on
Barry Miles – Many Years From Now (heavily Macca leaning, but I love it)
Horace Panter – Ska’d for life
Alan McGee – Creation Stories
Johnny Marr – Set the Boy Free
Peter Hook – all of his are good
Loads more but perhaps a few newbies in there for you?
Barry’s book on McCartney is the closest we’re likely to get to an autobiography from Paul. Would love a part 2 on The Wings.
Barry Miles’ Frank Zappa biog. is the best of a rather un-revealing bunch, I would say.
Peter Hooks are magnificent. He manages to come across as a nob but makes Barney sound a colossal nob
The Robert Caro books on Lyndon Johnson are masterpieces of political biography.
The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe, paired with the superb autobiography of Chuck Yeager.
American Prometheus, an excellent biography of Robert Oppenheimer.
Michael Ignatieff’s biography of Isaiah Berlin is wonderful, but you probably need an interest in the man.
Harpo Speaks. You need no interest in the Marx Bros, the man’s life was simply remarkable.
The Autobiography of Mark Twain. All of it. Alternatively, Andrew Hoffman wrote a very good biography a few years back.
Hitch 22, the autobiography of Christopher Hitchens is superbly readable: it’s basically like finding yourself in a strange bar sat next to the world’s most charming and opinionated raconteur.
Peter Biskind’s book on Warren Beatty, if you want to know what it was like to be the Uber-shagabout of one of Hollywood’s golden ages.
Johan Cruyff’s My Turn, if you want to understand football better. Taking Le Tiss if you want to be reminded of the last period in which you could still be a top pro and have a Big Mac habit.
David Niven’s The Moon’s A Balloon if you want the best shaggy dog stories ever told.
Baby, I Don’t Care is a great Robert Mitchum biography. Another interesting life. I also quite like Sarah Churchwell’s The Many Lives of Marilyn Monroe.
Oh, and Viv Albertine. That’s a really good read too.
Top list, Bingo, can’t fault any of those.
Except maybe Wolfe. Does he ever drone on.
God no. At least in TRS. Some of his novels are turgid and unreadable, but TRS can quite rightly sit on a pedestal.
Double down on American Prometheus
Read and enjoyed Niven’s The moons a balloon.
Very tempted by Hitch22 – thanks for the tip.
The Hitch is first class.
‘Harpo’ was recommend to me several months ago and it was an excellent suggestion. I can also recommend ‘Wodehouse: A Life’ by Robert McCrum.
Recently read:
Phil Collins – Not Dead Yet
Others of note:
Stuart Maconie- Cider With Roadies
Keith Moon – Dear Boy
Pete Townsend – Who I Am
Keith Richards – Life (once you get used to Keef-Speak)
Wilko Johnson – Don’t Leave Me Here
John Lydon – Anger Is An Energy
Glen Matlock – I was A Teenage Sex Pistol
Steve Jones – Lonely Boy
just waiting for a Pual Cook bio to complete the Pistols set
Fab: An Intimate Life of Paul McCartney (Howard Souness)
Tony Wilson – 24 Hour Party People
Factory: The Story of the Record Label – Mick Middles
and another vote for the Hooky books mentioned above
(but Barney’s book is a “tread carefully”)
I have read quite a few of these, really disliked Townshend’s book. Seemed to have zero self awareness. Gave up on Keef’s, likewise Lydon’s (both trying too hard to reinforce prejudices about themselves). I have mentioned at least one of Hooky’s somewhere else. I finished them all, but they were pretty repetitive and certainly in the case of the one about the Hacienda, tedious. Thought the Joy Division one was probably the best.
I thought Pete Townshends incredibly dull
Well below my expectations
The eighteen year old Patrick Leigh Fermor travelled across Europe by foot in the 1930s, and decades later wrote three books recounting his journey (A Time Of Gifts, Between The Woods And The Water, and the final posthumous The Broken Road). They are tremendous. PLF was erudite, witty and curious, with an eye for detail and a willingness to go off at a tangent writing about the local natural history, or whatever strikes him at the time. Sometimes he sleeps in a barn, at others he is taken in by local nobility and moves through the highest society. The books are all misty forests, old castles, barges and burgomeisters. They are full of the romance of Europe, but it’s impossible to read them without being very aware that all this was shortly to be swept away by the tides of history. They are probably in the travel section of the bookshop rather than autobiography, but no one else could have written them.
There is also a biography of PLF by Artemis Cooper which goes on to cover his life after that journey. Fairly mundane, a bit of working for SOE, parachuting into Occupied Crete, leading the local partisans in a campaign of undercover sabotage culminating in the kidnapping of a German general. Just the normal, really.
Of all the books that I have been recommended by the Afterword, the Patrick Leigh Fermor trilogy are the greatest. What a man he was.
Great post. I’ve ordered the first volume off Dodgers Marketplace for 40p which sounds like a bargain.
Read the first two a few years back but not The Broken road.
The walk books are just staggeringly great, but really anything from his pen is worthwhile. I am in awe of the man.
PS Rudolph Rassendyll, as portrayed by Coleman and Granger, enjoys the same quintessential privilege of the educated Englishman in Europe that PLF carries so carelessly. The books are as much a Ruritanian romance as anything that came in the wake of Zenda, with the staggering bonus of being factual. I wept for a lost world when I read them, and cannot recommend them highly enough.
PPS Check out the film Ill Met By Moonlight, wherein PLF is played by Dirk Bogarde, which dramatises the SOE operation in Crete to which the Kid refers above.
Frank Gardner’s Blood and Sand is a page turner with real insight into the middle east. Him being the wheel chair bound BBC journalist who ended up that way after being shot by Al-Qaeda.
Also back to music related, Sylvia Patterson’s memoir I’m Not With The Band. Fantastic read, combines interviews with likes of Madonna and Led Zep for Smash Hits and the like with memories of a tough, deprived upbringing and despite the successful career, ongoing financial struggles. There’s a Word In Your Ear podcast out there with Sylvia as well.
Lat year I read Robert Caro’s The Power Broker (about Robert Moses and New York). It’s massive, but well worth reading, essentially about the abuse of power and although it could have been trimmed in parts, it’s still outstanding. One fact always stood out about how much Moses enjoyed the fact of evicting people from houses just so roads could be built. Strange fact….Moses didn’t drive.
Others never to be forgotten.
Jackdaw Cake, the autobiography of Norman Lewis (the travel writer); his mad aunts, his Sicilian in-laws. Her wrote well and with a keen eye for the absurd. Semi invisible man by Julian Evans, the life of Norman Lewis is fascinating but read it after you’ve read some of Lewis’s books.
Red Love by Maxim Leo. This is a memoir about a journalist’s parents and grand-parents and covers principally living in communist East Germany but also covers Nazism and shows how people moved from the Nazis to living in East Germany, being loyal to both forms of tyranny.
I recently read The Boy with the perpetual nervousness by Graham Caveney. It’s about growing up in Accrington in the 1970s, but is centred on the abuse he suffered from his Catholic priest, how he didn’t deal with it at the time and how it has affected him since. It is brilliant, not only because he writes so well but, unbelievably, it has a sense of humour. It isn’t just about this though, but also about loving music, books and being the proud son who goes to university. It sounds like a misery memoir (it should be), but it isn’t at all.
On a similar theme, Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt.
Oh, and Unreliable Memoirs by Clive James, plus Harry Thompson’s book on Peter Cook is pretty good as well.
Graham McCann’s books on comedy legends are always good. I recommend his ‘Frankie Howerd: Stand-Up Comic’.
I’d recommend his biography of the great John Le Mesurier, Do You Think That’s Wise?, as well.
Seconded.
His book on Dad’s Army is also very good, if you can call a book about a TV show an autobiography. Which you can’t.
Also “Bounder” his life story of Terry Thomas is a cracking read.
Absolutely… sorry, “Ebbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbsollllllloootleeeee, old boy!”
Oliver Postgate Seeing Things.
Just got the new Bowie from the library, not started yet.
Which new Bowie, hubert? There’s been a veritable plethora recently.
The Dylan Jones one @Black-Type
Oh, I haven’t got that one yet. I’m gonna tackle the Morley one next; I really enjoyed the extract/sample I downloaded to my Kindle.
As recommended above, Peter Hook’s Joy Division and New Order memoirs are brilliant – rambling, colourful anecdotes aplenty, convivial and candid – even the uglier episodes (Ian’s death, his marriage to “Mrs Merton”) etc. And yes, Barney’s book is crap in comparison, a slightly chippy, bland uninformative read.
Johnny Marr’s book was OK, not as informative as I’d hoped. Morrissey’s autobiography was impenetrable to me
Mark Lewisohn’s Tune In is unbeatable on the early HJHs. I can’t stand Philip Norman but 1981’s Shout! is a vivid telling of the tale
New George Martin biog “Maximum Volume” has just been issued which is OK so far, no huge revelations and being written by an American author is a bit jarring in places, considering the very English subject.
Not strictly an autobiography but Joe Orton’s Diaries are lurid, gossipy, bitchy and tragic
Nick Mason’s ‘Inside Out’ is a brilliantly wry, dry account of his time in the Floyd, weighted slightly towards the 1987 “reunion” but well worth a read
James Young’s “Songs They Never Play On The Radio” is terrific – an account of his time playing keyboards for a strung out Nico in the mid 1980s Manchester, under the chaotic guidance of manager and madman, the late Alan Wise
And any one of Alan Bennett’s memoirs is a guaranteed winner, especially if you imagine him reading it
“Impenetrable” – what a perfect title for Ol’ Mozeryguts title-deficient autobiography!
I hope some publishing firm has you on a hefty troubleshooting retainer, Mr Badger..
As a massive Floyd fan, I found Nick Mason’s book every bit as exciting as his drumming. That is, as dull as dishwater. Mason’s clearly a nice enough chap, but very much the “lukewarm water” of the band. And a band lacking any real fire or ice, at that. Floyd, for all their childish arguing, were a pretty dull lot all told. Any interesting anecdotes have already been told numerous times in interviews.
I’ve just finished reading the George Martin book. He was an interesting and unusual figure, and I knew from stuff I’ve read about the Beatles that we wasn’t as posh as he sounded, and changed his accent deliberately. I didn’t know that his background was working class, and that he was largely a self-taught musician who couldn’t even read or write music much until he went to the Guildhall School. The book’s good on this and how we gradually developed the role of producer from that of A and R man, and how he worked on such a variety of recordings before the Beatles; Matt Monroe, Bernard Cribbins and Baroque ensembles.
It covers his life to the age of forty, with the first quarter taking him up to meeting the Beatles when he was 36, and the rest covering the next four years. Fair enough, as this was the most significant part of his career. The trouble is that every recording session is covered in such detail, even to which instruments are played- Rickenbackers, Martin Jumbos, Ludwig drum kits – and which tape track they were on, that the real evolution of their musical relationship gets lost. There is interesting stuff in there but it is hard to find.
Yeah I am still ploughing through it and am up to Help!. It’s OK, although the writer’s verbosity and habit of flagging up every other recording session as a milestone, landmark, momentous occasion etc can get a bit irritating. Some slightly interesting revelations – Lewisohn covered the convoluted business of the band’s ending up with GM, but I didn’t realise what a nightmare Richard Lester was. As for your point about the laborious accounts of the sessions – I am guessing he is padding out the book cribbing from Mark Lewisohn’s “Sessions” book. It’s all a bit – well, dry, I wish there was more colour, tighter editing and first hand interviews.
I read an earlier biog of GM called “All you need is ears” whichI enjoyed. I picked it up again decades later in a sale in Fopp but haven’t got around to rereading it yet.
A few off the top of my head:
Melvyn Bragg’s “Rich” – about Richard Burton
Ian Bell’s “Once Upon a Time” and “Time out of Mind” – about Dylan
Nick Kent’s “The Dark Stuff”
Paul Trynka’s “Starman” – about Bowie. And “Open Up and Bleed” – about Iggy Pop
Peter Guralnick’s “Last Train to Memphis” and “Careless Love” – about Elvis
Ben McIntyre’s “A Spy Among Friends” – about Kim Philby
Simon Sebag Montefiore’s “The Court of the Red Tsar” – about Stalin
Tom Bower’s “Broken Vows” – about Tony Blair
I’m not a huge fan of auto/biographies, but have just read the Boris Johnson book on Churchill which I found very readable. And even better, it was a only a £2.49 charity shop purchase.
And as a bonus you weren’t giving Johnson a penny of it. Sorry. Snide of me, but couldn’t resist.
Banning Eyre’s book on Thomas Mapfumo is great. Banning is a musician who played with Thomas so understands and explains Zimbabwean music rather well.
Here are a few from me
Norman Lewis “I Came I Saw.” The best travel writer of the twentieth century had quite a life and a beautiful turn of phrase.
Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love, Peter Guralnick’s two Elvis autobiographies are wonderful.
I just read Patrick Cronin’s “No Laughing Matter: The Life and Times of Flann O’Brien” which is sad and great but only to be read if you like Flann O’Brien sadly.
“The Year Of Magical Thinking” by Joan Didion is pretty damn heartbreaking and astonishing. It’s like a woman going mad with grief actually managed to step aside and watch herself.
Obviously “If This Is A Man” and “The Truce” by Primo Levi. I’ll also say “Maus” by Art Speigelman. In fact decent graphic novel memoirs are plentiful now.
“Trump Revealed” by Marc Fisher and Michael Kranish is probably the fairest but still horrifying account of the shrieking empty vessel who is now the most powerful man in the world.
That’s all from me just now…
Up for the Elvis books. Really well told and the second one I found quite depressing in a good way (if that makes sense).
Makes perfect sense. Promise, not quite squandered but seriously abused…
Claire Tomalin’s bio of Samuel Pepys is one I’ve mentioned before but it’s AMAZING.
Really like Slash and Duff McKagan’s respective autos – Duff comes off as witty, quite wise and rather lovely. Slash comes off as a massive baby, but it’s bloody entertaining.
One of the first bios I ever read was Andrew Motion on Larkin, and I have a soft spot for it still (despite his seeming horror that Larkin had some pretty un-horses-frightening grumble mags in his possession when he died. Such was the tone of these “revelations” that they made the news and gave PL a playground-rumour rep as a dreadful pervert, even a paedo, which was weird. They were essentially entirely innocuous – especially by 2017 standards.)
And James Booth’s later Larkin bio is great: forensic and really readable.
I’m going to say here and now that I found the Lewisohn Beatles book a giant, giant yawn. I have a passing interest in the context of Where Is Most Overrated Cultural Phenomenon Band, and I like some of their stuff, so why wouldn’t I read it? This book got the full meisterwerk reception, after all: you could hear the Neil McCormickish jizz-groans 100 miles off.
Anyway, I packed it in 2/3 of the way through. A huge fanboy wank that slightly made me feel sorry for the biographer for being such a hero-worshipper, and slightly dirty as if I’d seen something unseemly. Strangely childlike, monomaniacal. So dull. Like being cornered in the pub by a raging bore, and reminded me that fan is short for “fanatic” – one who “can’t change his mind and won’t change the subject”.
I loved it! I thought it managed a bit of what Caro does so well and weaved in a compelling social history. I was enthralled and came away with an unanticipated respect for Ringo Starr, whose story would have made a good book, even if he had never become a Beatle.
Can’t wait for the next volume (2020 apparently).
Dull world if we were all the same.
Now what I’d really like is a biography of Stephen Merritt.
My standard answer to this one are the Deke Leonard autobiographies – brilliantly written, really funny and a superb insight into the life of a mid ranking rock musician from youth bands through to being on the road in the 70s and beyond.
Beat me to it, Twang.
The first two, “Rhinos, Winos & Lunatics” and it’s prequel “Maybe I Should’ve Stayed In Bed?” are especially good. “Maximum Darkness” is not quite on the same high plateau, but it’s still pretty good.
I enjoyed Jah Wobble’s “Memories Of A Geezer” and Lydon’s “Anger Is An Energy” but wouldn’t quite rate them as great reads.
“The Sensational Alex Harvey” by John Neil Munro is a good read.
“High Times Hard Times” by Anita O’Day with George Eells is a good read about the jazz life and it’s pitfalls.
Simon Spillett’s biography of Tubby Hayes, “The Long Shadow Of The Little Giant” is good but perhaps a trifle overlong.
Piers Paul Read’s biography of Alec Guinness is an interesting read.
Julian Cope’s double autobiography “Head On/Repossessed” is a very entertaining read. Very rare to read an autobiog. where the subject seemingly knows he’s a bit of a prat and revels in it.
I’ve yet to read a properly satisfying Frank Zappa biography. There are several and all have interesting bits, some more than others, but none ever succeed in penetrating below the surface.
Keith Richards’ “Life” becomes a bit of a bore once he enters his junkie years. Could have done with some very stern editing.
Joe Boyd’s “White Bicycles” is good.
Not actually biography/autobiography, more a simply stunning set of fictionalised incidents in the lives of some jazz greats, is Geoff Dyer’s “But Beautiful”. Everyone who likes music should read this book. It’ll warm your cockles.
Re: Geoff Dyer’s “But Beautiful”.
Seconded. Great book.
Surprised to see no mention of Julian Cope’s marvellous volumes of autobiography, Head-on and Repossessed. Available as a twofer, I think.
They are a funny and acerbic account of the Teardrops and early solo years. No holds are barred but – always a sign of class I think – he is harder on no-one but himself.
Look out for a thinly disguised Courtney Love.
Was about to mention this. Absolutely superb.
They are brilliant and should have been mentioned in my post as too Bringing it all back home by Ian Clayton which is absolutely superb writing by a great human being.
I recently finished George MaDonald Fraser’s “All Quiet…”. One man’s view of the Burma War. Utterly brilliant and honest.
Just started Compton Mackenzie’s Gallipoli Diaries. He sounds like a prize wanker, but it’s very well written.
Mike Collins (Apollo astronaut) autobiography is the most readable and authentic of the many excellent books out there.
Simon Halliday’s City Centre is a very good look at sport and the City. Similarly Brian Moore’s Pitbull is worth the cash.
I have others, and as they spring to mind I’ll add them.
Music ones I like: Julian Cope (mentioned above), The Beatles : An Illustrated Record (Carr/Tyler), True Adventures of the Rolling Stones (Stanley Booth), Love Me Do: The Beatles Progress (Peter Braun), also loved Born to Run (Dave Marsh), but detested subsequent volumes which took hagiography to a new depth.
Lost in Music: Giles Smith is a hilarious smasher of a book
I was going to say that. You beat me to it. Not a lot of people know he also wrote Rod Stewart’s recent autobiography and Tom Jones’ one too. You can detect Giles in the Tom one, but not so much in Rod’s.
Would you have any relationship to The Cleaners From Venus perchance?
I’ve been running Mr Newell’s website since 1999.
Bloomin’ ‘eck, there’s enough books recommended above to keep you going for many a week or two @stevet
Nevertheless, I’d like to add a few which give some insight about what it’s like to be a working musician, on the road:
It’s Lovely to be Here by James Yorkston
I Chose This by David Ford
The Big Wheel by Bruce Thomas
A Dysfunctional Success by Eric Goulden
Dancing in the Darkness by Frankie Poullain
Some of My Best Friends Are Blues by Ronnie Scott
My Bass and Other Animals by Guy Pratt
Things That Grandchildren Should Know by Mark Everett
Getting There by TV Smith
Diary of a Rock n Roll Star by Ian Hunter
Bicycle Diaries by David Byrne
. . . and, not really to do with music . . .
Rat Scabies and the Holy Grail
Of course we all have different tastes but I enjoyed every one of them.
Didn’t really care for The Big Wheel but did really like his Rough Notes which is more about his life in music and a lot about the Attractions obviously.
Re-read Diary of a Rock n Roll Star by Ian Hunter last year and not as good as I remembered it first time round.
Another music recommendation would be Joe Jackson’s “A Cure For Gravity”. Very intelligently written and very funny in parts.
Yes, I bought the Joe Jackson book following a recommendation on this board a few years ago. It’s terrific, and ends just at the right moment – when he signs his first record contract.
It made me play all my old Joe Jackson albums again – always a good sign.
Thirded. The JJ book is excellent. Maybe he’ll do part two some time.
“Dino: Living High In The Dirty Business Of Dreams” by Nick Tosches is sensationally great. Everything you wanted to know about the greatest star that ever was, and people who surrounded him. He was a huge star across all the media that mattered, back when they really mattered. On stage, record, in movies, TV, and the radio. Nobody else came close to the success of his success, not even Frank, who idolised the man. “In the end, money was just there, like smoke in the lungs.” An Afterword Set Book, if ever was.
Sounds great. Ordered.
Doesn’t exactly fit the OP, but I recently read Bill Kreutzman of the Grateful Dead’s autobiog. It was like it was written by that Matt Berry character in Tommy Saxondale’s therapy group. In fact, if there’s ever an audio version, he’s your man to do it, in an American accent.
Definitely these amongst some others:
‘Autobiography Of A Yogi’ – Paramahansa Yogananda
‘Winston Churchill’ – Roy Jenkins (as recommended by some good folks here)
‘Memories, Dreams, Reflections’ – Carl Jung
‘Blake’ – Peter Ackroyd
Long out of print but still available second hand for mere pennies from a few online second hand dealers is ‘Dolgun’
Which is the account of a young American, Alexander Dolgun, wrongfully arrested by the MVD (soon to be the KGB) one night in 1948 in Moscow. What follows are the astonishing details of his, I think, 2 year detention and interrogations in the Lubyanka and a subsequent 11 years in the gulag.
Whilst in the Lubyanka for the first few months he was interrogated almost daily for 12 hours stretches at night then returned to his cell in the morning. Prisoners were forbidden to sleep, or even lie down, during daylight. A guard would monitor him through a peephole, looking in every minute. If he was seen dozing or nodding off, the guard would burst in and beat him awake. So, to avoid this he trained himself to sleep, upright, in 50 second bursts.
On his eventual transfer to the labour camp he fell fouls of Russian mafia-types and only survived initial threats of murder and starvation by his ability to narrate and play-act the plots to american movies as nightly entertainments for them.
All of that plus a whole lot more similar hair-raising stuff
Worth 50p of anyone’s money
I’ve read and enjoyed the following (auto)biographies about some of my favourite writers:
James Booth – Philip Larkin: Life, Art and Love
Donald Sturrock – Storyteller: The Life of Roald Dahl
Dominic Hibberd – Wilfred Owen: A New Biography
I recall you attended the Floyd exhibition, so you may enjoy the In The Pink book by Nick Sedgwick, reviewed on here by my good self.
Also, The Masked Rider by Neil Peart of Rush – don’t worry if you don’t care for the band as they barely get a mention – this is about a cycling trip in Africa! It’s sequel, Ghost Rider, about a motor cycle trip across America, trying to come to terms with the deaths of his wife and daughter, is also very readable, and again Rush don’t feature.
A slightly overlooked music autobiography: “One Train Later” by Andy Summers. Not only is he a very good writer, the story of his lengthy pre-Police career as a jobbing musician is well told and very insightful. The Police stuff is actually less interesting.
“Just Kids” by Patti Smith offers an insight into living an artistic life at the expense of everything else, as well as a portrait of a New York that no longer exists.
Willie Donaldson’s autobiography is astonishing for its honesty and decadence. In a quite bizarre life he produced “Beyond the Fringe”, had an affair with Carly Simon, wrote the Henry Root letters, became a crack addict and demolished his inherited wealth. The title is clumsy but says it all: “You cannot live as I have lived and not end up like this”.
For even more decadence you might wish to check out “Dandy in the Underworld” by Sebastian Horsley. A slightly ludicrous Soho character who dressed like a combination of Isambard Kingdom Brunel and a Diddyman and wanted to be a modern-day Oscar Wilde. After reading this or the Willie Donaldson book you may need a shower. Or a stiff drink.
Just Kids is unutterably superb.
Ben Watt’s biography of his parents, “Romany and Tom” is a wonderful story, told with great sensitivity and style.
His “Patient” book is excellent too.
Yes the Ben Watt’s book Romany and Tom is wonderful and sent me off to examine my relationship with my own parents. Tracy’s books Naked At The Albert Hall and Bedsit Disco Queen are also very good reads. Tracy and Ben come across as a lovely couple who remain unaffected to a degree of by the crappy music business.
Richard Feynman’s an interesting cove. Both his autobiographys and the biography by James Gleick are worth a look.
“Sure you’re Joking Mr Feynman” is more life story. Spoiler alert – Nobel prize for physics for working out the maths of plates spinning on a stick. Plus bongo drumming on the beach in Rio at Carnival and added Manhattan project.
“What do you care what people think” is more about the Challenger Shuttle disaster that he was part of the investigating panel for.
“Genius” by Gleick is also good.
Oh, yes. Genius is a wonderful book. I loved that.
A few that I have enjoyed (that I don’t think have been mentioned above):
Music
Tony Wilson – 24 Hour Party People
Luke Haines – Bad Vibes
Film/TV
Penn Jillette – God, No!
Kenneth Williams – Just Williams
Robert Evans – The Kid Stays In The Picture
Graham Lord – Niv (David Niven biography)
Sport
Paul Lake – I’m Not Really Here
Bill Burrows – The Hurricane (Alex Higgins)
Bobby Charlton – The Manchester United Years & The England Years
Leo McKinstry – Boycs (Geoffrey Boycott)
Barry Fry – Big Fry (reads like a crime novel in parts and has the best index ever!)
Eamon Dunphy – A Strange Kind Of Glory (Matt Busby – despite Dunphy being quite an odious character, this is possibly the best football book I have read)
Other
Matthew Parris – Chance Witness
Jim Henson, The Biography: Brian Jay Jones
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers: Roger Lewis. This is huge book but worth the effort.
Not quite a biography: John Connolly (best known for the Charlie Parker thrillers) has written a novel about the life of Stan Laurel called He. Still in my to be read pile but I went to see him speak about the book this week and I may nudge it to the top of the pile.
Mike Scott – Adventures of a Waterboy. I though t was a great read. I also enjoy Springsteens Born to Run is documented elsewhere on the blog and also excellent. Both give a real feeling of the author
I see there’s a “Remastered” version of Mike Scott’s book coming out this autumn…
“Mike Scott’s memoir ADVENTURES OF A WATERBOY will be republished by Jawbone Press on 4 November. It contains a new ending, bringing the book up to 2002 and covering Steve Wickham’s return to the band, plus 20 pages of additional episodes not included in the original edition. “Think of them as extra scenes on a Director’s cut DVD reissue” says Mike. The book also contains many new photos and has a splendid new cover.”
I’m typing this on a phone, so I’ll be brief. I may have missed a mention scrolling down, but I can’t leave without urging you to check out the two volumes of auto by Horatio Clare. Wonderful writing, marvellous story telling. Go on, look him up.
I liked Apathy for the Devil by Nick Kent.
But I really only posted so I would be able to track this thread for future reference. Is there an easier, and less intrusive, way of doing this?
You could save/bookmark the full path to this thread in your web browser. Copy or drag the full path as it appears in the search bar.
This one is https://theafterword.co.uk/favourite-biographiesautobiographies/comment-page-1/#comment-254379
I’ve done this for loads of music threads here, putting them all in one folder. The exact way of doing it depends on your OS and browser.
Slight correction. The ‘#comment-25437’ bit is your post on this thread, and you can delete that from the bookmarked path.
Save everything up to and including the last / in the path.
thanks GCU. I feel I did Nick Kent a disservice though, I really did enjoy it. Any man who can live with Chrissie Hynde deserves more than a passing mention.
Born to Run – Bruce Springsteen
Who On Earth is Tom Baker? – Tom Baker
All of Spike Milligan’s War books – laugh out loud funny, but also searingly truthful.
H is for Hawk by Helen MacDonald (a must read for anyone who has suffered loss. Utterly brilliant book)
Both volumes of Danny Baker’s autobiography (looking forward to part three)
Reasons To Be Cheerful: The Life and Work of Barney Bubbles by Paul Gorman (for the graphic design geeks amongst us)
Bearded Tit: Confessions of a Birdwatcher by Rory McGrath
Peter Guralnick’s Elvis biographies Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love
You Never Give Me Your Money: The Battle For The Soul of The Beatles by Pete Doggett
Pete Doggett’s book is a must.
Tom Baker’s book is wonderful (as is his company; I met him a couple of times when he was promoting it). I enjoyed H is for Hawk, but came away puzzled about why her father’s death had such an effect on her. There was no sense of why he was so important to her that his death led to something way beyond ordinary grief.
After seeing it recommended on Blogger Takeover some while back I bought and thoroughly enjoyed This Boy: a Memoir of a Childhood by Alan Johnson, former Home Secretary. His description of the poverty surrounding his upbringing is quite astonishing
Re: Alan Johnson’s childhood.
Yes, it seemed incredible that he was describing London only about five years before I was born.
The Rhythm Method by Nicky Forbes, the urstwhile Rocky Rhythm of The Revillos is an entertaining “on the road” read, while John Otways, Cor Baby Thats Really Me is an absolute hoot. The man is an genius and nutcase all rolled into one.
Tales of The Brothers Gibb is a huge tome, but genuinely unputdownable if you have an interest in the Bee Gees music. Made me return to the albums for reappraisal, even the mid `70s overlooked stuff.
marc almond -tainted life
luke haines – post everything
pauline black – black by design
james fearnley – here comes everybody
sting broken music
chrissie hynde – reckless
penny rimbaud – my revolting life
john cale – what’s welsh for zen
bob dylan – chronicles
@seekenee big fan of John Cale’s music. Didn’t know he had an autobiography. Will check it out.
Damn, I was hoping to mention this one first. Fabulous layout and pics, besides the text. My favorite pic in it is Cale with Patti Smith and Mick Ronson.
I’ve just finished John Cleese’s book; I seem to recall a lot of the reviews being quite sniffy about it, but I really enjoyed it. He comes across as someone with a genuine ability to see talent in other people, and he’s actually rather scathing about his own talents. This is probably one of the few autobiographies I’ve read where I admired the subject more having read it.
In contrast, the Harry Thompson biography of Peter Cook is a revelation, as even though he’s clearly a big fan of Cook, Thompson doesn’t hesitate to show what an utterly unpleasant person he could be.
It’ll be mentioned many times, but the Julian Cope books are brilliant – and I’m only a minor fan of his.
Frank Skinner’s first autobiography is very funny – especially the parts where he isn’t famous, which is unusual.
Both of David Niven’s autobiographies are wonderful.
Having read – and not particularly enjoyed – Rupert Everett’s first autobiography, I bought his second book, Vanished Years, based on a recommendation from a mate. It’s wonderful, and he’s a genuinely excellent writer.
A few graphic novels (graphic biographies?):
The Fifth Beatle: the Brian Epstein Story by Vivek Tiwary is a thing of beauty and sadness. I have little interest in the Beatles, but this is treasured for the way it captures the dark dreary winters of the late 50s/early 60s northern high-streets, the shop signs and street-lights.
I’ve just read John Derf Backderf’s My Friend Dahmer – soon to be a major motion picture. Derf’s hard edged, stylised black and white cartoon portrayal of small-town Wisconsin and his odd school-friend would appeal to fans of Twin Peaks, I think. Derf is also excellent on FB, should you be inclined.
I’m looking forward to starting Reinhard Kleist’s Nick Cave: Mercy on Me, this week-end. Paul Pope-esque inky expressionist abounds. Cave says in the blurb that it comes ‘closer to the truth than any biography’ he also denies he killed Elisa Day. We shall she.
Clive James – Unreliable Memoirs
I also enjoyed Mark Radcliffe’s Reelin’ in the Years, though it’s a collection of anecdotes more than an autobiography.