Me, Elton John

Me, Elton John

• Author : Elton John

• Publisher : Macmillan Audio

• Released : 15 October 2019

• Page count : 12 h 28 m

• Format : Audiobook

• Genre : memoir

• Content warnings : homophobia, swearing, drug and alcohol, sex mention

• Source : Everand

• Representation : LGBTQIA+

• Part of a Series : No

★★★★☆ — I really liked this book

Quote from the book:

“I couldn’t strut around like Mick Jagger, or smash my instrument up like Jimi Hendrix or Pete Townshend: bitter subsequent experience has taught me that if you get carried away and try and smash up a piano by pushing it offstage, you end up looking less like a lawless rock god and more like a furniture removal man having a bad day.”

Pros: Fun and heartbreaking like every memoir from a pop/rock star from the 70/80’s could be.

Cons: read trigger warnings

Summary :

In his first and only official autobiography, music icon Elton John reveals the truth about his extraordinary life, which is also the subject of the upcoming film Rocketman. The result is Me - the joyously funny, honest and moving story of the most enduringly successful singer/songwriter of all time.

Christened Reginald Dwight, he was a shy boy with Buddy Holly glasses who grew up in the London suburb of Pinner and dreamed of becoming a pop star. By the age of twenty-three, he was on his first tour of America, facing an astonished audience in his tight silver hotpants, bare legs and a T-shirt with ROCK AND ROLL emblazoned across it in sequins. Elton John had arrived and the music world would never be the same again.

His life has been full of drama, from the early rejection of his work with song-writing partner Bernie Taupin to spinning out of control as a chart-topping superstar; from half-heartedly trying to drown himself in his LA swimming pool to disco-dancing with the Queen; from friendships with John Lennon, Freddie Mercury and George Michael to setting up his AIDS Foundation. All the while, Elton was hiding a drug addiction that would grip him for over a decade.

In Me Elton also writes powerfully about getting clean and changing his life, about finding love with David Furnish and becoming a father. In a voice that is warm, humble and open, this is Elton on his music and his relationships, his passions and his mistakes. This is a story that will stay with you, by a living legend.

My Thoughts on this Book :

I had so much with Elton and Taron. I like the fact that Elton opened and closed the audiobook by reading the first and last chapter and Taron (actor playing Elton John in the movie) the rest of the book. The rhythm is great, it's entertaining like only pop/rock stars from the 50’s to the 80’s always is. You move from laughing out loud when Elton recalled his most fun moments, to feeling heartbreaking by the stories of those monstrous artists who marked our pop culture and music history by their talent while they were destroying themselves, badly impacted by AIDS, addiction, shady and toxic people around them and all that the darker side of the music and entertainment industry, especially in the 70's and 80's. I especially loved the fact that it is raw and not censured. Elton didn't try to paint a better image of himself and the era during which his career exploded, but really offer an honest, transparent and not filtered recalling of those events and stories. It's full of glamour, sparkles and laughs but also full of difficult moments, regrets, remorse and descent to hell sometimes. I really recommend the audiobook.

Links :

• Author Website

• My Storygraph Review