This book is the extraordinary memoir of the music publisher, entrepreneur and co-founder of the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club, Bryan Morrison. He wrote the original manuscript in 1991, intending it to be published the following year to coincide with his fiftieth birthday.
He signed a book deal with a publishing company, was paid an advance, and a ghost writer was appointed to work on the manuscript. However, when Bryan read the publisher’s rewritten version of his story, he felt that it no longer reflected his own style or his personality, so he handed the money back to the publisher and cancelled the contract.
After that, the manuscript stayed mainly in a locked drawer at the home of Bryan’s son Jamie Morrison and, as time went by, it seemed the moment to publish it had passed. But Jamie always wanted his father’s story to be told, and after the death of his mother, Greta, in August 2018, he approached Andrew Johnston, the managing director of Quiller Publishing, to see if he might be interested in publishing the book. Andrew showed the manuscript to me, because I am a book editor and I also worked in the music business for nearly twenty years, and we agreed that it was a unique insight into the golden age of British pop music.
For the first time, Bryan Morrison reveals the true stories behind his music publishing business and his close and personal relationships with legendary rock stars such as Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd, Marc Bolan of T. Rex, Paul Weller of the Jam and George Michael of Wham! He also reveals why the Pretty Things were banned for life from New Zealand, how he became involved with the Kray twins, and received death threats after Robin Gibb left the Bee Gees, not to mention his experiences with U2, the Sex Pistols, Haircut One Hundred, Gary Glitter, and many others.
The original manuscript has been edited for publication, and the dates and facts checked where possible, but this is Bryan Morrison’s personal memoir. There may be more stories that he left untold, possibly to protect his own reputation and that of his friends and colleagues, or perhaps he was saving them for a later volume. But as Bryan looked back on his life at the age of fifty, these are his candid and outspoken memories of a truly extraordinary career of success, and occasional failures, in the worlds of music, art, design, fashion and polo.
Barry Johnston, May 2019