Pete Brown, lyricist for 60s super group Cream, has been a poet, singer, percussionist, record producer and screenwriter. As a Beat poet he worked alongside Spike Milligan, Allen Ginsberg and Robert Graves. As songwriter he is best known for his work with Cream, whose guitarist was Eric Clapton. Having been part of the Underground, he emerged as the lyricist of their massive hit songs White Room', I Feel Free', and Sunshine of your Love'. White Rooms and Imaginary Westerns is the personal odyssey of this poet, musician and writer. Brown takes the reader from the green fields of Surrey to the claustrophobia of a Jewish school in Hendon, from surreal day jobs operating lifts to hitch-hiking around Britain in a search for identity and girls. White Rooms deals honestly with the problems he faced from the sexual side effects of a having a Jewish mother, to the mental adjustment necessary when, after years of earning GBP20 a week as a performing poet, he began receiving major sums his hit songs. There are many hilarious tales of being a touring musician, as well as anarchic opinions on drugs, love, music and movies. There are stories of the many more famous people Brown has worked with and met from Ginsberg and Burroughs to Spike Milligan, from Clapton to Peter Green and Jeff Beck, and from Alasdair Gray to Ken Campbell and Martin Scorsese. From affairs with actresses to Browns' 30-year collaboration with Cream singer, Jack Bruce, this is a fascinating journey into music, poetry, love and life by one of the biggest unsung heroes of rock and the beat movement.
 Trade In this Item for up to £5.00
Trade in White Rooms and Imaginary Westerns: Ginsberg, Clapton and Cream an Anarchic Odyssey for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £5.00, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Learn more
|
Book Description
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Review
'His journey through music, poetry, drugs and love...the ideal ingredients for a jolly entertaining autobiography' Manchester Evening News 20100904 'In his progress to the rock 'n' roll hall of fame he has met all the iconic figures of Sixties counterculture...Those who did the Sixties properly will be delighted to have their memories restored' The Times 20101120
About the Author
Pete Brown was a Beat poet in the 1960s before going on to co-write songs with Cream and later Jack Bruce, as well as working with many others.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
A sizeable chunk of my cd collection is taken up by albums involving Pete Brown and his Battered Ornaments/Piblokto,Jack Bruce,Graham Bond,Viv Stanshall and Dick Heckstall Smith in one guise or another and also my first proper gig was seeing Pete Brown and Piblokto ( Aeroplane Head Woman and all ) in the dark ambience of a club called Henrys Blueshouse in Birmingham in the 70's, so this book was more than of an interest to me.The best bits are the descriptions of Pete Browns personal relationships with not only his fellow musicians but with also his mother and father.I must admit that I would much have preferred to read more about how his lyrics and musical collaborations came about rather than anecdotes about his drug and alcohol intake ( some comical others just seriously plain scary ) and his insatiable appetite for women which is largely overdone.I did squirm a little when I read ( Pete Brown referring to Mary Wilson who had invited him and his now wife to a Motown revival show at Wembley )'Mary,who might have fancied me a little, though I can't be sure....'.Although I never did quite see Pete Brown as the lothario,this book did enlighten me and increase my knowledge of the various beat poets that existed and he acquainted.I did sometimes find it quite hard work to keep up with many of the names mentioned throughout but for all his rants about Thatcher,punk and Stock,Aitken and Waterman ( I can't disagree with him on that last lot )and while overcoming his insecurities and anxiety attacks, Pete Brown has provided us with a rather informative and enjoyable piece of work here.Any author who can incorporate and mention that wonderfully strange film ' Gonks Go Beat ' in any capacity definately deserves somekind of recognition.
By Marion Lewis
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
My husband is a huge fan and really appreciated this! Any fan of Pete Brown's would be happy to receive this,
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a very interesting read. Pete Brown writes in an easy and engaging style which makes the book difficult to put down. Brown is most famous for his long association with Cream and in particular Jack Bruce. As a fan of Jack's I was very interested in this aspect of the autobiography and found this book a lot more informative about some of Bruce's past than either of his 2 biographies! A lot left "unsaid" by Brown, said a lot about the person that is Jack Bruce! Lots of other informative inside stuff about the music biz from the late '60's up to the present, make this book a great read.
(I always hate to be negative about individual's creations, but Pete's choice of cover is a real stinker!! Don't let it put you off!!)
(I always hate to be negative about individual's creations, but Pete's choice of cover is a real stinker!! Don't let it put you off!!)
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see the review
5.0 out of 5 stars
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
Deceiving Sub Title
I brought this book expecting a lot of Pete Browns insight into Eric Clapton & Jack Bruce and Cream as the book actually is called. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Bring_back_the_60s
3.0 out of 5 stars
Missed opportunity
Would be of interest to those from the same scene or with the same musical and literary tastes, especially if contemprary with Brown. Read more
Published on 1 Mar 2011 by Did
3.0 out of 5 stars
Harumph !
Interesting perspective on the sixties.
A number of non-approved events and artistes - Punk generally, Portishead, Elvis Costello,
Leonard Cohen and others, which seems... Read more
A number of non-approved events and artistes - Punk generally, Portishead, Elvis Costello,
Leonard Cohen and others, which seems... Read more
Published on 13 Nov 2010 by Cratedigger
5.0 out of 5 stars
great explanations and description of the madness
Pete makes a chronological story that in my opinion was written over a time period not over one night, sense of humor dominates as well as who is who in British jazz/rock, very... Read more
Published on 11 Oct 2010 by Grzegorz Szymczak
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
