Product Description

Roger McGough is one of Britain's best-loved poets, and something of a national institution. His name is ubiquitous with matter-of-fact Scouse humor, easy-going charm, and perfect observations of the idiosyncrasies of everyday life, whether you know him from his poetry, or from his regular broadcasts on television or radio. Roger first rose to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the pop group The Scaffold, who had two number one hits - "Thank U Very Much" and "Lily The Pink". He began his poetry career performing with The Grimms, alongside fellow Liverpool poets Adrian Henri and Brian Patten, with whom he went on to publish "The Mersey Sound", which remains the biggest-selling British poetry book ever. This is his autobiography - and like the best of his poetry it is packed full of hilarious observations, unbelievable stories, nostalgic reminiscences and bittersweet tales of love, life and loss. From his memories of growing up in Liverpool, playing in bombed out houses as a young boy, to the skiffle-crazed days of his adolescence, through to his time at university - and his meetings there with Larkin, he explores his sudden, almost overnight fame and success with Mike McCartney et all in The Scaffold, as well as his time working with George Martin, and co-writing the "Yellow Submarine" film script for the Beatles, through his international touring days, to the present. He certainly has many a story to tell about meeting some fascinating characters: Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Marlon Brando, Alan Ginsberg, Pete McCarthy and Salman Rushdie all appear amongst others, but it's his sheer story-telling nous, and his gift for observing the minutia of everyday life, and to completely capture a moment in time which sets this apart from other books. His life story is one that will be universally identifiable to those who grew up with him - who embraced the verve and irreverence of the sixties, only to end up as slightly embittered romantic cynics. This is done here in the most funny, poignant, bittersweet, and melancholic autobiography you will read this year - a man whose hugely popular take on it all resonates with honesty and humour.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105628 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 368 pages

Roger McGough
'The extraordinary life story of the 'the patron saint of poetry''

From the Publisher
The extraordinary life story of the 'the patron saint of poetry', Roger McGough

From the Back Cover
Roger McGough is one of Britain’s best-loved poets, whose humour, distinctive voice, and sharp eye for the idiosyncrasies of everyday life, have made him a household name both as a poet and a broadcaster.

1967 saw not only the publication of The Mersey Sound with Adrian Henri and Brian Patten, which became the biggest selling British book of poetry ever, but also the release of Thank U Very Much, the first hit song for The Scaffold, followed a year later by the group’s world-wide number one hit Lily the Pink.

This is his autobiography – and like the best of his poetry it is packed with humour, surreal observations, nostalgic reminiscences and bittersweet tales of love, life and loss. He tells of growing up in Liverpool during the blitz, through the skiffle-crazy days of his adolescence, to his time at university – and his encounters with Larkin.

He explores the ups and downs of being thrust into the limelight with The Scaffold; adrift in Soho writing dialogue for the Beatles film, Yellow Submarine and travelling widely, running into characters such as Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Alan Ginsberg, and Salman Rushdie.

Customer Reviews

A brilliant book that kept me gripped from start to finish
Roger McGough is not particularly well-known by people who are not interested in poetry, or were not alive when the 1960s boom of mersey-sound took the world by storm. Roger McGough was a major cultural influence in shaping this with the scaffold and in his poetry. This book acts as a great historical document towards growing up in post-war Liverpool (well, Crosby anyway) and how his upbringing shaped his poems.

I am far too young to remember any of this, but Mr McGough engages with the reader and writes in a way, that typically for a poet is fascinatingly visceral. For that reason, I was hooked and can now appreciate his poetry in a new light. The anicdotes of growing up and going to a restrictive catholic grammar school, show that writing was one of the few ways that Mr McGough could express himself unrestrictively.

Fans will appreciate all the banter and his creative partnership with Mike McCartney but for those of us who read autobiographies to hear a good story, few are told quite a eloquently as this.