Bruce Thomas's The Big Wheel

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Anybody read this?
It's the no-names-named memoir of the bass player for Elvis Costello & the Attractions. It's just been reissued and apparantly it's the reason Thomas was sacked from the band TWICE.

I'm about halfway through and really enjoying it. Not so much because he shows EC as a precious little twerp (he doesn't exactly paint himself a saint either, to be fair), but the prose is really strong. He tells good yarns that aren't necessarily revelatory, but still quite interesting.

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Wednesday, 24 September 2003 14:19 (twenty-two years ago)

Yeah, a long time ago. I don't think it was only the book that was the reason... but I don't know the rest of it.

― mark grout (mark grout), Wednesday, 24 September 2003 14:25 (twenty-two years ago)

I have an earlier edition someone leant to me (they then proceeded to move to Hong Kong, so I guess it's mine now). Haven't picked it up in a while. Isn't Elvis ridiculed throughout as "the singer"? Bruce seems like a bit of a nasty character. Should re-read it. Does the new printing have anything new to say? (considering their induction this year into the R'n'R Hall o' Fame).

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 24 September 2003 17:23 (twenty-two years ago)

There's a brief new introduction that tells the hilarious tale of their RNRHOF induction. I don't know if it's worth buyin the new edition for, but definitely worth reading at yr local book store.

Thomas doesn't seem particularly sentimental about ANYTHING in this book and there are passages that are as righteously vicious as some of Costello's best lyrics.

But yeah, there are very few names-named, though I'm not sure what the purpose of that is, since it's rather obvious. And one of the guys from the Knack is singled out for ridicule (he thought Harry Belafonte was reggae).

― Horace Mann (Horace Mann), Wednesday, 24 September 2003 17:52 (twenty-two years ago)

And one of the guys from the Knack is singled out for ridicule

Quite deservedly so, I'd imagine (the brilliance of "My Sharona" notwithstanding).

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Wednesday, 24 September 2003 18:18 (twenty-two years ago)

three months pass...

Yeah, I love the fact the the guys from the Knack get ridiculed.

To be honest though, I didn't find that Bruce was all that hard on EC. From all the buildup I heard about the book, musicians made it sound like he ripped him apart and I really didn't find anything very offensive in the book other than peoples peculiarities or annoyances. It is a really funny story and I hear he's coming out with a second edition of life on the road in the 90s with other performers and with EC.

― Arturo Baguer, Monday, 19 January 2004 10:44 (twenty-two years ago)

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