1967

How I Got There and Why I Never Left

De: Robyn Hitchcock

Narrado por: Robyn Hitchcock

The great eccentric of British psychedelia—beloved by everyone from Led Zeppelin and R.E.M. to the late Jonathan Demme—pens a singularly unique childhood memoir . . .

“Memoirists rarely begin their work with a stroke of genuine inspiration, and Robyn Hitchcock’s ingenious idea to limit his account of his life to the titular year gives this sharp, funny, finely written book an unusually keen, wistful intensity without sacrificing its sense of the breathtaking sweep of time. I absolutely adored every line of 1967 and every moment I spent reading it.” —Michael Chabon, author of Telegraph Avenue

“1967 . . . in which our hero looks down from the future at his squeaky realm of boyhood, a world of Day-Glo sunsets, and would-be denizens of music and the mind. Cometh the year, cometh the groover.” —Johnny Marr, guitarist and co-songwriter of the Smiths

1967: How I Got There and Why I Never Left explores how that pivotal slice of time tastes to a bright, obsessive/compulsive boy who is shipped off to a hothouse academic boarding school as he reaches the age of thirteen—just as Bob Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited starts to bite, and the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band explodes.

When he arrives in January 1966 Robyn Hitchcock is still a boy pining for the comforts of home and his family’s loving au pair, Teresa. By December 1967 he’s mutated into a 6'2 tall rabid Bob Dylan fan, whose two ambitions in life are to get really stoned and move to Nashville.

In between—as the hippie revolution blossoms in the world outside—Hitchcock adjusts to the hierarchical, homoerotic world of Winchester, threading a path through teachers with arrested development, some oafish peers, and a sullen old maid—a very English freak show. On the way he befriends a cadre of batwing teenage prodigies and meets their local guru, the young Brian Eno. And his home life isn’t any more normal . . .

At the end of 1967 all the ingredients are in place that will make Robyn Hitchcock a songwriter for life. But then again, does 1967 ever really end?

Narrated by the author.

©2024 Robyn Hitchcock (P)2024 Dreamscape Media

Hitchcock and Eno

I hadn't realized both of them were in Winchester at the same time, in 1966 when Eno was 18 and Hitchcock was 13. Robyn portrays Brian as a sort of guru of the "groovers" at that time. The book's reconstruction of the conversations between these two men (boys, really) is worth the price of admission. Also of note, Robyn's voice impressions. He absolutely nails Bob Dylan's speaking voice, as well as (I assume) the other voices that enriched or infested his pubescent life. I hope we'll see future volumes that cover his subsequent signpost years.

The quality of the writing

I shouldn’t be, but I am, shocked how good this is. I wish there was more - part of its charm.

So glad I listened instead of reading!

Robyn is a born writer and entertainer. His prose is just as surreal as you'd expect, but his narration adds even more tasty spice. He could be a voice actor as well. Loved it!

Excellent Hitchcock

Robyn writes his memoir like he writes his beautiful songs, full of color, details, and a unique view on life. Highly recommended!!

Mr. Hitchcock makes me happy

Absolutely brilliant! His craft with words brings me much joy. Looking forward to more from him in the future!