I'm The Daddy Now! (Ray Winstone: The Biography - Nigel Goodall)

Member Name: danball

Product:	Ray Winstone: The Biography - Nigel Goodall
Date:	15/05/09 (85 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Factual Information

Disadvantages: No Personal Touch

Being a huge fan of Ray Winstone and pretty much everything he has ever done, it was with some happiness that I was given this autobiography of Ray, written by Nigel Goodall as a gift a few weeks ago. Published by John Blake Publishing in 2007 and updated in 20008, I will be reviewing the updated version (as it's the only one I've read!). I'm not normally one for celebrity autobiographies/biographies but I thought I would make an exception for this one.

Nigel Goodall is a British writer who has written over twenty autobiographies; ranging from Elton John to Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder. I've only read the Ray Winstone one so I can't comment on any of his other work I'm afraid. Goodall has also designed over 300 record sleeves for artists such as Kylie, Cliff Richard, Run DMC and even some of the Elvis Greatest Hits collections.

This book is available in both paper and hardback editions, the paperback costing around £6 and the hardback costing around £13.

The autobiography of Ray Winstone was written without Ray's consent, Goodall even mentions at the beginning of the book that Ray was unhappy with it being written. Once I had read that I already had a negative feeling towards the writer and the book. If someone doesn't want his or her life story to be told, then why should someone feel as if it is acceptable to do such a thing? I decided to read on anyway, it would be silly to waste a book, and, after all, I did want to know a bit more about Mr. Winstone so, on I read.

When I read a biography or an autobiography I like to hear something about the person's life, what happened to them growing up, what they did to get to where they are today, what has happened to them since they were famous and even some anecdotes. What I really look for is a personal touch. This book suffered from a distinct lack of all of the above. Goodall touched briefly on where Winstone grew up (only a few roads from where I did, funnily enough) and what his mother and father did. There was no real attempt at developing this at all. The book then goes on to mention the educational establishments he attended before his entrance into acting and then how he got his first job. From that point on the book mentions almost every role that Winstone has ever had without really giving any details of hid life. Surely a man is defined by more than his workload?

From a factual point of view, this is a good book, you are able to read it and gain knowledge of what plays/shows/films that Ray Winstone has been in and quite a detailed knowledge of what the aforementioned play/show/film was about. The book goes into detail about the plot line of the film, the entire cast and crew and even where it was shot. Very rarely does it give us any information about what Ray was doing, how he was feeling and does not provide us with any actual stories.

This is a really disappointing read as I would have to assume that a man with a character such as Ray Winstone will have a fair few stories to tell. This man has been in iconic films such as Scum and Quadrophenia (personal favourites of mine) and more recently Sexy Beast and The Departed, I would have thought that someone with as much experience as Nigel Goodall would have been able to get some good first hand information and anecdotes but he fails this miserably. The book makes passing mention of Ray's children but his two eldest daughters are actresses in their own right. I expected the book to mention them a bit more than it did!

It may be that this is Goodall's preferred style of writing but it is not one that I enjoyed reading. I await Ray's official biography/autobiography with baited breath.

Summary: Only for Die-Hard Winstone Fans