Cor Baby, That's Really Me!

by John Otway

There was a time when John Otway looked forward to platinum albums, stadium gigs, and a squad of bodyguards to see him safely aboard his private jet. Unfortunately it didn't happen that way. A series of dreadful career decisions, financial blunders and bad records left Otway down but not out. This is his true story in his own words. It is the story of a man who has never repaid a record company advance in his life, once put on a benefit concert for his record company after they had cancelled his contract, and signed himself to the mighty Warner Bros label simply by pressing his own records with the WB logo. This book is Otway's hilarious yet moving account of his insane assault on the music industry, a tale of blind ambition and rank incompetence, and a salutary lesson for aspiring musicians on how not to achieve greatness.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction

200 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1990

Reviews

[Maricruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uno de los libros más divertidos y consoladores que he leído en los últimos tiempos. La parte en que Otway narra su adolescencia es descacharrante. Luego sencillamente no puedes creer que nadie tenga tamaña habilidad para sabotear su propia carrera. Temía que me resultara algo repetitivo con respecto a Otway the Movie (que a lo mejor se puede seguir viendo en Netflix, y que recomiendo muchísimo), pero para nada. Si tuviera que hacer una lista de los personajes que más inspiradores me han resultado, John Otway estaría muy arriba, al lado de gente como Harvey Pekar.

[Stephen Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

john is a legend
this is one of the funniest books i have ever read about
trying to make it as a pop star

[Nick Waldock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genius

[Alan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An amusing & pleasant read. John is as off the wall writing as he is on stage. I was brought this book at a Barratt & Otway gig a couple of weeks ago.

[Hugh B · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lunatic on the page as on stage

Sometimes it’s difficult to sympathise with Otway’s treatment of his partners and friends but then you realise that they all stuck with him, so why not you? That’s why it took me 7 months to read it, anyway. It’ll never be a hit but his third person approach to himself develops into a kind of reportage that levers open some doors I suspect he didn’t mean to unlock at all. Why did I read it? I saw him perform in a pub in London and that was real fun. This is, too, but the gig didn’t go on as long.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can you say about John Otway. It is hard to believe that this man's career actually happened. A life of enthusiasm and determination to be a star that (sort of) won out over any actual ability and a lifetime of really bad decisions. Having said that, I am so glad that it did. Somehow, the world is a better place knowing that someone like him can carve a career and not be ground back into the mundane world.