I Talk Too Much: My Autobiography by Francis Rossi.

Francis Rossi is the lead guitarist and singer of the very popular and successful British rock band Status Quo. Here is his memoir, refreshingly told in his own words.

Switching from my regular reads in the crime/thriller/mystery genre, I Talk Too Much was quite a surprise. Francis does not write like a regular author and his writing style is very personal. He writes in very long paragraphs which are a shock at first until your brain gets into gear and you slot into his rhythm. His memoir reads like a television  chat show guest who is given free reign to tell his story. And boy! What a story it is!

I have seen Status Quo performing on stage many times but that was a very long time ago! What I loved about this book was the way Francis told his story, it was riveting. I feel that you do not need to be a fan to enjoy his book. If you simply like books that deal with people doing their day jobs, then you should get a lot from this autobiography.

Francis is now 70 years old and his memoir gives a lovely perspective on things. You get a mature view on life, love and work. I got a lot from this and found the whole book entertaining. I Talk Too Much was simply a joy to read. I think it is a wonderful memoir.

I liked how Francis was very frank about his life. He writes about his failings and mistakes. His is very honest and lists his regrets. He writes about women, sex and drugs. He writes about marriage and having children. He is very open about his use of cocaine.

I loved how Francis’s personality shone through his memoir in the way he told his anecdotes, for example…

Meanwhile, as a teenager I did more of less become part of Alan’s family. For better of worse. The Lancasters were an archetypal hard-as-nails old south London family from Peckham. They had a black cat called Nigger.

And…

Jean had always kept me from meeting her mum before we were married. Now I found out why. The woman could be very difficult. It was as though she had leapt straight from the pages of a Les Dawson joke about mothers-in-law. She would sit slumped in the armchair, chain smoking, with her old fashioned dress pulled up around her hips so that you could see her big old-lady knickers and she would do the most evil-smelling farts. Much to her poor daughter’s annoyance and embarrassment.

I liked how Francis explained the changing dynamics within Status Quo and how the music business works. Status Quo worked very hard over the decades and were famous for always touring. Francis and his band really put the hours in, the concerts were more than promotional tours for a new record but a way of life. Francis has moved with the times and how the music business is very different now to the 1970’s. I loved his comments about recorded music formats when he wrote…

I know they keep banging on about the so-called vinyl revival, but that’s like saying people still make black-and-white movies. It’s a fetish. A cult. Nice if you are into it, meaningless to almost everybody else.

I loved this book and think it is an OUTSTANDING 5 star read. It has an intimacy that makes you feel as though he is a mate sitting next to you. When you reach the end, you are left in no doubt that Francis knows all about his day job and the really important things in life.

I Talk Too Much was written in 2019 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.