ELTON JOHN - Softcover

Norman, P

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0099685507 ISBN 13: 9780099685500

Publisher: Random House UK, 1992

Synopsis

A biography of the popular singer/songwriter discusses John's childhood dreams of soccer fame, the marriage he avoided in his youth and the one that failed in the 1980s, his bisexuality, and his musical success. 35,000 first printing. $35,000 ad/promo.

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews:

An unauthorized, captivating life of the pop star, by a British novelist (The Skater's Waltz, 1985) and biographer of the Beatles (Shout!--not reviewed) and the Rolling Stones (Symphony for the Devil, 1984). Born Reginald Kenneth Dwight in 1947 in the London suburb of Pinner, John was a child prodigy of the piano. But nothing about him satisfied his stern RAF-officer father--a failing for which John apparently has felt punished all his life. As his dad rose in rank, the man gave signs that his wife was beneath his station; John says that the couple stayed together much too long for their son's sake. The boy took lessons in classical music, but when his mother brought home an Elvis single, John was lost to pop ever after. Starting with a small group, he landed a minor slot with Beatles publisher Dick James and then met Bernie Taupin, the 17- year-old lyricist who (with one parting) ended up co-writing nearly all of John's songs for 25 years (``Goodbye Yellow Brick Road,'' ``Candle in the Wind,'' etc.). John's fame--which grew more quickly in the US than at home--peaked in 1976 when, disastrously, he told Rolling Stone that he was bisexual. For the next 15 years, the hits remained but the man became an outrageously flamboyant, depressed, pudgy zombie, staying home with his art, record, and car collections, and divorcing after a brief marriage. But today he's still Britain's top-grossing musical act--and, as Norman reveals, has joined A.A. in 1990 and went to a clinic for his bulimia and lifelong weight problems, a move resulting in part, according to the author, from a dramatic spiritual change wrought by time spent at the bedside of child AIDS-victim Ryan White. Slow start, but John's troubled odyssey grows on you and generates rich feelings for the man. (Forty b&w photographs--not seen.) -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Publishers Weekly:

In this painstakingly detailed and sensitive biography, Norman ( Shout! ) maintains that singer and musician Elton John is as unlikely a superstar as can be found in rock 'n' roll. Ne Reginald Dwight, John is a pudgy, bespectacled and balding bisexual in a discipline that thrives on physical appearance and macho image. Regardless, he--with his longtime lyricist Bernie Taupin--created some of the most popular and lasting songs of the late '60s and '70s. Ample time is spent on John's career and the frenetic tour atmosphere, but we also witness his individualism, generosity and concern through particulars of his friendship with adolescent AIDS patient Ryan White and subsequent involvement with AIDS education. He is portrayed as an avid soccer fan who is immensely proud to be life president of the Watford Football Club, and as a man who has tangled with the British news media on the subject of his open bisexuality and his marriage to Renate Blauel. Norman's thorough investigation of John's complex personality makes this a satisfying reading experience. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Random House UK
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0099685507
• ISBN 13: 9780099685500
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 528