Scattershot: Life, Music, Elton and Me
£8.30£23.80 (-65%)
‘This is the most glorious of books. I am besotted by the life I never knew he had.’ -Elton John
‘Every page of Scattershot is a delight, a joy, a name-dropper fan’s delight. Divine. I couldn’t put it down.’ -Pete Townshend
‘In Bernie Taupin’s miraculous memoir Scattershot you’ll meet legends, cowboys, geniuses, unforgettable faces in the night, shady purveyors of outrageous fortune, warriors of the heart, and most of all, Taupin himself. Hilarious and so emotionally true, Scattershot is like a letter from a cherished friend. You’ll want to keep it close, so you can read it again and again.’ -Cameron Crowe
‘Touching. Charming. Humble. Witty. And exquisitely written. Taupin’s words need no musical accompaniment. They sing with a poets voice.’ -Gary Oldman
‘Eloquent and inspiring, Scattershot is a freewheeling memoir that is as warm and evocative as Bernie Taupin’s most memorable lyrics. A born storyteller, Taupin gives us the life of an artist whose outlook was shaped by a rare but fascinating blend of lifelong innocence and endless intellectual curiosity.’ -Robert Hilburn, author of Johnny Cash: The Life
‘Scattershot takes a non-linear approach and is all the better for it. It’s funny too (one cokey chapter is titled Days Of Wine And Noses), and encounters with Salvador Dali and Princess Margaret colour the zippy narrative. There’s a sense Taupin can’t quite believe it all happened…’ -MOJO
‘An entertaining ride that doesn’t spare the horses’ -RTE Guide
‘Sharply written’ -The Independent
“I loved writing, I loved chronicling life and every moment I was cogent, sober, or blitzed, I was forever feeding off my surroundings, making copious notes as ammunition for future compositions. . . . The thing is good, bad or indifferent I never stopped writing, it was as addictive as any drug.”
This is the memoir music fans have been waiting for. Half of one of the greatest creative partnerships in popular music, Bernie Taupin is the man who wrote the lyrics for Elton John, who conceived the ideas that spawned countless hits, and sold millions and millions of records. Together, they were a duo, a unit, an immovable object. Their extraordinary, half-century-and-counting creative relationship has been chronicled in biopics (like 2019’s Rocketman) and even John’s own autobiography, Me. But Taupin, a famously private person, has kept his own account of their adventures close to his chest, until now.
Written with honesty and candour, Scatterhot allows the reader to witness events unfolding from Taupin’s singular perspective, sometimes front and center, sometimes from the edge, yet always described vibrantly, with an infectious energy that only a vivid songwriter’s prose could offer. From his childhood in the East Midlands of England whose imagination was sparked and forever informed by the distinctly American mythopoetics of country music and cowboys, to the glittering, star-studded fishbowl of ’70s and ’80s Beverly Hills, Scattershot is simultaneously a Tom Jones-like picaresque journey across a landscape of unforgettable characters, as well as a striking, first-hand account of a creative era like no other and one man’s experience at the core of it.
An exciting, multi-decade whirlwind, Scattershot whizzes around the world as we ride shotgun with Bernie on his extraordinary life. We visit New York with him and Elton on the cusp of global fame. We spend time with him in Australia almost in residency at an infamous rock ‘n’ roll hotel in an endless blizzard of drugs. And we spend late, late night hours with John Lennon, with Bob Marley, and hanging with Frank Sinatra. And beyond the world of popular music, we witness memorable encounters with writers like Graham Greene, painters like Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali, and scores of notable misfits, miscreants, eccentrics, and geniuses, known and unknown. Even if they’re not famous in their own right, they are stars on the page, and we discover how they inspired the indelible lyrics to songs such as “Tiny Dancer,” “Candle in the Wind,” “Bennie and The Jets,” and so many more.
Unique and utterly compelling, Scattershot will transport the reader across the decades and around the globe, along the way meeting some of the greatest creative minds of the 20th century, and into the vivid imaginings of one of music’s most legendary lyricists.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Monoray, 1st edition (12 Sept. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Hardcover | 320 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1800960751 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1800960756 |
| Dimensions | 15 x 3.8 x 23.4 cm |
by Katherine Brenda Game
Facinating and enlightening!
by Duncan McArthur
One of the best autobiographies I’ve ever read, Bernie’s fluid writing style was a pleasure to read once you got used to the American spellings. I loved his self deprecating nature and humbleness which came across as a person at ease with himself and life in general – the perfect foil for Elton. His references throughout the book to his parents are heart heart warming and a huge influence on him which are lovely to read about.
In my opinion, the best three albums Bernie and Elton wrote were Don’t Shoot Me, Yellow Brick Road and Captain Fantastic and were not really talked about much which was disappointing, but really I’m nit picking. Some criticisms have been said about Bernie’s advanced vocabulary, but as a lyricist one should expect this and it didn’t spoil my reading of the book.
by Amazon Customer
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is charmingly written and totally without ego. I’m afraid I had to deduct a star because I became increasingly irritated by the evident lack of a competent proof-reader. I feel that such an oversight shows a lack of care and is insulting to the reader. Brassieres instead of brasseries, ingenious instead of ingenuous, and multiple other completely unneccesary errors.
by MR NIGEL SCOTT
Enjoyed reading it but wasn’t one that I didn’t want to put down after a while
by Alex Green
Loved Scattershot. Fascinating to read about the life journey of Bernie T and the stories that inspired some of the best songs by one of the greatest song writing partnerships of all time.
by James Hayes
Great guy and a brilliant read
by Amazon Customer
Loved the eloquence, the memories of Lincolnshire, the author’s joy at finding enduring love in the end with his family and his frequent re-connections with Elton
by PGR Gallagher
Mostly I enjoyed this book, but for me it was frustrating to find little or no insight into the songs. Direct discussion of the lyrics, if collected, would probably cover 3 pages. There are some nice rock and roll anecdotes, and confirmation that the man is obsessed with cowboys to the extent of becoming one. The last sections on horses, ranches, modern art and Jesus I mostly skimmed. Bernie deserves credit for writing this himself – it is clearly not ghosted. Unfortunately it looks like he edited it himself – there are several real clangers like “the purpose for this alludes me”. As a songwriter who never made a buck I derived no small measure of schadenfreude from reading some truly awful prose here: the songwriter’s addiction to the thesaurus, book of synonyms, wordbook, is evident throughout. And that’s not the worst of it: what really grates is the abundance of adjectives. Every noun is accompanied by one. Reading this companionable narrative is like cycling along while the awkward author hurls ambrosial custard pies at discombobulated you. Worth a read, but disappointing.