Beatles biographer Philip Norman: 'Yoko was waiting for me – with two lawyers'

He has charmed Elton John, angered Paul McCartney – and horrified Yoko Ono. What will he uncover about the ‘murky’ death of Jimi Hendrix? The great rock writer reveals the pain – and pleasure – of chasing stars

Slowhand: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton is my eighth rock biography since Shout! The True Story of the Beatles in 1981. It left me feeling more than ever that writing books about such people is no job for a grownup and determined never to be talked into another one.

I had intended Shout! to stand alone, but it started a chain reaction that has kept me chained ever since, with only temporary breaks for novels, short stories, plays, TV documentaries, musicals and journalism.

Yoko asked me: 'How can you say that John masturbated?'

Related: Slowhand by Philip Norman review – Eric Clapton and the years of excess

Slowhand: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton is published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson.