Classic Pop - UK (2019-11)

BOOKS

TERRY O’NEILL

ELTON JOHN: THE DEFINITIVE PORTRAIT,

WITH UNSEEN IMAGES
CASSELL ILLUSTRATED

★★★★

BRETT ANDERSON

AFTERNOONS WITH THE

BLINDS DRAWN

LITTLE, BROWN

★★★★★

EDITED BY MARY GUIBERT

& DAVID BROWNE

JEFF BUCKLEY: HIS OWN VOICE

OCTOPUS BOOKS

★★★★

Undoubtedly one of the most

promising talents of his

generation, Jeff Buckley’s

untimely death in 1997 saw him

leave behind just one album, the

critically-aclaimed

masterpiece

Grace. Published

to mark the 25th

anniversary of

that debut LP, Jeff

Buckley: His Own

Voice is an

intimate portrait

of the singer-

songwriter

compiled by his

mother Mary

Guibert and

Rolling Stone writer

David Browne.

Probing deep into Buckley’s

life and psyche, His Own Voice

delivers exactly what it promises,

with reams of pages of Jeff’s

diaries and notebooks laying

bare his innermost thoughts,

aspirations and art, all made all

the more personal seeing them in

his own handwriting, complete

with crossings-out, spelling errors

and doodles.

Despite the fact

that the book

contains just a

single portrait of

Jeff – a misstep

considering how

many unseen

images must

exist (perhaps

material for

another book?)

• photographs of
  his possessions
  (including a suitcase, wallet,
  various guitars, his book
  collection, cassettes, old gig
  fl yers and a pair of his battered
  Doc Marten boots) provide an
  intimacy and inside knowledge
  of the man behind the music. ML

As one of the ultimate image-
makers of the 60s and 70s,
rivalled only by David Bailey,
Terry O’Neill’s talent and
reputation ensured that very few
stars escaped the lure of his lens.
Developing a
natural trust with
his superstar
subjects ensured
that he was hired
time and again
to photograph
them and, as a
result, build up
portfolios which
document the
journeys of the
stars in question,
such as his recent
sublime Bowie compendium.
Hot on the heels of that book,
O’Neill has produced another
winner, raiding his vaults for rare,
previously unseen images of
Elton spanning four decades but
focusing on his 70s heyday.

With unrivalled access,

O’Neill captures Elton in intimate

moments – in the studio, in his

dressing room, even in bed, as

well as professionally-shot

portraits. The highlights of the

book, though,

are the behind-

the-scenes photos

taken on the set

of The Who’s

Tommy and live

shots of Elton’s

legendary

Dodger Stadium

concerts in front

of 55,000 fans.

While those

performances

were recently

re-enacted for Dexter Fletcher’s

Rocketman blockbuster, no

amount of technical wizardry

could even hope to match the

electricity or authenticity that

is captured in O’Neill’s

photography. ML

A year on from Coal Black

Mornings – Brett Anderson’s

superb memoir of growing up

with stars in his eyes – comes the

second volume of his memoirs, in

which he achieves a level of

success which far

exceeded his

expectations, but

which also came at

a hefty price.

For fans

disappointed at the

cut-off point of the

previous book,

Afternoons With The

Blinds Drawn will

be a dream,

recounting in equal

parts glorious and

terrifying detail, the full

Suede story. It follows the

band from recording demos

in their bedrooms to outstripping

their goals, only to fi nd

themselves part of an industry

that he describes as “a glittering

parade of shallow facades and

bottomless egos”.

While it’s now commonplace

for any rock star memoir to be

fi lled with copious tales of

hedonism and debauchery, it is

refreshing to read

one which eschews

that in favour of the

reality. In this case,

Anderson writes

with regretful horror

of his drug

addiction’s drain

on his creativity,

fi nances, time

and emotions,

pondering the true

cost in terms of

relationships and

unfulfi lled potential with

brutal honesty.

Anderson is revealed as a

sensational memoirist, holding

back nothing and delivering

everything you would want from

an autobiography. ML

DEBBIE HARRY

FACE IT
HARPER COLLINS

★★★★★

Subject of countless unauthorised
biographies over the years,
Debbie Harry has long been
reticent about writing her life
story. But she’s fi nally put pen to
paper for this enthralling book.
Tracing her independent spirit
to her adoption at
birth, Debbie’s
book is a whirlwind
in which she
navigates through
an ever-changing
New York – from
the depths of
downtown to global
superstardom to
bankruptc y,
addiction,
near-death
experiences and
heartbreak, all with soulmate
Chris Stein by her side.
Regaling the reader with her
experiences with serial killers
and superstars, pop’s pioneering
sex symbol refl ects on an
industry in which her beauty was

as much a curse as a blessing,

seeing her underrated,

undermined and held back from

making career moves later

adopted and accredited to her

successors. As well as her private

affairs, Face It lifts the lid on

Debbie’s creative

endeavours, be it

Blondie, her solo

music or her

countless fi lm roles.

Teased as a

“prismatic portrait”,

Face It is lavishly

illustrated

throughout, with

portraits by her

friends Andy

Warhol, Robert

Mapplethorpe and

Richard Avedon, nestling beside

the countless fan drawings that

she’s collected over the years.

A fascinating life recounted

direct from her own Cupid’s bow

lips for the fi rst time, Face It is an

instant classic. ML