Including tales of John Lennon and Elton John
Tony King, Lord Bruce Dundas and Alexander Dundas celebrate the publication of Sir Elton’s autobiography ‘Me’ in conversation with David Walliams at the Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith on November 19, 2019.
In 2021, Faber bought the rights to a memoir by a certain Tony King in an unconventional deal. The publisher’s announcement helped explain the appeal of King himself and his future book, calling it “[c]faithless and creative muse to some of the world’s greatest artists, including Elton John, Freddie Mercury and John Lennon.
Now this book is out. The cover of The Tastemaker: My life with the legends and geniuses of rock music features many photos of its author side by side with musical captions. write in The Guardian Last month, Alexis Petridis dubbed King “a Zelig-like figure whose career in the music industry links the Beatles and the Rolling Stones to Elton John, Freddie Mercury and the zenith of late 1970s disco.” .
Obviously someone with this life must have stories to tell. Which begs the question: what stories does King tell in his new book?
Writing in Air Mail, Victoria Segal shared some impressions of King’s memoir. Segal writes that King “knows how to balance irreverent entertainment with respectful discretion” and “has little interest in spreading real filth”. And it sounds like a compelling read, from his first-hand accounts of some of music’s biggest names to what Segal describes as a heartbreaking look at the rise of AIDS.
Few people in the music industry have King’s stories. From all accounts, this appears to be a singular slice of musical history.
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