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Love and Fury: The Extraordinary Life, Death and Legacy of Joe Meek by Darryl W Bullock – review

This richly detailed and exhaustive biography of the maverick 60s British music producer reveals a sonic visionary whose brilliance concealed a tragically violent temper

In contrast to several other influential, but closeted, gay music business figures of the time, including the Beatles’ manager Brian Epstein, Meek was remarkably open about his homosexuality at a stage when it was still prohibited by law. He once fired a starting pistol at an astonished singer who had disobeyed his instruction not to stand so close to the microphone Throughout his career, Meek was dogged by depression and often dramatic mood swings, his chummy affability giving way to volcanic explosions of rage when his methods, or his cavalier attitude to royalties, were questioned. In the lengthy index to Love and Fury, there are 39 references to Meek’s “temper”, one of which relates to a recording session that came to an abrupt halt when he fired a starting pistol at an astonished singer who had disobeyed his instruction not to stand so close to the microphone.

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