Many thanks to Alwyn Turner for this amazon review of Funny Bones, posted today:
A Classic
With the exception of the really big stars (Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Peter Cook), British comedians of the pre-alternative era haven't been very well served by the publishing industry. The best that most can hope for is to have their memoirs written up by a showbiz hack from a local paper.
So congratulations to Freddie 'Parrot-Face' Davies for having enlisted the services of Anthony Teague to create this magnificent book. Beautifully written and endlessly enthusiastic about its subject, it's a marvellous portrait of a working comedian, complete with all the proper ingredients: the years of struggle, the overnight sensation, the slow decline, the career revivals.
Even if you've never thought of yourself as much of a fan, you're still going to love one of the few great biographies of British comedy.
Read Alwyn's overview of older comedians' biographies - including Sid Field, once feed to Freddie's grandad - here.
The amazon page for Funny Bones, with many other reviews, is here. Read an extract from the book here.