“To the beat of a different drum” - Jen Selinksy examines Bill Bruford’s autobiography.

Bill Bruford The Autobiography is yet another item that I requested and received as a Christmas gift. Bill Bruford was a founder member of the progressive rock group King Crimson after his departure for which he had to pay a heavy stipend to the rest of the band, he went on to become a member of Yes. Bill also briefly joined Genesis during the A Trick Of The Tail tour where he filled in on drums. Though his stint with Genesis was very short the drummer went on to form Earthworks, a jazz fusion band. He was active with them for many years before he announced his retirement in 2009.

Rather than starting with the beginning and working up to the present, the biography was written in response to the questions that people have asked him over the years such as “do you still like Prog rock?” Bill also includes bite-sized titbits about his personal life mostly in response to questions about juggling family life around tours etc.

My husband described the book as a Q & A forum in book form. The fact that it goes back and forth through various decades was a little off putting but I overlooked that in order to enjoy reading the rest of it. Even though Bill Bruford: The Autobiography was not written in the traditional chronological format, I enjoyed the book all the same, despite the fact that there is more information about his professional life than his personal life. If you are one of those who is not bothered by (un)traditional (auto)biographies then I recommend this title. It is also a good read for anyone who is curious about one of Prog rock’s most experimental musicians.

Click to enlarge