New Wyatt Biography

[strawberrybrick]

Seems this one is "authorized" (but not the first!). Can't wait!

"This is the first and definitive biography of Robert Wyatt, Britain's greatest cult musician. Robert Wyatt started out as the drummer and singer for Soft Machine, who shared a residency at Middle Earth with the Pink Floyd and toured America with Jimi Hendrix. He brought a Bohemian and jazz outlook to the 1960s rock scene, having honed his drumming skills in a shed at the end of Robert Graves' garden in Mallorca. His life took an abrupt turn after he fell from a fourth floor window at a party and was paralysed from the waist down. He reinvented himself as a singer and composer with the extraordinary album Rock Bottom that has brought him a loyal following not just in Britain but in France, Italy and Germany. Today, Wyatt remains perennially hip, guesting with artists such as Bjork, Brian Eno, Scritti Politti, David Gilmour and Hot Chip. Marcus O'Dair has talked to all of them - indeed to just about everyone who has shaped, or been shaped by, Wyatt over five decades of music history."


http://www.amazon.com/Different-Ever...dp/1846687594/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/1846687594/

[Scrotum Scissor]

Although I find Michael King's Wrong Movements rather indispensable, I've longed for a "proper" take on the biography genre in regard to Wyatt. There seems to be so many unanswered questions, most of which probably won't or can't be checked in the first place but which it nevertheless would be refreshing to see presented. Wyatt remains an enigma, one that we'll probably never fully "get" the very consistancies of, still somehow I could never stop loving (or at least be enticed by) just about everything musical he ever laid his hands or voice upon.

[Lino]

Excellent!!!

[flytomars]

Whats the story with this one?
Did anyone get a copy?
Its postponed by more than a year, last official date was somewhere in April,
Anyone knows when it will be available? if at all?

Edit: now I see in Amazon.uk that its postponed to October 30... Oh well.

[calyx]

I was asked to proofread an advanced manuscript of it last year, and it's a very good book. Half of it is about his group days, the other half about his solo career. Obviously very different eras - the first is more in a "storytelling" vein, as told by the various protagonists, the second is a more thorough analysis of the music itself, since interaction with others largely disappears. He did get to talk to a lot of people - and for a few who are no longer with us (Kevin Ayers, Mark Boyle, Mike Zwerin, Simon Watson Taylor), I was able to contribute a few additional quotes of my own which I believe he used.

[jkelman]

I know Marcus, and he's been working on this for something like 5-6 years. Last I heard, the when for publication is still up in the air, but it'll get done. He's still young

I've no doubt it will be as good a job as is possible; Marcus has been very thorough in his research, afaik.

[Phlakaton]

Out of print and not available through amazon. Poops! Gotta track it down elsewhere.

[calyx]

Out of print and not available through amazon. Poops! Gotta track it down elsewhere.

It hasn't been published yet, ever !

[calyx]

Coincidentally I was sent another version to proofread today. So it's getting really close to being finished ! A few really nice pictures I'd never seen, including a colour shot from the Drury Lane 1974 concert with both Mike Oldfield and Fred Frith. Really nice layout and a true labour of love (and talent).

[flytomars]

I have it pre-ordered for more than a year now, so suffice it to say I am eagerly anticipating it
Any clue on when it will be available?

[calyx]

Any clue on when it will be available?

Amazon UK says October 30. I'll ask Marcus to confirm.

[rcarlberg]

Excited.

[Conti]

Coincidentally I was sent another version to proofread today. So it's getting really close to being finished ! A few really nice pictures I'd never seen, including a colour shot from the Drury Lane 1974 concert with both Mike Oldfield and Fred Frith. Really nice layout and a true labour of love (and talent).

Great news! This is autobuy for me!