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Me / Elton John.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: London, England : Macmillan, 2019Description: 376 pages, 24 unnumbered pages of plates : portraits (some colour) ; 25 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781509853311
  • 1509853316
  • 9781250231055
  • 1250231051
Subject(s): Genre/Form: LOC classification:
  • ML156.7.J63 A3 2019
Summary: In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Elton John reveals the truth about his extraordinary life, which is also the subject of the smash-hit film Rocketman. The result is Me - the joyously funny, honest and moving story of the most enduringly successful singer/songwriter of all time. Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three, he was performing his first gig in America, facing an astonished audience in his bright yellow dungarees, a star-spangled T-shirt and boots with wings. Elton John had arrived and the music world would never be the same again. His life has been full of drama, from the early rejection of his work with songwriting partner Bernie Taupin to spinning out of control as a chart-topping superstar; from half-heartedly trying to drown himself in his LA swimming pool to disco-dancing with the Queen; from friendships with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury and George Michael to setting up his AIDS Foundation. All the while, Elton was hiding a drug addiction that would grip him for over a decade. In Me Elton also writes powerfully about getting clean and changing his life, about finding love with David Furnish and becoming a father. In a voice that is warm, humble and open, this is Elton on his music and his relationships, his passions and his mistakes.
Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Non-Fiction Gonville Library Non-Fiction Non-Fiction 782.421 JOH Available T00826352
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Elton John reveals the truth about his extraordinary life. Me is the joyously funny, honest and moving story of the most enduringly successful singer/songwriter of all time.

'The rock memoir of the decade' - Daily Mail

'The rock star's gloriously entertaining and candid memoir is a gift to the reader' - Sunday Times

______________

Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three, he was performing his first gig in America, facing an astonished audience in his bright yellow dungarees, a star-spangled T-shirt and boots with wings. Elton John had arrived and the music world would never be the same again.

His life has been full of drama, from the early rejection of his work with songwriting partner Bernie Taupin to spinning out of control as a chart-topping superstar; from half-heartedly trying to drown himself in his LA swimming pool to disco-dancing with the Queen; from friendships with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury and George Michael to setting up his AIDS Foundation. All the while, Elton was hiding a drug addiction that would grip him for over a decade.

In Me Elton also writes powerfully about getting clean and changing his life, about finding love with David Furnish and becoming a father. In a voice that is warm, humble and open, this is Elton on his music and his relationships, his passions and his mistakes. This is a story that will stay with you, by a living legend.

______________

'Self-deprecating, funny . . . You cannot help but enjoy his company throughout, temper tantrums and all' - The Times

'Racy, pacy and crammed with scurrilous anecdotes - what more could you ask from the rocket man' - Guardian (Book of the Week)

'Chatty, gossipy, amusing and at times brutally candid' - Telegraph

Includes bibliographical references and index.

In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Elton John reveals the truth about his extraordinary life, which is also the subject of the smash-hit film Rocketman. The result is Me - the joyously funny, honest and moving story of the most enduringly successful singer/songwriter of all time. Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three, he was performing his first gig in America, facing an astonished audience in his bright yellow dungarees, a star-spangled T-shirt and boots with wings. Elton John had arrived and the music world would never be the same again. His life has been full of drama, from the early rejection of his work with songwriting partner Bernie Taupin to spinning out of control as a chart-topping superstar; from half-heartedly trying to drown himself in his LA swimming pool to disco-dancing with the Queen; from friendships with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury and George Michael to setting up his AIDS Foundation. All the while, Elton was hiding a drug addiction that would grip him for over a decade. In Me Elton also writes powerfully about getting clean and changing his life, about finding love with David Furnish and becoming a father. In a voice that is warm, humble and open, this is Elton on his music and his relationships, his passions and his mistakes.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

John's deliciously candid autobiography is about as colorful and flamboyant as his remarkable costumes. Born Reginald Dwight in Middlesex, England, he escaped the rigors of harsh family life (he father was a stern Air Force lieutenant and his unhappy mother prone to violent rages) by immersing himself in music and obsessing over statistics on the record charts. Musically gifted at an early age, he could hear a song once and immediately play it on the piano. A natural songwriter, he teamed up with legendary Bernie Taupin after his manager showed him song lyrics penned by Taupin. This began a long-distance partnership in which Taupin mailed him lyrics and John set them to music. The book recounts his meteroric rise to fame and the ups and downs of his career, drug addiction, his late-blooming realization of his homosexuality, his great musical successes, his work with charities, and his love of football. Fans will devour the gossipy tidbits and laugh-out-loud anecdotes that appear on almost every page. The audiobook is narrated perfectly by actor Taron Egerton who portrayed John in the 2019 film Rocketman. VERDICT One of the year's best books and an essential listen for Elton John fans.--Phillip Oliver, formerly with Univ. of North Alabama, Florence

Publishers Weekly Review

The legendary pop star looks back cheerfully on a melodramatic life in this rollicking autobiography. John recounts his ascent from toiling pub pianist to becoming the biggest singer-songwriter of the 1970s with hits such as "Rocketman" and "Bennie and the Jets," to elder statesmanship as one of the first openly gay stars and Britain's griever-in-chief with his "Candle in the Wind" tribute at Princess Di's funeral. Beyond a vivid account of his flamboyant showmanship and outfits (think pink suit with Eiffel Tower headdress), he gives an unusually candid look at his insecurities--his unrelentingly critical mother haunts the book--and at the bubble of celebrity entitlement that enabled his rock-star excesses, including childish tantrums, controlling and callous behavior toward a string of boyfriends, and rampant drug use. (After ingesting much vodka and cocaine with Duran Duran, he "returned to the video set, demanded they begin running the cameras, took off all clothes and started rolling around on the floor naked.") John keeps his good humor throughout, treating even his suicide attempts as farces and poking fun at his own vanity. ("However much a hair transplant hurt, it was a mere pinprick compared to the sensation of hitting your head on a car door immediately after having a hair transplant.") John's fans will love this funny, down-to-earth, and openhearted self-portrait. Photos. (Oct.)

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