A Burnham-On-Sea author has released two new biographies celebrating the careers of music legends Neil Sedaka and Gene Pitney.
Michael Turner, 70, has followed Sedaka’s career for more than five decades and has now published Appreciating Neil Sedaka, which he says is the only biography to fully encompass the singer’s entire career.
Michael first met Sedaka in 1993, spending 90 minutes interviewing him in New York, during which the star described him as “an eloquent Englishman.” Two years later, Sedaka invited Michael to write the programme notes for his 1995 Classical Tour of Britain.
Michael later expanded those notes into a booklet that Sedaka loaned to his biographer Rich Podolsky for his 2013 publication Rock ’n’ Roll Survivor, where Michael’s work was referenced.
To mark Sedaka’s retirement, Michael has published Appreciating Neil Sedaka, which he says is the only biography to fully encompass the singer’s entire career.
The book includes rare international record covers and labels, a reference discography, letters from Sedaka to the author, and an appendix written by one of the star’s biggest fans. Many of the photographs were taken by Michael himself at concerts, fan conventions and family events.
Michael owns every Sedaka recording and has even supplied missing discs to the singer’s personal collection. Sedaka has described the new biography as “a useful source of reference.”
Michael has also released an expanded second edition of his Gene Pitney biography, Charting the Life of Gene Pitney, for which Sedaka wrote the foreword in 2019. Sedaka praised the work at the time, saying: “Michael did a wonderful job, and I am glad I contributed.”
Both biographies are available for £20 from michaelturnerpublications.co.uk and from The Picture Business in Abingdon Street, Burnham-On-Sea.
