Sir Elton: The Definitive Biography [Paperback]

Philip Norman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 27, 2001

He was born Reginald Kenneth White in 1947, and he began his career in his teens pounding the piano in a pub. The world, though, would know him as Elton John, the name that for the past three decades has epitomized rock-music superstardom. From blockbuster albums like Friends and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road in the 1970s to award-winning scores in the nineties for the film and Broadway show The Lion King and the current stage hit Aida, Elton John has never failed to dazzle his audiences—and never more so than at the funeral of his close friend Diana, Princess of Wales, when he moved an entire nation with his poignant and powerful performance of “Candle in the Wind 1997” (“Goodbye England’s Rose”). Epically conceived and masterfully told, Philip Norman’s biography of the inimitable, legendary Elton John searches out the man behind the performer in glittering costumes and sky-high boots. Norman explores the draining addictions, the failed marriage, attempted suicides, a multimillionaire’s supposed money troubles. He examines Elton’s compulsions and coming out; he illuminates the creative drive that continues prodigiously and brilliantly to produce new music. What emerges is a frank, sympathetic portrait so truthful that Elton himself has said, “He’s got me spot on.”

Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Carroll & Graf (February 27, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786708204
• ISBN-13: 978-0786708208
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,558,399 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Only for the casual fan, REAL fans will find this tedious., January 24, 2001

By 

Wayne Martin "Wayne Martin Puppets" (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sir Elton: The Definitive Biography (Paperback)

W Martin ([e-mail]) from United States , January 24, 2001 Only for the casual fan, REAL fans will find this tedious. For the casual fan, there is no better book on the life and career of Sir Elton John than this. However, for any serious fan this "updated" re-issue is a waste. Mr. Norman never did appear to have his heart in writing the original and ten years later all he has managed to add is about a half dozen pages of quotes from Elton's stepmother Edna Dwight, who he secured an interview, following the death of Elton's father Stanley. Mrs. Dwights reflections, including a picture and some letters between father and son, are very interesting. They shed a very different light on her late husband's relationship with Elton, from the version Elton has given through the years. But that's it.

Mr. Norman has come up with NOTHING on Elton's breakup with longtime manager John Reid. He merely includes what has been reported in the tabloid press. (Mr. Norman's idea of research?) While this story is still evolving, as any industry insider will tell you, it's dynamite. A book in and of itself. An author with the ego of Philip Norman's should be ashamed for releasing an updated version without including the REAL story regarding Mr. Reid. But then again, this is the same author who released the book in it's original form without including any information on Elton's multiple addictions that nearly cost him his life. Everyone in the business was fully aware of the situation at the time, yet Mr. Norman's reaction was one of total shock, learning of the condition when Elton went public after the books initial release.

The book in it's first printing, while giving a good overview of Elton's life and career was riddled with errors, including misquotes, wrong dates and fabrications. (In particular, events pertaining to Elton's career in the U.S.) These errors were made known at the time, to both author and publisher. As far as I can tell, NONE have been corrected.

As for Elton's quote "He's got me spot on", that the publisher is so fond of including in ads, well, Elton did say this. However, Elton was referring to what Mr. Norman descrbes as "Elton's little moments", not the book as a whole. At the time he invited Philip Norman to his London residence for tea, Elton had not yet read the entire book. He said at the time that he was only half through it. Elton is also on record as being very angry that Mr. Norman took what was intended to be a private discussion and included the transcript as an additional chapter in the paperback editions that followed. Ironically, it's the only accurate chapter Mr. Norman's tome has.

This is all truly disappointing. At 581 pages and as the title itself promises, this should have been "The Definitive" Sir Elton John bio. Unfortunately, it is not.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still the "Definitive" Biography, March 29, 2003

By 

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sir Elton: The Definitive Biography (Paperback)

I sympathize with those who find the pace of this one troubling. I bought the first edition when it came out twelve years ago; I was only ten years-old but read it with eyes wide-open. I was excited to hear Norman was coming out with a new version including everything that the first edition and second edition originally offered--but with supplemental info that captured the story of his 1990s renaissance. I was, however, disappointed in the following:

A) only one or two additional chapters had been added to cover this significant time of John's career

B) the discography (by leading archivist Mark Lewisohn) had been updated, but nowhere near as comprehensive (the new one is SHORTER)

C) what had once been three extensive sections of color and b&w photos had been compromised into only two

... so, be advised of these differences that make this new version a disappointing replacement for Norman's original.

BUT, make no mistake. I have given 4 stars based on the merits of Norman's extensive research and outstanding writing as a biographer. He paints a fair and honest picture of a superstar based on first hand testimony from John's closest friends, relatives and bandmates. This is, and always will be, the 'definitve' portrait in words.

This book was not "authorized", by the way. However, of the original, Elton John himself was quoted at the time as saying "He's got me spot on" (this quote is printed, of course, on the back of the book). I think that says enough. Enjoy the book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Everything about Elton but......... music, December 27, 2007

By 

R. M. Cox - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sir Elton: The Definitive Biography (Paperback)

After having read the entire 500+/- page book I have to appreciate that Mr. Norman is a serious fan of Elton. The book is well researched. If you want to know what color outfit he wore at a particular gig you're probably in luck. If you want to know about Elton and his songwriting/music this is probably not the book for you. So many of Elton classic albums are just brushed off or hardly mentioned. Really. If you're lucky you may get a tracklisting; other albums not even that. While the private lives of musicians can be interesting to a point please don't forget what made them famous in the first place. There is little to no mention of the recordings of several albums (what was the mood, who was there, what inspired the song).