Philip Norman (born 13 April 1943)[1] is an English author, novelist, journalist and playwright. He is best known for his biographies of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Buddy Holly and Elton John. His other books include similar studies of John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton. Early years Norman was born in London but grew up in Ryde, on the Isle of Wight.[2] He attended Ryde School, and his father, Clive Norman, ran the Seagull Ballroom on Ryde Pier. He describes his childhood in the book Babycham Night. Relatives of his produced the eponymous sparkling perry in Shepton Mallet. Career Journalism Norman began working as a staff writer for The Sunday Times in 1965.[2] In addition to writing the newspaper's Atticus column, he gained notice during the late 1960s and over the following decade for his profiles of public figures such as Elizabeth Taylor, P.G. Wodehouse and Muammar Gaddafi,[2] and of musical artists, including James Brown, Little Richard, the Beach Boys, Fleetwood Mac, Rod Stewart and the Everly Brothers.[3] Another of his assignments was to investigate and report on the problems afflicting the Beatles' multimedia company Apple Corps.[4][5] In the 1970s, he also worked as The Times' rock music critic.[3] As author and novelist Shout! Norman's first book, Shout!: The Beatles in Their Generation, also published as Shout!: The True Story of the Beatles, was published in 1981, with later revisions. An immediate bestseller,[2] it has since sold over a million copies.[3] The New York Times described Shout! as "the definitive biography [of the Beatles] – comprehensive, intelligent, sensitively written and exhaustively researched",[5] while the Chicago Sun-Times admired it as "The best, most detailed, and most serious biography of the Beatles and their time." The book portrays Paul McCartney in an unfavourable light, and the former Beatle voiced his objections to Norman's characterisation of him as "the great manipulator".[6] Norman later recalled that when promoting Shout! on the television show Good Morning America in May 1981, he described Lennon as having represented "three-quarters of the Beatles" and was rewarded with an invitation to visit Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono.[7] Norman also recalled that he had heard that McCartney had taken to calling the book Shite![8] In his review of the most popular books about the group, in The Rough Guide to the Beatles, Chris Ingham writes that Norman displays a "clear dislike" for McCartney yet Shout! merits the praise it has received, due to "the rigour of its research and insightful reflection of the times".[6] Writing in 2005, Beatles biographer Ian MacDonald said that Norman's book "remains the sharpest account of The Beatles' career" and suggested that its anti-McCartney sentiments were balanced by the 1997 publication of Barry Miles' Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now.[9] Further writing and opinions on the Beatles Norman was interviewed in 1987 for a feature on George Harrison on the show West 57th, during which he stated that Harrison's view of the Beatles' history was the only reliable first-hand account, given Lennon's death seven years before.[10] Published biographies Shout!: The True Story of the Beatles (1981), ISBN 0-241-10300-2, ISBN 0-241-10631-1 Symphony for the Devil: The Rolling Stones Story (1984), ISBN 0-671-44975-3 The Life and Good Times of the Rolling Stones (1989), Century Days in the life: John Lennon Remembered (1990), ISBN 0-7126-3922-5 The Stones (1993, updated w/ a new afterword), Penguin Elton or Elton John (1991), ISBN 0-09-174838-0 or ISBN 0-517-58762-9 Shout!: The Beatles in their Generation (1996), ISBN 0-684-83067-1

• published: 04 Sep 2023
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