Freak Out!

My Life with Frank Zappa

By: Pauline Butcher

Narrated by: Emma Gregory

In 1967, 21-year-old Pauline Butcher was working for a London secretarial agency when a call came through from a Mr Frank Zappa asking for a typist. The assignment would change her life forever. For three years, Pauline served as Zappa's PA, moving with him, his family and the Mothers of Invention to a log cabin in the Hollywood Hills, where the straight young English girl mixed with Oscar winners and rock royalty.

Freak Out! is the captivating story of a naive young English girl thrust into the mad world of a musical legend as well as the most intimate portrait of Frank Zappa ever written.

©2011 Pauline Butcher (P)2020 W. F. Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"The book describes a formative time in the life of an innovative musical artist, which Zappa most certainly was. But it also captures a particularly intense experience of a very brief, yet enormously influential, period in the evolution of western womanhood." (The Guardian)

Excellent story

I have been a fan of him for fifty eight years and she tells a great story!

Freaks Rule

I really enjoyed listening to the story as told by the author.

I’m impressed that the author maintained her authenticity and integrity to the subject. She was not affected by Hollywood as she might have been!

Great Book

I have just become a Frank Zappa fan over the last 5 years or so, so it was great to get an up close and inside look at Frank’s life through Pauline”s eyesI I thought she did a wonderful and tasteful description of her experiences working with Frank. I highly recommend the book.

love this book, you will too

As an avid fan of classic rock of the 60's and 70's I loved this book, actually I listen to it on Audible..
Pauline's close working relationship with Mr. Zappa was a very interesting and at times strange journey
as she lived in his house among all his friends, family, band members, groupies and a never ending cast
of characters who came and went from day to day.
Zappa came to rely, count on and trust Pauline's professional work ethic and her calm togetherness
amongst all the madness and busy non stop action that was Frank Zappa's life.
This book takes you right along for the ride as if you were right there with her!
I strongly recommend this book to any Zappa fan or a fan of the 60's music scene.
You will not be disappointed....!

Great insider story about Frank Zappa

This was a great look inside the world of Frank Zappa from the late '60's go the early '70's from someone with direct knowledge of this period.