Me, by Elton John

Me, by Elton John
Narrated by Taron Egerton
Published by Macmillan Audio, 15^th October 2019
Genres: Nonfiction, autobiography, memoir
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased

Trigger warnings: substance abuse, suicide, depression, addiction, eating disorders

Synopsis

Nobody would have expected a shy young boy called Reginald Dwight from the London suburb of Pinner to become a famous rockstar. But he had a dream and, by the age of twenty-three, he was on his first tour in America, facing his first audience wearing silver hotpants and a “Rock and Roll” T-shirt. Elton John had arrived and the music world would never be the same.

Over the span of an extraordinary career, from early rejection to stratospheric success, his life was always full of drama. From friendships with John Lennon, George Michael and Giovanni Versace, to extravagant parties and ridiculous shopping sprees, and even disco dancing with the Queen. In this his only official autobiography, Elton John lays everything bare, including the drug addiction which threatened to end his career, and his life, and his journey to find happiness and fulfilment through marriage and fatherhood.

My thoughts

My favourite book of the month! I loved everything about this and I think my experience of this book was made even better because I listened to the audiobook. The production of the audiobook is brilliant, and Taron Egerton does an incredible job with the narration. As he played Elton John in the recent biopic Rocketman, he has such a feeling for the “character” that he is able to inject so much life into Elton John’s words. I also really loved the chapters at the beginning and end, read by Elton John himself.

You have to admire that he did not leave anything out or gloss over any of the rough patches, of which there are many. Elton John does not hold anything back and his no-holds-barred honesty is amazing. His sense of humour is also wonderful and I found myself laughing out loud so many times. Not ideal when on the bus with lots of strangers, or walking down the street… But who cares! I loved this book and I couldn’t contain it!

At the time, I found that I was also hearing his music everywhere. On the radio, in the shops, people humming or whistling it. And it just made the experience even better. I learned a lot about his music that I never knew, and it made me want to go and listen to lots of his songs. Which I did! And I just had to re-watch Rocketman as well after finishing the book!

If you are an Elton John fan, or if you simply want a great story and a good laugh, I cannot recommend this enough.

My rating: 5/5