The Scattershot Tour – Exploring Our Bernie Taupin Editions

When we decided to produce two beautiful special editions of Bernie Taupin’s magnificent memoir Scattershot, we knew there was only one place to start – with an artwork by Bernie Taupin himself.

Scattershot is a brilliant book that is visual in every sense, from Bernie’s vivid prose to the distinct iconography that is threaded throughout his song writing, and the colourful backdrop of 70s and 80s Beverly Hills. That’s no coincidence, because as well as being one of the most legendary lyricists of all time, Bernie is a visual artist who has produced dozens of artworks and had exhibitions in the US and UK. So, stop 1 of our Scattershot Tour involved Bernie getting to work on an entirely original new piece, exclusive for the special editions, that took its central theme from the title of the book. The final artwork he produced was perfect – a vibrant, energetic, and iconic collage of motifs and references from Bernie’s life and career.

On a white background, a hardback deluxe edition of Bernie Taupin's Scattershot stands upright. It's red clothbound cover is designed by Bernie and features illustrative motifs including planes, cassette tapes and treble clefs, phone boxes in bold blues, greens, golds and black. Next to it lies a silver USB stick, with Scattershot etched in cursive on one side.

On a white background, a hardback special edition of Bernie Taupin's Scattershot stands upright. It's blue clothbound cover is designe dby Bernie and features illustrative motifs including planes, cassette tapes and treble clefs, phone boxes in bold reds, greens, greys and black.

We knew that we wanted to use Bernie’s artwork as the beautiful real cloth case for our two special editions and decided on two different colour versions of the artwork for each – red for the Deluxe Edition, and blue for the Special Edition. Both went brilliantly with the ‘Love Me again’ lyric artwork Bernie then chose especially for us to include in the editions, and which was produced at two different sizes: as an A5 postcard for the Special Edition and as a 9 x 11-inch giclée print – signed – for the Deluxe Edition. We were also particularly fond of the aeroplane icon from the artwork Bernie had done, which weaved itself into several other elements of the special editions, including the tip-in pages, hand signed by Bernie, that are included in every limited edition copy of the book.

Three prints, a print wallet, and the book in it's yellow perspex slipcase lay arranged, slightly overlapping each other. The prints are: a facsimile reproduction of the epilogue of Scattershot, handwritten by Bernie Taupin; a limited edition of Bernie Taupin's 'Love Me Again' artwork, which features the words Love Me Again printed in bold blue capital letters, over a pinky-gold heart shape, on a bright red background; and the UK trade edition cover of Scattershot featuring a black and white portrait of Taupin, with the words "Scattershot, Life, Music, Elton and Me" and "BERNIE TAUPIN" overlaid.

For both editions, we decided to include a facsimile reproduction of the epilogue from the book handwritten by Bernie (perfect for framing) and an exclusive never-before-heard story that wasn’t included in the main edition of the book, read by Bernie, and transmitted on a Scattershot etched USB stick. The final pieces for the Special Edition were a brilliant bright yellow Perspex case, inspired by the UK book trade hardcover design and – continuing our vivid theme – featuring luminescent edges, and a bespoke Scattershot wallet to contain the individual prints and postcards.

For the Deluxe Edition, it was time to get back on the tour bus. We loved the idea of giving Bernie fans ‘Scattershot Tour’ memorabilia and decided to produce both a VIP backstage pass, taking inspiration from some of Bernie’s own passes through the year, and a vintage-style concert ticket to the event, which with a little help from Bernie we scattered with ‘easter egg’ references from Bernie’s long-time partnership with Elton John. Both looped back into the cover artwork via our favourite aeroplane motif and distinct Scattershot lettering, and are produced carefully (on encapsulated silk and bespoke printed card) to recreate the real things.

We hope they will be treasured keepsakes for the biggest Bernie fans (including some of those not lucky enough to see him shake a tambourine on stage with John Lennon)! The Deluxe Edition was completed with a special 280 x 216mm print of the original lyrics to ‘Scarecrow’ (Elton John’s chord chart scribbled in the margins) and a gorgeous deep red clamshell case. Every element of the editions started and ended with the glorious memoir that is Scattershot and Bernie Taupin’s singular perspective.

Always vibrant, with an infectious energy that only his songwriter prose could offer, it is a luminescent book. We're proud that these carefully designed collector's editions do justice to the colourful imaginings of one of music’s most legendary lyricists – and hope that you’ll love them too.

Shop the Special Edition – Limited to 400 copies

Shop the Deluxe Edition – Limited to 100 copies

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