PFD
Drury House
34-43 Russell Street
London WC2B 5HA
Tel: 020 7344 1000
Fax: 020 7836 9543
Philip Norman
Book Agent: Michael Sissons

Philip Norman was born in London and brought up on the Isle of Wight. He joined the Sunday Times at the age of twenty-two, soon gaining a reputation as Atticus columnist and for his profiles of figures as diverse as Elizabeth Taylor, P. G. Wodehouse, Little Richard and Colonel Gaddafi. In 1981 he published SHOUT! A ground-breaking biography of the Beatles that was a bestseller in both Britain and the US. He has also written the definitive lives of Sir Elton John and Buddy Holly.

Although he resists classification as a "rock biographer", a musical theme pervades almost all of Philip Norman's work. In 1983 he was named one of the twenty Best of Young British Novelists for his autobiographical novel THE SKATER'S WALTZ. His shorter fiction includes SPRING SONATA, a novella set in an Edwardian music hall, and WORDS OF LOVE, about Buddy Holly's last hours, which later became a successful television play. His journalism has been published in three collections, THE ROAD GOES ON FOREVER, TILT THE HOURGLASS AND BEGIN AGAIN, and THE AGE OF PARODY. His latest book is BABYCHAM NIGHT, a memoir of his childhood on the Isle of Wight

He is married with a daughter and lives in London.


JOHN LENNON

HARPERCOLLINS (Sep 08)

The definitive biography of John Lennon.


SHOUT!: THE TRUE STORY OF THE BEATLES

MACMILLAN (5 Sep 03)

The first and best Beatles biography, fully updated and reissued to coincide with the 40th anniversary of Beatlemania. When it was first published Philip Norman's SHOUT! was hailed as the definitive work on the Fab Four. He had a close personal relationship with each of the protagonists, having interviewed them many times since 1965 and observed at first hand the events that led to the split during 1969-70. The resulting book contained unique insights into the rise of the Beatles, their final years, the chaos of Apple and the collapse of hippy idealism. Now fully updated, and written with all of Norman's trademark verve and skill, this is an essential book for anyone with an interest in pop music, the Sixties and the pleasures and perils of God-like fame.

ISBN: 0 283 07333 0


BABYCHAM NIGHT: A BOYHOOD AT THE END OF THE PIER Paperback published June 2004

MACMILLAN (9 May 03)

Philip Norman's family considered themselves genteel yet somehow became involved in the opportunistic world of seaside trade on the Isle of Wight. Norman recreates his upbringing among this gallery of social misfits - his handsome but unstable father Clive, once a dashing RAF officer, now a reluctant showman at the end of Ryde Pier, his pub-owning Uncle Phil, who dresses as a woman every New Year's Eve, and his irresistible Grandma Norman who presides over her rock kiosk and rules the troubled family like a Mafia don. The year is 1953. The coronation creates a mood of national optimism and euphoria, reflected in the bubbly new drink called Babycham. But while Britain celebrates, ten-year-old Philip watches disaster approach in his father's growing obsession with Joan, the Bronze Medal roller skating champion. Finally, he concocts a stratagem to win his parent's attention which explodes spectacularly in his face.

ISBN: 0 333 90097 9

Read reviews


THE ROLLING STONES

MACMILLAN (7 Sep 01)

This work provides a personal insight into the career of the Rolling Stones, now celebrating their 40th anniversary. It charts the band's rise, the Marianne Faithfull, Brian Jones and Altamont scandals, their groundbreaking hits and their implications for popular culture.

ISBN: 0 330 48057 X


NOT FADE AWAY

MACMILLAN (31 Oct 95)


EVERYONE'S GONE TO THE MOON

HUTCHINSON (6 Jun 95)


DAYS IN THE LIFE: JOHN LENNON REMEMBERED

HUTCHINSON (29 Nov 90)


THE AGE OF PARODY

HAMISH HAMILTON (1 Mar 90)

ISBN: 0 241 12845 5


WORDS OF LOVE

HAMISH HAMILTON (26 Oct 89)


THE LIFE AND GOOD TIMES OF THE ROLLING STONES

EBURY (Jan 89)


PIECES OF HATE

  (Jan 87)


AWFUL MOMENTS

  (Jan 86)


YOUR WALRUS HURT THE ONE YOU LOVE

HAMISH HAMILTON (7 Oct 85)


TILT THE HOURGLASS AND BEGIN AGAIN

  (Jan 85)


THE ROAD GOES ON FOR EVER

  (Jan 82)


ELTON

CENTURY (Jan 80)


THE SKATERS' WALTZ

HAMISH HAMILTON (15 Oct 79)


WILD THING

HEINEMANN (Jan 72)


PLUMRIDGE

HEINEMANN (Jan 71)


SLIP ON A FAT LADY

HEINEMANN (Jan 70)


THE MAN THAT GOT AWAY