Groovy Bob: The Life and Times of Robert Fraser [Hardcover]

Harriet Vyner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2001

Arrested for possession of drugs with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards in the infamous 1967 Redlands bust, Robert Fraser embodied many of the elements that made up Swinging London in the 1960s: pop music, fashion, drugs, art, and cinema. A trendsetter, hedonist, and lousy businessman, he was also the visionary art dealer responsible for introducing Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, and Jim Dine to the London art world. But by the time of his death in 1986 he had become an almost forgotten figure, his sixties vision out of tune with the conservatism of the eighties. In this biography, told through the voices of those who knew Fraser best -- Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Marianne Faithfull, Kenneth Anger, Dennis Hopper, and many others -- Harriet Vyner has resurrected an extraordinary cultural figure.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

During the height of Swinging London, the Robert Fraser Gallery was the place to be. The son of a successful British banker, Fraser represented some of the best artists of the 1960s, including Richard Hamilton, Jim Dine, and Andy Warhol. In approaching Fraser, Vyner uses a format reminiscent of a Ken Burns documentary, in which a story unfolds through snippets of conversational prose, letters, and photographs. Accounts are offered by Fraser's friends, family, and a star-studded cast that includes Kenneth Anger, Paul McCartney, Marianne Faithfull, Keith Richards, and Claes Oldenburg. Though these stories have the potential to paint a multidimensional portrait of this early casualty of AIDS, they ultimately fall short. They are frequently repetitive and largely superficial, never allowing the reader to get too close to Fraser's private life. What we do learn about "Groovy Bob" is that he did a lot of drugs, was difficult to work with, and had an eye for art. D'Arcy Curwen, Independent Artist, Philadelphia
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A fascinating slice of social history." --Lucretia Stewart, Los Angeles Times Book Review

"More than any other figure I can think of, Robert Fraser personifies the Sixties as I remember them." --Paul McCartney

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber (May 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571196276
• ISBN-13: 978-0571196272
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,556,592 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Who is Robert Fraser?, October 27, 2011

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This review is from: Groovy Bob: The Life and Times of Robert Fraser (Hardcover)

If you know anything about 1960's pop culture, you know that Robert Fraser was the main force behind the Beatles'"Sgt. Pepper" cover and that he was busted with othersat Keith Richards' house in 1967. He was a driving force behind Pop Art in England and the US. This book consists mainly of interviews with those who knew and loved (and often hated) him. He died early by AIDS. He was a trendsetter and is all but forgotten nowadays. The only problem with the book is that some background information on some of the interviewees would have been nice, but the interviews carry the book along. Among those interviewed are Jagger, Richards, McCarney, Faithfull, Peter Blake, etc. A good read for those interested in Swinging London.