ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE: A SORTABIOGRAPHY will be published in print, digital and audio formats in October 2018 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in the UK and by Crown Archetype in the United States.
In the book, Idle reflects on the meaning of his own life and takes us on a remarkable, absurdly funny journey from his childhood spent in a charity boarding school through to his successful career in radio, comedy, television, theatre and film. Coming of age as a writer and comedian during the Sixties and Seventies, Idle stumbled into the crossroads of the Cultural Revolution and found himself rubbing shoulders with the likes of George Harrison, David Bowie and Robin Williams, all of whom became lifelong friends.
With anecdotes sprinkled throughout that involve such close friends and luminaries as Mick Jagger, Steve Martin, Paul Simon, Mike Nichols and many more – let alone the Pythons themselves – Idle captures a time of tremendous creative output with equal hilarity and heart. In ALWAYS LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE, named after the song Eric wrote for LIFE OF BRIAN that has since become the number-one song played at funerals in the UK, he shares the highlights of his life and career with the offbeat humour that has delighted audiences for five decades.
Eric Idle says: ‘We used to be babe magnets. Now we’re fridge magnets. I thought it was time to tell my tale before I suffer from Hamnesia, which is what happens to elderly actors.’ He's also recorded a message about his new book, which you can watch here.