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Scattershot
- Life, Music, Elton and Me
- Narrated by: Bernie Taupin, John Lee
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
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Publisher's Summary
"I loved writing, I loved chronicling life and every moment I was cogent, sober, or blitzed, I was forever feeding off my surroundings, making copious notes as ammunition for future compositions. . . . The thing is good, bad or indifferent I never stopped writing, it was as addictive as any drug."
This is the memoir music fans have been waiting for. Half of one of the greatest creative partnerships in popular music, Bernie Taupin is the man who wrote the lyrics for Elton John, who conceived the ideas that spawned countless hits, and sold millions and millions of records. Together, they were a duo, a unit, an immovable object. Their extraordinary, half-century-and-counting creative relationship has been chronicled in biopics (like 2019's Rocketman) and even John's own autobiography, Me. But Taupin, a famously private person, has kept his own account of their adventures close to his chest, until now.
Written with honesty and candour, Scatterhot allows the reader to witness events unfolding from Taupin's singular perspective, sometimes front and center, sometimes from the edge, yet always described vibrantly, with an infectious energy that only a vivid songwriter's prose could offer. From his childhood in the East Midlands of England whose imagination was sparked and forever informed by the distinctly American mythopoetics of country music and cowboys, to the glittering, star-studded fishbowl of '70s and '80s Beverly Hills, Scattershot is simultaneously a Tom Jones-like picaresque journey across a landscape of unforgettable characters, as well as a striking, first-hand account of a creative era like no other and one man's experience at the core of it.
An exciting, multi-decade whirlwind, Scattershot whizzes around the world as we ride shotgun with Bernie on his extraordinary life. We visit New York with him and Elton on the cusp of global fame. We spend time with him in Australia almost in residency at an infamous rock 'n' roll hotel in an endless blizzard of drugs. And we spend late, late night hours with John Lennon, with Bob Marley, and hanging with Frank Sinatra. And beyond the world of popular music, we witness memorable encounters with writers like Graham Greene, painters like Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali, and scores of notable misfits, miscreants, eccentrics, and geniuses, known and unknown. Even if they're not famous in their own right, they are stars on the page, and we discover how they inspired the indelible lyrics to songs such as "Tiny Dancer," "Candle in the Wind," "Bennie and The Jets," and so many more.
Unique and utterly compelling, Scattershot will transport the listener across the decades and around the globe, along the way meeting some of the greatest creative minds of the 20th century, and into the vivid imaginings of one of music's most legendary lyricists.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
Critic Reviews
'This is the most glorious of books. I am besotted by the life I never knew he had.' -Elton John
'Orgasmic. Every page of Scattershot is a delight, a joy, a name-dropper fan's delight. Divine. I couldn't put it down.' -Pete Townshend
'In Bernie Taupin's miraculous memoir Scattershot you'll meet legends, cowboys, geniuses, unforgettable faces in the night, shady purveyors of outrageous fortune, warriors of the heart, and most of all, Taupin himself. Hilarious and so emotionally true, Scattershot is like a letter from a cherished friend. You'll want to keep it close, so you can read it again and again.' -Cameron Crowe
What listeners say about Scattershot
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Vivienne West
- 23-10-2023
Not one to miss.
Whilst listening to this book I felt I was part of Bernie’s world throughout the decades. With anyone else narrating, I believe his story would feel like a mire of self indulgent name dropping and extravagantly fanciful storytelling but he manages to recount his past in such a matter of fact way that there can be little doubt to its accuracy.
He is almost flowery and poetic in his style of writing and I have no idea how he can remember his life in such detail but I also felt an honesty to his recollections. I was left feeling envious of his life so far and the incredible people he has interacted with over the years.
This book is a time capsule of recollections about the famous and infamous over the decades and Bernie Taupin stands toe to toe with all these greats.
He seems brutally honest, self deprecating and generous with his praise of those he admires.
A great wordsmith, narrator and historian.
I enjoyed being a fly on the wall.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 23-10-2023
Loved it
Thanks Bernie was a great read, what a great life you have had. I am happy that you and Elton found what life is really about in the end.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Don
- 20-10-2023
A superb read. Thankyou
I put this review on Amazon as I have book/kindle versions but mainly used audio and would like it here as well because i disagree with some of the reviews here.
I chanced on this book when visiting LA and through attending the LA Live Talk of Bernie interviewed by Cameron Crowe. There was much discussion there about the songs and the words and some anecdotes about interesting people, including Sir Elton. But I don't recall any questions about the process of writing it. How many drafts before he was happy with it? Did he agonize over some sentences until they were just right? He says he wrote the lyrics for his favorite work in 30 minutes. Surely this book was different because... can I say it, was almost Joycean? Each sentence seemed to have been carefully honed. With audiobook at 1.2 speed on the long flight home, it became a pleasure to follow despite the intricate, full-bodied writing style, with the occasional 30 second rewind to savour a sentence. The visual metaphors, the choice of words were a challenge early but as the book went on, and the mind adjusted to the pace, well, some of it was just so clever and beautiful. Talking of his home office he said it was "unorganized". The immediate thought is a gotcha moment - should have been "disorganized" - but listening again to the context, the former was right, implying intent with the latter implying neglect. Brilliant if it was deliberate. The anecdotes were entertaining. Admitting all the not-so-fine times was honest. The struggle with parents' health was familiar and the later chapters were redemptive and uplifting. I love it when people open up like this when they are having an extraordinary life. We are richer for hearing it. Although I would not have wanted to meet him in some of those Almost Famous-style drinking sessions at a seedy bar between gigs, I think anyone today would enjoy a good chin-wag with Bernie over a meal and a drink. A chat about anything but Sir E because even Rocketman admitted surprise at what Bernie got up to over the years. Thankyou Bernie for putting in the effort.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mark Foster
- 17-10-2023
Boring Boring Boring
The single worst audiobook that i have purchased, i’m sure theres s decent story in there but the monotonous reading where every sentence drifted straight into the next sentence put me to sleep . That reading was horrendous and why did the story not sound like anything that BT has ever written on spoken .. BT is a good interview and nothing like this verbose bore
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Daniel
- 05-10-2023
Not enough insight into the creative process, boring at times.
Not enough insight into the creative process and quite boring at times unfortunately. Elton’s memoir is superior
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Oodles of Grooming
- 26-09-2023
Quite confusing, unfortunatly I lost track
I listened to around 3 hours of the audible book but found it very confusing on who was who and what was going on.
Just not a book for me unfortunatly.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 25-09-2023
A life lived full
Whether or not you are a fan of the music of Bernie and the rainbow that is Elton this a a roller coaster of a ride and a fascinating peek into a beguiling world most of us can only read about. This is a Magical Mystery Tour de force.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Guy
- 24-09-2023
Self important and boring
Gossip, endless name dropping and a supreme sense of self importance makes this a surprisingly boring biography
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- D
- 20-09-2023
Disappointing
I was really excited when this was released as I love Bernie's lyrics and usually find that the person less in the spotlight has the more interesting and less familiar tale to tell. That's probably the case, but this is quite a hard listen - the author never seems to use a short word when he can lever in five or six long or obscure ones and the story jumps back and forth - I realise that's the point of 'Scattershot' but I'm a simple soul and would have preferred straightforward chronological order. Worse still is the narrator - I have heard interviews with Bernie Taupin and would have been quite happy to hear him talk for a few hours, and I find if a book is read by the author they usually manage to give it more authentic emotions, The narrator's voice had a strange, clipped, quality - a sort of cross between Tony Hancock and Noel Coward in places, and every so often he would throw in a slightly eccentric pronunciation of a common word. I'm persevering to the end, but it's hard going!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- E Morris
- 17-09-2023
Not the best …
I loved Elton John’s ‘Me’, and couldn’t wait to download the autobiography of the other half of the duo whose music meant so much to me.
Sadly it doesn’t have the same impact. I didn’t manage to finish it completely and who knows - the chapters I skipped may have been the ones that turned the book around. But to be honest I had better things to do.
For me the main problem was the rambling nature of the book with little to pin down the time frame. Plenty of big names but not a lot of humour, the monotone delivery didn’t engage either.
Bernie Taupin has a reputation for wanting to keep things private. Perhaps this is as much of an insight into his private life as we’ll get. Sadly it left me wanting more.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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- Thistle
- 25-11-2023
ok but ..
ok interesting but do we really need that much info about horses and rodeo.. some parts was so boring. but the audio is clear but felt its was a bit rushed as if there was a joke waiting at end of most sentences .Worth a read or listen.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Stop the lights
- 24-11-2023
Some interesting tales
It's OK. Can't help but think he's an exceptionally lucky guy. If he never met Elton would he ever have been anything. Some entertaining stories but in honesty the book could have been discarded at many junctions.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Gary James
- 23-11-2023
Don’t bother
Being a massive Elton fan I was really looking forward Bernie’s book. The narrator sounds like an AI robot and completely ruins this book, The stories are mostly bland to say the least. I wouldn’t bother spending your hard earned money on this, Elton’s is much better.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ME WOOD
- 22-11-2023
A richly lived life
Totally unexpected. I decided to listen to this audio bio after a Radio 4 interview with Bernie Taupin. He sounded so respectable, respectful and deep that I was intrigued. I had expected a brainless low life drug addled story. It did have its brainless drug addled reminiscences but the creativity of Bernie in a million different ways blew me away. Its rich vocabulary , its subtle humour. I have never paid attention to song writing before and regarded it as trivial musings but it opened a new door for me. I shall now be looking out for quality in lyrics and for echos of the author within .
I also felt blown away by the style of the narrative. It was vivacious, entertaining, never banal with unexpected turns of phrase. Fantastic vocabulary.
. I liked the way that, in his conclusion, Bernie subtly acknowledges Elton John.
All beautifully written
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- julian stubbs
- 19-11-2023
The ballad of Bernie or the good, the bad and the ugly
Have always enjoyed Elton’s music and Bernie’s lyrics. Enjoyed the book despite a complete convergence in views on music and life. Bernie has gone totally American loving all things the country offers from music to sports to lifestyle. I personally find most things American as interesting as watching paint dry (and my wife is American!). American music from Dylan to the Eagles to country and western is just a non event in my life so I struggled with those parts of the book - but hey, we’re all different.
Still a good listen and once into the narrators pace and style enjoyed it.
He’s had an amazing life and living it through his eyes is well well worth it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Wayne N.
- 10-11-2023
A life well lived!
I’m a massive Elton John and Bernie Taupin fan of many years and there are just so many great stories in this honest memoir. A lot fitted into those years.
Highly recommended
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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- Marcus Welby
- 10-11-2023
A missed opportunity
I knew reviews weren’t great but went for it anyway. Big Ej fan and hoping to learn more about songs and their journey and this amazing partnership. There are some nuggets in the book whilst you wade through what seems a never ending descriptions of lunches dinners and vacations with other celebs. It almost feels like Bernie is trying to tell us how highly he was regarded by celebs whilst many most of us never saw him.
It’s clearly a guarded account of his life that jumps around. He could have done with some professional writing guidance.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nick Robins
- 08-11-2023
A Great walking Companion
I enjoyed every minute. I pop my headphones on and go out walking whilst listening to the great stories, laughing out loud at many and getting some odd looks! What a wordsmith Bernie is too. The story about Salvador Dali’s gift was fabulous.
The reader John Lee is superb. What a great voice and every word is beautifully enunciated.
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