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ROMANY AND TOM: A MEMOIR PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Ben Watt | 368 pages | 15 Dec 2015 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9781408845103 | English | London, United Kingdom Romany and Tom: A Memoir PDF Book Musician, songwriter and author Ben Watt not only experiences both these issues but writes about them in his memoir Romany and Tom. It rang so many bells with me we are almost exactly the same age, and many of the same concerns have braided themselves around my life in the last few months and years that I downloaded it as soon as we got to the hotel, and began reading it that night. Watt's parents were, perhaps, more revolutionary, more tempestuous, than most there again, perhaps not; perhaps the key difference was that they acted on their impulses where most didn't - having risked so much to be together, they appear in some respects to have been bound together until the end, whatever that end might be. At no stage is this book light and easy to read - indeed, the majority of the book is extremely harrowing given the various challenges the family had to face over the years. How do we get from there to here, from teenaged revolutionaries to middle-aged parents with cars and mortgages and teenaged revolutionaries of our own? A joy to read even in the moments of despair. That he went on to arguably outshine both his parents is a theme that might have been explored more in the book, as might the circle of fading fame, alcoholism and mental illness. The best book I read last year was by a musician from my formative years about her life and her unexpectedly vivid insights into the human condition Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. I read Ben Watt's 'Patient', about a serious physical illness he had in his early thirties and enjoyed; that has held up for this book about his parents, their ageing and his father's death, their relationship, their achievements, disappointments, and their parenting. Envious, Tommy returns to drinking. His account of his grandmother is very funny indeed. A book written with care about two people the author obviously dotes on. Bound together by the bottle and a feeling that they both couldn't fail again it was a strange and difficult space for a boy to grow in. Tom Watt was a charming rascal, a jazz musician and band leader who enjoyed a brief but notable amount of success until pop and rock began to steal the aural leanings of the listening public. May 26, Guy Jones rated it liked it. More filters. Ben's mother, Romany, the daughter of a Methodist parson, schooled at Cheltenham Ladies' College, was a RADA-trained Shakespearian actress, who had triplets in her first marriage before becoming a leading showbiz columnist in the. She later became a successful feature writer and broadcaster, before her fortunes, as well as those of her second husband's, slowly trickled away. The approach makes the book more interesting, but also emphasises that life is composed of fragments and sometimes we need to go back and forth in time to try and make sense of what our experiences are telling us. Musician Ben Watt, best known as being one half of Everything but the Girl, tells the story of his mum, his dad, and his family from his perspective. He is perhaps most well known for his twenty-year career in alt-pop duo Everything But The Girl This is Ben's biography of his parents, and of course his autobiography too. What's puzzling is why Watt, who has often seemed a private chap with a self containment unusual in the music business, has chosen to bare all in this way. I can only imagine what other books Watt might write in the future. She works as a journalist, using her theatre contacts — she had been at Stratford with Gielgud — to bag a series of syndicated interviews with Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. First this is recalled, then some other anecdote which leads to another story. He is also an international club and radio DJ, and since has run his own independent record labels Buzzin' Fly and Strange Feeling. We do not see Romany and Tommy falling in love until the final stages of the book, by which time the drama of their collision feels as necessary as air. Want to Read Currently Reading Read. It is beautifully written, thought provoking and a fascinating insight into what it is to grow old. Want to Read saving…. Watt tries his best to learn to understand them both as they approach their ends, presumably in an effort to better understand himself. This meticulously researched book takes us through the ups and many downs of their relationship, beset as it was with alcoholism, mental illness and career disappointments. Though I suspect the thoughts it has provoked will continue to pop up and make me reflect again and again. Feb 22, Mark Walker rated it really liked it. Both a personal journey and a portrait of his parents, Romany and Tom is a vivid story of the post-war years, ambition and stardom, family roots and secrets, life in clubs and in care homes. You are browsing in private mode. What were their passions? Romany and Tom: A Memoir Writer It rang so many bells with me we are almost exactly the same age, and many of the same concerns have braided themselves around my life in the last few months and years that I downloaded it as soon as we got to the hotel, and began reading it that night. Ben Watt, one half of Everything But The Girl, follows the other half, Tracey Thorn, his personal and professional partner, whose memoir Bedsit Disco Queen was one of last year's better non-fiction bestsellers. Yet, Ben never expresses pity towards his parents, nor does he wallow in pity for himself and his parental predicament. To ask other readers questions about Romany and Tom , please sign up. Veteran science fiction writer makes the Goldsmiths shortlist. Romany and Tom. They were both divorcees from very different backgrounds who came together like colliding trains in Worse, while we are doing that, our parents are morphing from vital, energetic, important people into curmudgeonly, tired, old people. It brings into light the complications of relationship and diversion of our views of those we love as our lives and dependencies change. When we find out how Romany and Tom got together, however, and how Ben Watt came to be, the effect is like a blow to the heart. Musician Ben Watt, best known as being one half of Everything but the Girl, tells the story of his mum, his dad, and his family from his perspective. First this is recalled, then some other anecdote which leads to another story. Jul 29, Richard K rated it it was amazing. Reuse this content. I did. Memories creep into Watt's mind of childhood holiday weekends as he watches his father: "empty motor-oil bottles on the tideline, a stretch of beach, salt rime, gulls squabbling". Lonely, Romany joins him. We do not see Romany and Tommy falling in love until the final stages of the book, by which time the drama of their collision feels as necessary as air. It looks like you are located in Australia or New Zealand Close. Ben Watt is known as one half of Everything But The Girl, but here he recounts the lives of his parents: jazz composer and musician Tom Watt, and Shakespearean actress, turned mother, turned writer and journalist, Romany. Her face has the same look Watt remembers when he himself was in hospital: "half connected and involved; half ready to go home". Books by Ben Watt. The film spoke of order and contentment: here was a happy couple fulfilling their allotted roles with aplomb and, in the case of Bain, not a little glamour. Boys, Boys, Boys. In the end the book felt like a fitting, moving tribute to Ben's loving but flawed parents. From Ben having to take on the grown-up role as his own parents' health deteriorates, to looking back at their careers, their romance, their drinking, their disappointments and their obvious pride in their son's success it is at times nostalgic and sad without being maudlin or dewy-eyed. Romany And Tom is a very honest book, warts and all in telling the story about age, depression, alcoholism, family and ultimately death. Romany and Tom: A Memoir Reviews It's a sad and at times unedifying tale of sexual jealousy, genteel suburban alcohol abuse, and what happens when talent bumps up against the limitations of career and family. Such a timeline should be hard to follow, but it's not. Oh, yes, they had tried to break it off, their respective spouses having found them out. This might well make it two in a row. His heyday in the late fifties took him into the glittering heart of London's West End, where he broadcast live with his own orchestra from the Paris Theatre and played nightly with his quintet at the the glamorous Quaglino's. What's puzzling is why Watt, who has often seemed a private chap with a self containment unusual in the music business, has chosen to bare all in this way. How do we get from there to here, from teenaged revolutionaries to middle-aged parents with cars and mortgages and teenaged revolutionaries of our own? A letter, a turn of phrase. As Watt describes his father's depression, I found myself nodding in recognition; when the depression comes full circle towards the end, I found the room becoming a little dusty - rarely have I felt such a powerful urge to reach out and hug the author of a book and tell him that everything's going to be OK.

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