Finished?

I finished reading through Don's biography today. I think I've finally finished it. Sending it off to Don for approval this weekend. Yay!

We're getting closer

I’m currently reading through the biography one last time before sending it off to Don for approval and then on to the proof readers. We’re getting closer, folks!

A visit and a tweet

I visited Don today and we talked about stuff from 2010/2011 for the bio. You can follow him on Twitter now, by the way: http://www.twitter.com/DonGeorgePowell

Bahamas

I got a new story from Don for the bio today re the Bahamas. Nice one. I'd never heard it before.

More stories

Last week Don sent me some more stories for the biography. Mainly of him and Ozzy Osbourne. I finished editing this weekend, but there'll be more to come as Don and I hope to meet up next week. Stay tuned.

New photo

Don sent me a recent photo of himself and Francis Rossi to be used in the biography. Looks good, but unfortunately I can’t show it here!

Diary update

I have finally finished reading Don’s ”lost” diaries. Now I need to go through my notes with Don, then the rewrite will begin. I have to rewrite 6 to 8 chapters to get the contents of the diaries fitted in and I probably have to add two more chapters as well. Wish me luck!

Diaries update

Finished reading Don's 1988 and 1989 diaries. Hardly anything about Slade, but loads about antique fairs! :-)

Diaries update

Finished reading Don’s 1987 diary. Mostly personal stuff, but also a bit about the release of ”Big Boyz Make Big Noize.” 1988 next.

Diaries update

Finished reading Don’s 1986 diary. Not much happening there Slade-wise except for the recording of ”Big Boyz Make Big Noize”. Now on with 1987!

Ric Lee

I got an audio file from Don of him and drummer Ric Lee (Ten Years After) reminiscing. It’s to be used in the biography.

Don with his 1988 diary

More diaries

Don Powell came by yesterday with the last of his diaries, the ones from 1986-1991 + the missing first half of 1994. Great! Now I’ll get started on reading the diaries and altering the bio.

Concert list

I got the complete 2010 concert list off Don yesterday evening. Only 36 gigs, but I’m one step closer to finishing 2010 in the biography. Nice!

Don and me working on the bio

Contributors to Don’s bio

The following have contributed with interviews and/or comments for Don’s bio so far:
Dave Hill, Jim Lea, Keith Altham, Andrew Birkin, Dave Donovan, Haden Donovan, Craig Fenney, John Howells, Robin Lavender, Jona Lewie, Anne Kirstine, Emilie & Andreas Lundby, Mick Marson, Vicky Pearson, Suzi Quatro, Tim Ramage, Francis Rossi, Andy Scott, Gene Simmons, Graham “Swinn” Swinnerton, Len Tuckey, Carol & Gerald Watts, Henry Weck, Carole Williams and Bob Young. Both Don and I thank them for their kind help. It has been very much appreciated.

Don with his diaries

Don’s bio so far

In 2006 Don Powell asked me to write his biography and back then I thought it would be a 2 year project like any other of my books. Today I’m wiser.
I decided on a format for the bio pretty quickly and the sources were to be Don’s diaries, interviews with Don and with his family, friends and colleagues. I started out making the interviews with Don and over the course of 3 years I made 14 interviews with him, amounting to a whopping 36 hours. The diaries I didn’t get until 2008 and as they go all the way back to the 1970s it took me several months to read through them and pick out what should be included in the biography and what not. By then a 2 year timeframe for the bio was out of the question and we postponed a possible release date until 2010.
The work with interviewing Don’s family, friends and colleagues kicked off in December 2006. What first seemed to be a fairly easy part of the process, turned out more complicated than expected and I had to wait up to 4 years for some of the interviews that I needed. By February 2010 I thought I had made my last interview, but new contributors to the bio kept being added to the list and at the moment I’m still awaiting the comments from another 2 or 3 of Don’s colleagues.
Then in November 2010 Don found a number of diaries which he thought he had lost. I’m still waiting to get those and yes, you have guessed it. We’ve had to postpone a possible release date yet another time. With a little luck I’ll finish the biography by December 2011, but I won’t guarantee it, as something new seems to pop up all the time. Anyway, on this blog you’ll be able to follow the progress of the bio. Keep your fingers crossed that it won’t be a never-ending story!