I bought this book having just watched Telstar, the amazing film about the life of Joe Meek. I adored the film and naturally wanted to search out more on the fascinating subject of Joe Meek. I knew very little about the man himself, despite the fact I'd heard of several of his proteges and songs.
I was not disappointed with this purchase. Far from it, it kept me enthralled all the way through. An absolutely brilliant account of a legend whose genius was, sadly, not revered at the time. I know the terms 'legend' and 'genius' are overused in this day and age, but Joe Meek was, and in my opinion still is, a genius and legend. He pioneered the sounds that are taken for granted today and yet he did it on a very low budget and in a bedroom above a shop. He had help along the way, none more so than from another legend, Geoff Goddard, who wrote some fabulous music that even then was criminally underrated.
This book doesnt cover up what Joe Meek was, rather it glories in the fact that Meek was a genius and stunningly brilliant at what he did, even from a very young age. Rooms full of equipment to make different noises, even at his parents' home in Newent. His struggle against the very straight-laced 'scientists' who were producing flat-sounding records back in the late 50s, early 60s - his needing to rebel against this brought us wonderful sounds such as the gorgeous Telstar, and the violin-laden, echo-y sounds that typified the Meek sound.
It doesnt cover up his homosexuality and Meek's struggle to come to terms with this; it portraits it starkly in black and white, particularly his predatory advances to the young lads calling round wanting to be pop stars. For all that, Meek does come across as a character not to be pitied but to be sympathised with.
I kept having to put it to one side because I truly didnt want to finish reading the book. Sadly, I did so today. It will not be long before I pick the book up again. I cannot recommend this highly enough for anyone interested in music, or even just those interested in intriguingly enigmatic legends.
Buy it!