Oh What A Circus Book

Tim Rice's fairly inauspicious beginnings as an ordinary middle-class lad with a keen interest in cricket and pop music (and a disappointing, and thankfully brief, brush with train-spotting) belied the talent lurking beneath his lanky bones. After dabbling in the law as an articled clerk to appease his family who were quietly disappointed by his lack of desire to continue his education at university, and then a stint in A & R (Artists & Repertoire) for EMI that allowed him to be close to his one real passion--music--it was a letter to a young Andrew Lloyd Webber, who was looking for "a with- it writer of lyrics" that sealed his fate. Rice's early life is probably of little interest to anyone other than the Rice family and their friends, although the fondness and practicality with which he writes of his early years indicates the stability that stood him in good stead for the greater things ahead. But it is in the description of his work during his powerful association with Lloyd Webber that Rice lets the reader see something of the real man--a perfectionist driven to succeed in a business as notorious for its ability to knock and mock as for its desire to curry favour with the successful few. Oh What a Circus follows the fate of a young man with a dream of becoming a pop star as his passion for lyrics develops into an enviably lucrative career. It also successfully charts the rise of Rice and his collaborators as they peddle their popular wares to an increasingly demanding audience. The pain, the pleasure and the pitfalls are all there and, all in all, this meticulous autobiography is as interesting as the blockbuster musicals for which Rice and his protegés sweat. It isn't particularly profound, no startling surprises, but it is certainly entertaining. --Susan HarrisonRead More