Elton John leads us through the highs and lows of his remarkable career with alarming honesty.
Fans of classic rock have been truly blessed over the last few years with many influential rock musicians writing their memoirs. Perhaps it is the fear of running out of time that has caused this or just a need to set the record straight. Bruce Dickinson’s What Does This Button Do?, Steve Lukather’s The Gospel According To Luke and Bruce Springsteen’s must-hear Born To Run are examples of memoirs that present fascinating insights into the world of rock’n’roll through the eyes of those that made it. One regrets that David Bowie never got around to penning his own as that would, undoubtedly, have been a true monument to a life well lived.
Elton John has gamely stepped up to the plate and delivered a solid gold hit with this unflinching memoir of his life, timed to coincide with his last big world tour and the Rocketman movie. When announcing this memoir, John stated that he wanted to put an end to all the unauthorised biographies that had been written about him by people who never met him. It is unlikely this memoir will put a stop to those but now people can have the benefit of hearing the story from the man himself.
Spanning his entire life, from his troubled childhood, through his meteoric rise to fame in the 70s, his drug-fuelled excesses of the 80s and his journey through rehab, marriage, children and beyond, this is a captivating story told with alarming honesty. Elton is never shy to admit his own shortcomings and his fault at his own bad behaviour. In fact, rarely does John “pass the buck” to other people.
John comments on his albums and is also not afraid to call out his bad albums as well as praise his good ones (and with over 30 studio albums to his credit, there is bound to be a fair sharing of both). He speaks about the wonderful musicians and songwriters he has worked with for nearly 50 years and the many celebrities he encountered. He talks about meeting a bloated and drugged up Elvis shortly before he died, his friendship with Freddie Mercury, his ongoing rivalry with Rod Stewart, his collaborations with people like Ray Charles and Leon Russell, and a dinner party involving Michael Jackson that makes you shake your head. Also memorable is another dinner party involving Sylvester Stallone nearly coming to blows with Richard Gere over Princess Diana.
Elton tells many stories of his drug-fuelled binges which should serve as a warning to anyone wanting to indulge in cocaine. The top two are the infamous call to a hotel room where he demanded they turn the wind down outside, and a room trashing that would rival Led Zeppelin in their heyday.
Whilst most autobiographies utilise the voice of the writer, John himself only briefly narrates the start and end of his memoir in this audiobook. The rest of the time it is actor Taron Egerton who channels Elton as effectively as he did in Rocketman. He does numerous impressions of everyone from Elton’s domineering mother to famous celebrities and even the Queen. The 12 hour runtime of this memoir seems barely enough and Egerton is an absolute star throughout.
Even if you are not the biggest fan of Elton John you will find much to enjoy with this wonderful audiobook. The tales of a life of excess and ultimately redemption and happiness is engaging and mesmerising, helped in no short part by the wonderful narration of Egerton. Fans of the rocketman will be delighted to hear these stories in his own words and almost guarantees a repeat listen. I think it is going to be a long, long time until another memoir hits the mark quite like this one.
Reviewed by Rodney Hrvatin
Twitter: @Wagnerfan74
Distributed by: Audible Australia
Released: October 2019
RRP: $21.26 or available through monthly Audible subscription
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