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Grow Up
Grow Up
Nov 18, 2024 6:44 PM

Author:Keith Allen

Grow Up

'He'll either win the Victoria Cross or go to prison,' said Keith Allen's headmaster, 1966.

Born a Navy baby, Keith Allen learnt young that when things get too settled you move on. That's the way he has lived his life ever since - always leaving a trail of destruction in his wake.

He might have been a professional footballer if his criminal behaviour hadn't got in the way. He spent time in prison, went on the run, drifted through squats and festivals, survived marriages, relationships and parenthood. He has loitered with intent in the worlds of comedy, music art, theatre and film, but never long enough to ever fully conform to expectations. He's become renowned for his extrovert and contentious behaviour, his radical opinions and his acting pedigree. But at 54-years-old ... has he finally grown up?

Revelatory and unapologetically honest, Grow Up takes you on a break-neck journey through the chaotic life of someone who's broken all the rules.

Reviews

This is one of the most extraordinary, funny and revealingly frank books I've read

—— Michael Parkinson

Hugely entertaining ... heartfelt and authentic ... You end up rather loving him

—— India Knight , Sunday Times

A cheerfully offensive mix of agitprop and luvvie, vaudeville and quest, insult, recidivism, heaps of drugs and more introspection than you would expect from someone so full-on

—— Guardian

Unmissable

—— Stephen Fry

The memoirs of Lily's dad, choc-a-block with appalling anecdotes

—— Sunday Times Culture, Summer Reads

A sensationally enjoyable piece of work

—— Duncan Fallowell , Daily Telegraph

He creates an unforgettable portrait

—— Joyce McMillan , Scotsman

Engrossing...entertaining and deeply affecting, a remembrance of a time when theatre in Britain actually mattered

—— Alan Taylor , Sunday Herald

Heilpern is sharp, gossipy and good fun, and he honours the best of Osborne without disguising the worst

—— Blake Morrison , Guardian

A rip-roaring account of early struggles, huge triumphs, fraught marriages, friends and lovers abused, money wasted and, finally, health and talent evaporated

—— Jane Edwardes , Time Out

Both revelatory and disturbing. It paints a portrait of an English writer who is as complex and tormented as Evelyn Waugh

—— William Boyd , Guardian

Fascinating...exhaustive perusal of the playwright's formative years

—— Beryl Bainbridge

Clapton bares his soul. Fascinating. It's an absorbing read, like you've been granted access to a mind finally coming to terms with itself.

—— The Sunday Tribune (Ireland)

Difficult to put down

—— Sunday Times

Clapton provides an orderly account of life in which all other considerations are secondary to the frequently selfish needs of The Artist'

—— Guardian

Gold-plated tales of sex, drink, drugs and fame and moments of musical incandescence.

—— Observer Music Monthly

A warm portrait

—— FT Magazine

A harrowing and searingly honest book about the unreal rock star life.

—— Daily Express

Clapton lays bare his life story in this witty but also painfully honest autobiography. Compelling and accomplished.

—— Sunday Express

A painfully honest insider's account of an age all too often portrayed as one long party

—— Daily Mail

A glorious rock history.

—— New York Post

This book does what many rock historians couldn't: It debunks the legend...puts a lie to the glamour of what it means to be a rock star.

—— Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune

Strong stuff. Clapton reveals its author's journey to self-acceptance and manhood. Anyone who cares about the man and his music will want to take the trip with him.

—— Anthony DcCurtis, Rolling Stone

Clapton is honest...even searing and often witty, with a hard-won survivor's humor...an honorable badge of a book.

—— Stephen King, New York Times Book Review

Riveting

—— Boston Herald

An even, unblinking sensibility defines the author's voice.

—— New York Times

An unsparing self-portrait.

—— USA Today

Both the youthful excesses and the current calm state are narrated with an engaging tone that nudges Clapton's story ahead of other rock'n'roll memoirs.

—— Publisher’s Weekly

Clapton is a confessional, an addiction memoir, and a glorious rock history rolled into one, with a smidgeon of guilt and, ultimately redemption thrown in for good measure.

—— New York Post

Clapton fills in many gray areas, recounting his highs and lows with a thoughtfulness often lacking rock memoirs.Methodically he whittles away at the larger-than-life rock god until a vulnerable, messed-up mortal emerges...Clapton is an absorbing tale of artistry, decadence and redemption.It's also an important reminder of the guitarist's imprint on rock music, as a sideman, solo artist and bandleader.Not bad for a blues snob from Surrey.

—— Los Angeles Times

Clapton: The Autobiography does what many rock historians couldn't: It debunks the legend, de-mythologizes one of the most mythologized electric guitarists ever, puts a lie to the glamour of what is means to be a rock star...It's a cautionary tale that spills over into tragedy several times as love, lives and talents are all wasted.

—— Chicago Tribune

Like the bluesmen who inspired him, Clapton has his share of scars...his compelling memoir is... a soulful performance.

—— People

Charming and surprisingly candid.

—— Entertainment Weekly

Absolutely brilliant

—— Daily Express
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