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Paula Michael & Bob: Everythinng You Know Is Wrong

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This is Gerry Agar's story of Paula, Michael & Bob. This is the stuff of modern legend; a red-blooded tragedy played out in the merciless glare of the media spotlight.

317 pages, Paperback

First published September 15, 2003

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Gerry Agar

2 books

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5 stars
324 (43%)
4 stars
216 (28%)
3 stars
149 (19%)
2 stars
42 (5%)
1 star
22 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
Profile Image for Bren fall in love with the sea..
1,960 reviews476 followers
September 21, 2019
Not really very good.

I do, on occasion, read books about Musicians although the on es I choose are usually Biographies. I used to be a heck of a concert goer )although these days..not so much!) but I have read many a book by many a Musician and each of them to be unique in their own way.

INXS was a band I LOVED. Growing up, I had much of their material and just loved listening to them. I also had, like many a fan, a huge crush on Michael Hutchence.

I was shocked when he died and, as I am sure many other fans did, I wanted to know more about what happened. I wanted to know why someone who seemingly had everything would take their own life. I was also just a kid when this occurred and being older now I can see beyond the rose colored glasses that many a young adult wears. But at the time, it was pretty shocking and baffling.

This book was a recent read for me despite it's having been out for quite awhile. And I just didn't like it much.

This book was written by a friend of Paula Yates and I must say I did not get far before skimming, ultimately DNFING it. I just..didn't like it.

I read some of the other reviews and wholeheartedly agree that it just felt like reading gossip. I really could not get involved in the book at all and did eventually wind up giving it a friend and fellow INXS fan who adored it..thus showing how different opinions can be.

I had read another book before this one that really succeeded in hooking me in and delved very deep. So maybe that is the issue.

In any event..this was not the book for me.
6 reviews2 followers
August 3, 2007
I adored British TV presenter Paula Yates when I was a young teen and was terribly sad when she died in 2000. By coincidence I always liked INXS and its front man Michael Hutchence. Bob Geldof is a a brilliant, if at times grumpy man, who has done a lot of good work in Africa.

I have always been intrigued by Michael's tragic demise and soon after the death of Paula. I don't usually buy such gossipy books but this was calling my name when I saw it in the bookshop. I was almost ashamed buying it but I wanted to know the 'true story' as told by Gerry Agar this so called friend of Paula's.

Turns out that Gerry knew Paula for a very short period of time. Often the book was more about Gerry than Paula. I was ashamed of myself for buying this book. Some of it rang true but other parts struck me as being the stuff of fiction. There was a sense that Agar was taking totally advantage of the fact that Paula and Michael were dead vis a vis her slant on the book.

She was more cautious as to how she spoke of Bob because she was obviously conscious of litigation. Nobody needs a friend like Agar -- if your 'pal' dies you keep her secrets not expose them all to the world... and make some things up to boot.
Profile Image for Dierregi.
256 reviews3 followers
June 19, 2025
Gerry Agar, writing as both friend and part-time PR person to the central figures, offers an insider's perspective, though hardly from the inner sanctum. Her narrative begins innocuously enough: a chance encounter at school pickup, an old acquaintance rekindled. How refreshingly mundane for a story that would spiral into such sordid territory.

Paula emerges as "very intelligent" yet fundamentally unstable—an assessment that proves generous given her pattern of discarding people once their usefulness expired. Twenty years with the domineering but dependable Geldof had apparently kept her borderline tendencies in check, but living with someone who'd achieved semi-god status must have been insufferable. One could almost sympathize with her predicament, if not for what followed.

Unfortunately, her reaction to marital trouble was very predictable. Yates started an affair, which grew into an obsession. Hutchence had some psychological flaws of his own and the result was two people getting the worst out of each other.

From sordid clandestinity the affair developed into tabloid fodder, also thanks to Yates. She pushed the story into the open, possibly trying to infuse some "reality" into an episode that was better left short and secret.

The subsequent chapters read like an inventory of human frailty: court battles, custody wars, escalating substance abuse, delusion, and paranoia. Paula demanded everything bend to her will, wielding suicide threats like a weapon against anyone who dared contradict her. Hutchence, her "part-time" boyfriend, crumbled first under the pressure, his fragile psyche no match for the chaos.

By the time of his death, Paula had abandoned any pretense of self-sufficiency, financing her lavish lifestyle through the men in her orbit and her lucrative deals with the very tabloids she publicly scorned. Whatever sympathy one might have harbored evaporates upon learning of the astronomical sums she pocketed for interviews and photographs, including those of her children. The eternal complaint about gutter press rings rather hollow when "celebrities" prove so eager to exploit it for profit.

I approached this story without allegiance to INXS, Geldof, or tabloid narratives, hoping for some measure of objectivity. What I found instead was a tale so saturated with lust, greed, and delusion that finishing it felt less like completion than escape. The physical and chronological distance from these events does nothing to dilute their essential squalor.

None of the principals emerge as particularly sympathetic - not Paula with her manipulative desperation, not "Saint" Bob with his calculated righteousness, not "elegantly wasted" Michael with his weakness masquerading as sensitivity. In the end, Geldof prevailed through the most bizarre twist of fate, though "victory" seems too generous a term for what amounts to outliving the carnage.
Profile Image for Kiri.
332 reviews
January 18, 2017
Quite absorbing but leaves you feeling sorry at the same time, like you've just spent five hours reading gossip magazines.
427 reviews1 follower
September 11, 2016
I get sucked back into the 90s with this type of guilty pleasure and it becomes weirdly personal. At the same time, this book rings the starting bell for the rail-of-shame celeb ubiquity of today although they somehow seem to have more control of their stories - perhaps with the advent of social media. What's interesting about this, other than the salacious rubbernecking, is the way the media is manipulated and bites back and the role that Gerry Agar plays in the whole set-piece. What a vile caricature she is. Delighting in the misfortunes of her so-called friends with thinly veiled solicitude, which doesn't say much for the people that read about it either (myself included). The whole thing felt quite dirty and it did make me wonder why this type of nonsense plays to our baser human instincts. It does however contain a great anecdote (which may or may not be true): Bono's wife Allie has a photo of Michael Hutchence stuck to her fridge (as did Paula Yates) prompting Bob Geldof to ask 'You're not sleeping with him as well, are you?'. Grounding.
Profile Image for Amphetamine Sulphate .
5 reviews108 followers
October 31, 2018
Halfway enjoyable 90s nostalgia sleaze fest, though you may end up detesting everyone involved and wishing the death toll was a little higher. Sample line: “The doctor diagnosed a form of thrush caused by too much penetration.” You have been warned.
98 reviews15 followers
August 25, 2016
I was actively searching for a book about Paula Yates, having recently read her character 'psycho-biography' in Oliver James' They F*** You Up. I thought Paul, Michael and Bob may actually provide a more accurate insight into her life than her own words in 1996 and was delighted to find the e-book on my library’s website.

It’s hard to prove how much of this book was a true reflection of the events which took place, but I was swept up immediately. Over the past week I have been boring everyone to tears about the tragic love triangle of Paula Yates, Michael Hutchence and Bob Geldof. I'm sorry. Read the book and you will be obsessed too.

We all know that the Geldof family has gone through hell. But not quite this much.

The book spans almost a decade, starting in 1992 and ending in 2000 (the year of Yates’ death). Agar’s recollection feels thorough, even in her documentation of the last few years of Yates’ life – by which point Agar and Yates were no longer friends (an understatement, perhaps).

The point is they were clearly very close friends for a number of years and that is what is so touching about this book. It's the journey of a friendship.

You believe that Agar deeply cared for Paula and spent years protecting and covering for her – far beyond the realms of the typical publicist-celebrity relationship.

You *almost* - side with Agar in her coercion with the drugs raid of Paula’s house (intervention, anyone?)

... And you definitely cry at the death of Michael, reader.
Profile Image for Marilyn McKnight.
175 reviews
November 18, 2020
Selfish stars

Well, I really don't know what to say about this book. I read the first chapter and nearly gave up but decided to keep going. As the book wasn't on, I couldn't put it down, but nobody really came out of it well, except Sir Bob!. Paula was very selfish ,manipulative , lying and Michael just a typical drug addled rock star, searching for the next high , be it drugs or sex! I could take or leave Paula Yates in life and if I'm honest, my opinion has not altered. it's a good read, I just thought what a waste of life and how very selfish these people are. They screw their lives up and blame everybody else. The greatest sadness is those poor girls. How much did her mother's behaviour contribute to Peaches' death? Some people have everything, but it's still never enough.
Profile Image for Andrea.
1,278 reviews97 followers
November 10, 2014
A tragic story on so many levels. As far as the book goes it was definitely readable, it held my interest, but I became more and more irritated by the author's tone as the book went on. Gerry Agar came across as smug and self-satisfied. She spouts tough love aphorisms and represents herself as some kind of an addiction expert when clearly she is nothing of the sort.
Profile Image for Gayle (OutsmartYourShelf).
2,162 reviews41 followers
March 13, 2021
I vaguely remember all this happening in the late 90s, but it was something I didn't really take an interest in. I wasn't that big a fan of INXS and didn't know the first thing about Paula Yates beyond the headlines. And, yes it does seem that the bits that I thought I knew were wrong.

After reading this, I've come to the conclusion that it was all terribly sad and tragic, and nobody comes out of it smelling of roses. Now of course, we only have the author's POV as the two people who really knew what was going on are no longer with us, but I felt it was more an indictment of the perils of drug addiction than anything else.
Profile Image for Helen.
83 reviews3 followers
January 1, 2021
I never particularly liked Paula Yates, there was always something about her that reminded me of the spiteful girl at school that you always avoided because you didn't want to be involved with her drama.

I can remember watching her fall from grace with a sort of morbid curiosity and thinking to myself that she seemed to have totally lost her mind.

I think she had always had serious mental problems and Bob Geldof's insistence on a normal family life with set routines and keeping the press to a certain extent at arms length probably kept the lid on it somewhat.

Leaving Geldof and taking up with Michael Hutchence quite obviously let the genie quite firmly out of the bottle.

Hutchence was just a drug addled disaster and mix that in with Yates and her insanity and you can sort of understand why it all went boom.

Profile Image for Bree Neely.
61 reviews1 follower
February 20, 2013
I haven't been on GoodReads for a while -- but I'm back with a vengeance with this, the latest edition to the literary canon. My love for Michael Hutchence is fed with this slightly ridiculous biography of the last years of his life (along with his kooky British wife/girlfriend and Bob Geldof -- aka the guy who did Live Aid). Tales of heroin, ecstasy, coke, booze, Bono and a sex life that defies description make it impossible to put down, but the writing is terrible, the author (Paula Yates' unofficial publicist, whatever that means) inserts herself into nearly every scene and the recollected conversations defy belief. A gossipy tale of the Hutch, howevs, makes my heart beat faster. I can't put this baby down!
Profile Image for Angela.
591 reviews11 followers
January 26, 2015
I really enjoyed this book. I have championed Bob Geldof for years. I think that man has endured so much especially with the recent death of his daughter. After viewing the new INXS film I wanted to give this a read since it was now available on Kindle. It does not paint a pretty picture of Paula Yates. The whole story is just tragic.
Profile Image for Kelly Alexander.
10 reviews1 follower
July 9, 2019
A good read

A great read and upsetting to think how selfish Paula lived her life! Tragic to her children legacies worth reading
1 review
December 12, 2021
Deeply troubling and very sad

Informative from a biased perspective. If you have read Tina's book, this would be the opposite. Quite clearly a friend of Geldof's, and initially Paula's things take a turn for the worst. A "friend" that seemingly gave no chance for warning to Michael and Paula (if the perspective of the author is to be believed) their lives were literally destroyed by 3 people who ultimately made decisions they claimed to be best for the children. Yet all were left without a mother, and one a substitute father.
I dont like the way the author portrayed Michael. Period. But I believe if a true fan, one will consider all of the books written about Michael and INXS.
In the end, one has to make up their own mind regarding the opinions of those whom chose to write about magic. Magic of epic proportions, in a voice, an artist, a poet, a kind and gentle soul who was poisoned by everyone surrounding him. A man, a brother, a son, a father...whom made a hasty decision, in the moment of despair, that he could not change, once made. The world lost a human being whom still had so many gifts to give. The world has suffered its loss...to this day, 24 years after his passing. Unfortunately one woman held the belt that took his last breath away from all of us. He would be alive today, had he been able to work through the words spoken to him in his last hours. The words that never should have been spoken. Rest peacefully beautiful magic. The world still loves you and misses you deeply. Now I will finish Tina Hutchence book, as it tells the story of a beautiful boy, lost in the webs of of darkness.
Profile Image for Lisa Roberts.
227 reviews2 followers
July 16, 2025
Fascinating

I was feeling a little nostalgic when I chose this book on kindle unlimited, and I'm struggling to believe that Michael Hutchence died almost THIRTY years ago! The whole sorry saga of his relationship with Paula Yates, the endless press scrutiny , it all feel like yesterday. I was in my 20s when he died and my early 30s when Paula Yates lost her life. Time has passed so quickly. This book sheds some light on the personalities of Yates and Hutchence and their ill after relationship. It also highlights how Bob Geldolf fought for his children and his heartbreak after Paula left. But of course this is only one side of the story, it's full of salacious detail, pretty scandalous reference to drug taking and sexual deviance, and bizarre behaviour. It's about complete loss of control . I'm a bit sceptical about the author's motivation in revealing such a tawdry tale and the legitimacy of her insider observations. I suspect there's more to Agar than this book reveals ... But nevertheless I have to admit I found much of this book completely engrossing , aspects of it were shocking ( sickening even) and it presented a very disturbing picture of Yates and her manipulative character. I'm not sure how much is true , but I don't doubt that it's a very thorough expose based on an intimate insider knowledge.
Profile Image for Darla Ebert.
1,199 reviews6 followers
February 25, 2023
Although at first I had thought this would be a fluff book, I was intrigued with the inside knowledge from the author, a good friend of Paula Yates. My reasoning for reading was to find out what went wrong in the lives of two promising people who took the path of least resistance and left behind four grieving children, one of whom has since died in the same way her mother did. Although the material is understandably dark there is a kind of a pattern as such that should have opened the eyes of the participants to a doomed and certain ending.
The author was amazingly objective and included the warts as well as the accolades. There is only one objection and that is a wish for circumspection on the part of the author as applies to the private secrets to which she became a party. Even if the main characters are now gone, some memories need to be kept out of print (personal observation).
5 reviews
August 13, 2020
Felt like i was just reading gossip from someone (author) who began as friendly face @ school gates Geldofs went to. Overall as usual its the kids of these celebrities who suffer the most humiliation & have 1st hand experience of living with drug fuelled parents which tragically ended in 3 deaths, sad😥.
2 reviews
July 10, 2021
Who needs enemies with friends like Gerry Agar


Snitching on a close friend, meddling in their private business & colluding with their ex husband to fit them up so they lose
Their children is absolutely disgusting.
Do not buy this book. Do not let her profit from her awfulness.
5 reviews
August 26, 2021
Easy reading. Enjoyable.

Well written and decent insight into the lives of the Geldof/ Hutchence and Paula. She was an interesting character. I felt sad she couldn’t have worked it out with Bob. Hutchence and Paula Yates love story was so intense, so intoxicating and, in the end, so destructive.
1 review
October 3, 2021
Amazing, thrilling, sad but a real eye opener

I have always been fascinated with the story of Bob, Michael and Paula. I remember the press coverage at the time. I always wondered what the truth actually was. This is my main reason for choosing this book. I think it is well written with lots of sensitivity and sincerity, from Gerry's perspective. I could not stop reading .
3 reviews
April 25, 2022
Ultimately an airport bookshop, pulpy and trashy read but very readable nonetheless. Is it the definitive, non biased account of this saga? I would say far from it, but if even the basic thread running through it is accurate then what a chaotic time those children had to go through while the adults in their lives indulged themselves. Sad to look back on any which way.
19 reviews1 follower
February 23, 2022
Enjoyed this book

This book is very interesting. It's written by the author who was Paula's former publicist & gives so much information about their lives Bob , Michael & Paula. I definitely recommend it to anyone who he is a Micheal Hutchence fan .
165 reviews1 follower
March 8, 2022
Really enjoyed this, I have always had a soft spot for Paula Yates, I think because she was so different and did not conform, she was a good writer herself, very talented.

Not really sure the Hutchence romance would have ended in joy, but she threw everything at it.

4 reviews
February 27, 2024
A very one sided account with lots of speculation

I found this disappointing as it was a one sided view and for the last few years much of what was written was speculative. I am not sure we will ever know the real truth.
Profile Image for Lisa.
1,135 reviews1 follower
June 6, 2018
#35 of 120 books pledged to read during 2018
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