Book Review: "Vagabond" by Tim Curry

Note: This is going to be a long one. I've been waiting for this book for a while and I'm not skipping out on anything, so strap in.

I would like to take you on a strange journey...

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You can tell I've been waiting for this for a long, long, long time. There's something deeply immersive about learning about the various escapades of one of England's finest actors. Not just a life well-lived, this is a man who has reshaped himself again and again, possibly forming the way for many other character actors. But apart from simply his acting, his roles, his fame, we also are given access to his opinions, his philosophies, his family and his methods. Stories, anecdotes and memories both important and not so much, litter the book as Tim Curry paints the most vivid portrait of his past: a restless troubadour, bound for everything.

We start off when he is very young and he discusses things such as moving around, as he is an army child. Every eighteen months, he seems to move from place to place, often living in the vicinity of other children, and other times living in a flat in Croydon. By no means is his family wealthy like the British actors families of today. In fact, there is a slight lower-middle class nature to his childhood which feels relatable to the average person. Be that as it may, he begins singing in the navy choir when young, developing that very recognisable voice we all know and love today. Alongside this, we get some memories scattered about to do with his father's death and then, extended family in which he either admits to not knowing much about them, or has some sort of wild story to tell. One thing is definitely certain though - it may be hard to pin him down, but he very much establishes that this factor was already in his genes from a young age. Throughout this period, our beloved narrator litters the writing with humour, irony that perhaps isn't lost on him or us and, later on, mentions of croonings to Billie Holiday. I can't say I'm surprised, but I am definitely still awestruck. From the get-go, this proved to be an autobiography that was definitely worth the long, hard wait.

The story continues, Tim Curry grows up and begrudgingly attends university (surprisingly the same one that yours truly went to). I could see where he was coming from. I also went there for the Shakespeare Institute (as he mentions he did) and thought the rest of the university was a bit of a hassle. But that's besides the point. As we trundle along the university years, we get stories of traveling the world and going to Cannes to work on a boat. He meets Pablo Picasso, sees the Cannes Film Festival folk all around him and of course, like any British university-aged person - drinks himself cheaply stupid more than once. In true troubadour spirit, he always seems to return home, but this time, he has a plan to make it as a theatre actor. His stories of school prove to be those that led him to the profession. Being told off for chasing butterflies instead of going to class, this is a man whom we have to believe when he says he couldn't be further away from his most famed mad-scientist character in personality. But, the theatre was definitely his home from a very young age and he proved that he would go wherever that took him and he didn't really care where that was at all.

We get to Hair and of course, if you've ever seen the production you would definitely think twice about seeing it again (I know I did when I saw only part of it - not this particular production, but one of another kind). After discussions about Hair, stripping naked (because of course, that's what Hair is basically about) and washing the blood from the walls of a grubby building where he slept on a mattress on the floor, in a room with multiple other people - we finally start climbing the mountain. The Rocky Horror Show is finally upon us. Tim Curry admits he isn't nostalgic but kept the shoes (admitting that he also bought them himself so, technically they are actually his). He speaks fondly of this time, taking us through what it was like to be casted and then, change the accent from a hard German to a posh British woman. These are some of the most exciting chapters because we all know that he is probably most famous for this role in film, but the first flavour he gives us is his time in the theatre and when it was building up from a small kind-of show to a show where Mick Jagger and David Bowie were among the audience members.

He was devastated when the film flopped obviously, but it gained a cult following the year later. He ends this time on a note where he states that he hopes the love, drama and freedom that this film has taught us all continues for another half a century and more. Another chapter thus teaches us about the weird time in Tim Curry's life where he was torn between making music and being an actor. The chapter titled I Do the Rock after his biggest-selling song, is one of cocaine-fuelled 12-hour working days and a strange yearning for making something that he's proud of on a record. Now, if you're like me then you probably love the records of Tim Curry. Songs such as Paradise Garage, Working on My Tan (which is mentioned towards the end of the chapter) and Hide This Face are all absolute classics. He briefly mentions the beginning where he covered the song Baby Love and then later, when he took on a Joni Mitchell. But, throughout the chapter, there is definitely a sense of unease where the author not only discusses his music career but its total lack of sustainability. I personally wish he would have made more albums.

The following few chapters deal with various things. One of the first events is that Tim Curry felt pretty proud of himself for being in a big-time Hollywood production, talking aptly and in great detail about his memories working on Annie, based on the Broadway Musical. He goes from talking to John Huston in a bar about watching a jittery stagehand to someone sliding down a bannister in his place. From playing charades with Steve Martin to filming different versions of the song Easy Street - Tim Curry definitely did not run out of stories about this film. He goes on to discuss the production of The Pirates of Penzance and how people once referred to Kevin Kline (the previous star of the same production). The opening on Drury Lane led to a hilarious story involving the Queen Mother and a cake, Lady Diana and sequins and even to how Tim Curry himself still finds it odd calling Charles the King of England and finds it even weirder that he's on banknotes. Oh yes, and our beloved author and narrator then played the Devil, because of course he did!

You're probably sick of reading this by now and I don't really want to give the whole book away. From stories about playing the villainous Pennywise the Clown, the shifty butler in a favourite of mine ("Clue"), the grinning concierge in Home Alone 2 and of course, all the way down to his part in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Tim Curry leaves nothing out. He has a brilliant, compelling anecdote to go with just about every single thing he has done and is truly a troubadour we will probably never meet the likes of ever again. All I have to finish on is this: this book was not just worth the wait, but I think I'm going to flick right back to the beginning and start it all over again. There's just something about his life which is absolutely insanely brilliant. He is a once in a billion-year talent and this book solidifies that fact.