Looking at the hirsute Gentle Giant in their prime, it’s a little hard to believe they were ever teen idols. But they reinvented themselves more than once, evolving from R’n’B combo The Road Runners into the floral-shirted pop sensations Simon Dupree & The Big Sound; and then, in 1970, to an altogether more progressive incarnation as Gentle Giant.
Erstwhile frontman and co-founder Derek Shulman has worn a fair few hats – both literal and metaphorical – as this entertaining autobiography relates. After the band split in 1980 he moved into promotions, then A&R, overseeing the signing of Bon Jovi and Dream Theater among many others.
