Wild Thing

An engaging memorial to a rock revolutionary whose music, in contrast to many of his revered Sixties peers, retains much of its explosively thrilling voodoo power – Stephen Dalton * THE TIMES *Norman’s access to Hendrix’s younger brother Leon brings a greater clarity to the facts of their wretched upbringing. Hendrix was haunted throughout his life by his bullying, overbearing father Al, alcoholic mother Lucille, and their doomed, loveless union. Likewise, Norman puts Jim Crow America during the early 1960s into sharp focus through the prism of Hendrix’s slogging on the Chitlin’ Circuit, as back-up guitarist to other black powerhouses such as Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, Little Richard and Curtis Mayfield… Wild Thing confirms what we already know of Hendrix: he was a true one-off, star-bright shining, and ultimately someone for whom it was all too much, too soon. – Paul Rees * DAILY EXPRESS *It’s 50 years since Jimi Hendrix died and, as Norman puts it, became “president for eternity” of the infamous 27 Club. The guitar legend’s excess all areas life story is familiar but new details emerge. Jimi’s brother fills in the blanks on his wretched childhood in the US, and the racism of the UK, his adopted home, is sadly laid bare. The mystery over whether his death was accidental or murder is no clearer but Norman has one big revelation: Jimi loved watching Corrie * THE SUN *Hendrix’s short life is outlined in detail and with insight by Norman…From being rock music critic of The Times during the 1970s to writing acclaimed biographies (deemed by many to be definitive) of Elton John, the Rolling Stones, John Lennon and Eric Clapton, Norman has the historical perspective and authentic writing nous to dig deep and achieve results – Tony Clayton-Lea * BUSINESS POST IRELAND *

WHEN McCartney, Jagger and other grandees first saw Hendrix, ‘Everyone was dumbstruck, completely in shock, as if hit by a 50-megaton H-bomb’. This book is a first-rate analysis of Hendrix’s ‘fretboard wizardry and showmanship’ - but nothingbecame the guitarist’s life like the leaving of it, aged 27. Philip Norman gives a forensic account of Hendrix’s death, about which controversy still rages

Philip Norman was born in London and brought up on the Isle of Wight. He joined the Sunday Times at twenty-two, soon gaining a reputation as Atticus columnist and for his profiles of figures as diverse as Elizabeth Taylor, Little Richard and Colonel Gaddafi. Author of the UK and US bestseller Shout!, he has also written the definitive lives of Paul McCartney, Buddy Holly, Mick Jagger, Elton John and John Lennon.

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