Author Neil Gaiman is known for his much-loved fantasy books – but his dark secret is a biography of Duran Duran
Neil Gaiman at Hay Festival 2015 Photo: WARREN ALLOTT
The Telegraph - 29 May 2015
Author Neil Gaiman has admitted that a 1984 "rock and roll biography" of pop group Duran Duran is "the worst thing" he's ever written.
The book, which Gaiman confessed to writing solely "for the money", is now out of print. He has never allowed it to be reprinted.
"When I was about 22, and a really young writer, I had a phonecall from a publisher, saying 'would you like to write a rock and roll biography for us?'," the author told an audience at the Hay Festival.
"I said 'absolutely ... I could write about David Bowie, or Elvis Costello, or Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground...'
"They said: 'Oh no. We know the books we want written. Would you like to write about Duran Duran, Barry Manilow, or Def Leppard?'"
The author then confessed that, horrified by the thought of having to "listen to 18 Barry Manilow albums", he opted for Duran Duran, on the grounds that, at the time, their backlog of work was the least extensive – and therefore meant the least effort.
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