Still the best Morecambe & Wise biog, 28 Jan 2002
I hadn't realised this was being republished until I found a copy in my Christmas stocking! I liked the original when it was published some years ago but this updated version which brings the story bang up to date, is still welcome. Somehow this book seems to get udner the skins of Eric and Ernie in a way no other book has quite managed - not even their own autobiography written in the 1970s. I guess it's because Eric's son, Gary is one of the writers. He manages to remain objective but has the insights into his father no other writer obviously has. I like the new cover as well!
Touching and informative, 11 Dec 2001
I read the original, published in 1994, and enjoyed it very much. The updated version is just that - a last chapter which brings Morecambe and Wise's story bang up to date (well, almost. It doesn't quite get to Ken Branagh's tribute play, which I believe involves Eric's son, Gary). So, while little has changed from the original text, the added chapter makes it feel contemporary, and the new cover - something Randall and Hopkirkish in feel - is refreshing and slightly haunting - and quite appropriate. A good read.
Informative, definitive and compelling ..., 11 Feb 1999
When I decided to set up a Morecambe & Wise website back in 1996, this book was my constant companion.
It is well-written and well-researched. Gary Morecambe does not fall into the trap of relying on personal experience, but traces both his father's and Ernie Wise's childhoods to tell a fascinating story.
From early ambitions, through setbacks and war, to a place in a nation's hearts ... this is a hard book to put down.
