A charming, honest, funny, sad, tender and beautiful literary memoir, from Tim Rogers of You Am I. Think Patti Smith meet Dylan Thomas, by way of Banjo Paterson.
'Rogers is a beautiful writer, both literate and lyrical ... Detours makes most rock memoirs look like How to Hypnotise Chooks. A heartbreaking work of staggering honesty.' West Australian
'Of all the utterances delivered to me by strangers, my least favourite after "We can no longer legally serve you" would have to be, "Well, that isn't very rock'n'roll."'
Tim Rogers of You Am I has always been a complicated man: a hard-drinking musician with the soul of a poet; a flamboyant flâneur; a raconteur, a romantic and a raffish ne'er-do-well. In this offbeat, endearing memoir, Tim walks us through years jam-packed with love, shame, joy, enthusiasms, regrets, fights, family - and music, always music.
A work of real grace and tenderness, Detours is often impossibly sad and beautiful - but also full of wit, wordplay and punching jolts of larrikin energy to make you laugh out loud.
'Rogers is a beautiful memoirist ... [Detours is] an authentic, beautiful, unusual - and yes, brave - book that stands up on its own as a strong work of literature.' The Guardian
'The good news is that our Tim can write. Every sentence trails a floaty scarf. A few of them have a floppy hat over one eye.' Don Walker
'A beautiful writer, Tim Rogers takes you where you want to go.' Robert Forster
'Artfully written and reflective ... descriptive, insightful and anecdote-rich' Herald Sun
'Bitter-sweet ... a twisty, soulful ramble through a life. He writeswith wistful passion about his loves, wishes and shortcomings.' Australian Women's Weekly
Author Biography:
Tim Rogers is best known as the songwriter and front man of the hugely popular rock band You Am I, which produces platinum-selling albums with record sales of almost 1 million worldwide, and is the recipient of ten ARIA awards. He also regularly performs and records solo, and with several other bands. Tim is also a stage and film actor, a composer for the theatre and a regular compere and/or guest on Australian television.
You Am I's second studio album, Hi Fi Way, appeared in the eighth position in the book 100 Best Australian Albums (October 2010). Their third album, Hourly, Daily was listed at number fifty five. The same two releases were also voted into the Hottest 100 Australian Albums of All Time list compiled by Australian youth radio station, Triple J, in 2011. Fourteen of their songs have been placed on the related annual Hottest 100 lists.
He lives in Melbourne.
