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Showing 21 - 40 of 7754 items
By Graham McCann. 2014
From its first episode in 1973, Open All Hours was an instant hit. Audiences around Britain loved its familiar setting,…
good natured humour, and the hilarious partnership of Ronnie Barker and David Jason. Whilst it only ran for 26 episodes, it firmly cemented itself as a British comedy classic.To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the show in 2014, the BBC revived it for a one-off Christmas Special. Still Open All Hours was swamped by a tsunami of audience affection and the BBC promptly commissioned a full series. The first episode of the fifth series is expected to air in late 2014.With recollections from David Jason, his fellow cast members, and from the scriptwriter Roy Clarke, plus never before seen BBC archive material, acclaimed popular TV historian Graham McCann tells the inside story of this very British sitcom, with wit, insight and affection.By Russell Kane. 2019
'Brilliantly written. Very funny and heartbreaking.' Davina McCallFrom one of Britain's most popular and prolific comedians comes a hilarious and…
deeply moving memoir of life lived under the rule of a Silverback dad. The Silverback is considered the undisputed king, a creature whose authority is never challenged and who does not yield to compromise. He walks proudly, feeds greedily, grafts tirelessly, mates voraciously, swears constantly and is threatened all too easily. The Silverback is known to nestle in the misty peaks of central Africa but can also be found in Barking, Essex. Meet Dave Kane, the disappointed, steroid-ingesting, metal-wielding, bouncer father of slight, effete Gamma Male, Russell Kane.SON OF A SILVERBACK is a story about fathers and sons, class and education and how one scrawny, sensitive, fake-tan-applying 'ponce' stepped out of his father's shadow and became a man - whatever that means.What readers are saying:***** 'This is so much more than a comedian's life story.'***** 'I read this book in about two days. It was gripping, funny, sad, and it felt deeply honest.'***** 'An exposing and candid exploration of Russell's family and foundations and all the better for its frankness . . . Full of laughs, poignancy and appropriate introspection.'By Valerie Grove. 2010
Kaye Webb, a journalist with no publishing experience, burst into the world of children's books in 1961 and changed the…
face of children's publishing forever. Her child-like enthusiasm and shrewd business mind led her to become Puffin's most successful editor and the genius behind the Puffin Club, which opened up the exciting world of authors and books to children across Britain. But whilst Kaye's professional life had worked out beautifully, her private life had been the reverse. Kaye had two husbands before her marriage to the artist Ronald Searle, and the torment of his sudden and shocking departure never left her.Yet to the outside world Kaye Webb remained passionate and unstoppable. This is the unknown story of the woman who brought the joy of books to children everywhere whilst battling the emotional pain that plagued her private life.By Rob Brydon. 2011
Rob Brydon tells story of his slow ascent to fame and fortune in Small Man in a Book.A multi-award-winning actor,…
writer, comedian and presenter known for his warmth, humour and inspired impressions, Rob Brydon has quickly become one of our very favourite entertainers. But there was a time when it looked like all we'd hear of Rob was his gifted voice.Growing up in South Wales, Rob had a passion for radio and soon the Welsh airwaves resounded to his hearty burr. However, these were followed by years of misadventure and struggle, before, in the TV series Marion and Geoff and Gavin and Stacey, Rob at last tickled the nation's funny bone. The rest, as they say, is history. Or in his case autobiography.Small Man in a Book is Rob Brydon's funny, heartfelt, honest, sometimes sad, but mainly funny, memoir of how a young man from Wales very, very slowly became an overnight success.Rob Brydon was brought up in Wales, where his career began on radio and as a voiceover artist. After a brief stint working for the Home Shopping Network he co-wrote and performed in his breakthrough show, the darkly funny Human Remains. He has since starred in the immensely popular Gavin and Stacey, Steve Coogan's partner in The Trip, and was the host of Would I Lie to You? and The Rob Brydon Show. He now lives in London with his wife and five children.By Vanessa Bell. 1997
Vanessa Bell, artist, sister of Virginia Woolf, wife of Clive Bell and lover of Duncan Grant, is one of the…
most fascinating and modern figures of the Bloomsbury set, but unlike most of them she rarely put pen to writing paper. When she did, she was witty and illuminating about their early lives. The eldest of the Stephen family, she grew up with Virginia in Victorian gloom at Hyde Park Gate and later blossomed in bohemian style in Bloomsbury. From the twenties to the forties she lived and painted at Charleston Farmhouse like a heroine of the sixties and seventies, at the centre of a colourful world of family, friends, artists and intellectuals. Sketches in Pen and Ink is a unique collection of largely unpublished memoirs - most of them written to be read at meetings of the Memoir club, in which Vanessa writes with wit and charm about herself, her childhood, her remarkable family and friends, her moving relationship with Roger Fry, and her art. Her daughter, Angelica Garnett, has written a vivid and personal introduction which adds considerably to our understanding of this extraordinary woman and artist.By Muriel Burgess. 1998
Shirley Bassey is one of the all-time greats of the entertainment business. She has sold more records than any other…
British female singer and still commands massive audiences around the world. Now, after a career spanning decades, her life story can be told: the story of a triumph over enough tragedies to last several lifetimes. The personal hardships that have fuelled the emotionalism of her songs have never before been revealed. Here her poverty-stricken childhood in Wales is detailed: how her mother struggled to bring up seven children on Income Support after their Nigerian father was deported; how she worked in a saucepan factory when her first struggles for stardom were halted by her pregnancy at sixteen. Shirley had a series of tortured loves: she married a homosexual Cockney who died of an overdose; she had a highly publicised affair with actor Peter Finch; and her second marriage, to an Italian, also failed. The shocking death of her second daughter, Samantha, just before her 21st birthday caused Shirley to lose her voice for nearly a year. Behind the showbiz glamour and consummate professionalism lies a fiercely resilient and independent woman.By Lorraine Kelly. 2019
'This is an utter tonic. Lorraine at her most honest; a genuinely helpful book' DAWN FRENCH'I love this book!' DAVINA…
MCCALL________________________________Lorraine has been a fixture on our TV screens for 35 years and is beloved by thousands for her warmth and down-to-earth interviewing style. Whatever life throws at her, she always manages to keep that signature twinkle in her eye. Now, she's ready to share her life lessons.There's a lot to keep up with nowadays: family, home, work, social media, the news... It's all too easy for days go by in a blur and before you know it, you're exhausted and the year has passed in the blink of an eye. Despite her hectic schedule, Lorraine has learned how important it is to listen to your body and your heart, and to take control of your life. Whether making small changes to your daily routine or overhauling your lifestyle and achieving those bucket-list goals, Shine will show you how to live every day to the fullest. Let Lorraine guide you on the journey to your best self with candid anecdotes from her own life, tips from the experts and practical exercises. You'll learn how to:- Spark: how to stay positive, confident and calm whatever life throws at you.- Glow: encouragement and strategies for keeping your body healthy and your look fresh, whatever your age.- Dazzle: how to get the best out of your relationships, family and work and make a difference to the world, even if it's just your patch.Uplifting, warm, and with beautiful hand-painted illustrations, Shine is a self-help book told from the heart.By Martin Hayes. 2021
Martin Hayes spent his childhood on a farm in County Clare, in a household steeped in musical tradition. After a…
free-spirited youth, he headed to the United States where he built a career that led to a life of musical performance on stages all over the world. Shared Notes traces this remarkable journey.Picking up his first fiddle at the age of seven, Hayes learned that music must express feeling. No amount of technical prowess can compensate for an absence of soulfulness. His interpretations of traditional Irish music are recognized the world over for their exquisite musicality and irresistible rhythm.Hayes has toured and recorded with guitarist Dennis Cahill for over twenty years, founded the Irish-American band The Gloaming, The Martin Hayes Quartet and The Common Ground Ensemble, and here, for the first time, tells his story of getting to the heart of the music.By Paris Hilton. 2023
***An Instant New York Times Bestseller***From the woman who is credited for launching what we know as the celebrity focused,…
“brand” driven, social media obsessed popular culture of today, comes an honest and surprising memoir that reckons with that truth, and shows that there is so much more to Paris Hilton than you might believe.I was born in New York City on February 17, 1981, three days after Valentine’s Day. From the time I was a toddler, my brain skipped and flickered with the chemical imbalance of ADHD. Sometimes it was too much.I’m not bragging or complaining about it, just telling you: This is my brain. It has a lot to do with how this whole book thing is going to play out, because I love run-on sentences—and dashes. And sentence fragments. I’m probably going to jump around a lot while I tell the story.I came of age during the most turbulent pop culture period ever.The character I played—part Lucy, part Marilyn—was my steel-plated armor.People loved her. Or they loved to hate her, which was just as marketable. I leaned into that character, my ticket to financial freedom and a safe place to hide. I made sure I never had a quiet moment to figure out who I was without her. I was afraid of that moment because I didn’t know what I’d find.I wrote this book in an effort to understand my place in a watershed moment: the technology renaissance, the age of influencers. I also wrote this book so that the world could know who I am today. I focused on key aspects of my life that led to what I am most proud of--how my power was taken away from me and how I took it back, how I built a thriving business, a marriage and a family.There are so many young women who need to hear this story. I don’t want them to learn from my mistakes; I want them to stop hating themselves for their own mistakes. I want them to laugh and cry and embrace every aspect of who they are with fearlessness and pride. We all have our own brand of intelligence, and, girl, fuck fitting in.By Geezer Butler. 2023
A rollicking, effusive, and candid memoir by the heavy metal musician and founding member of Black Sabbath, covering his years…
as the band’s bassist and main lyricist through his later-career projects, and detailing how one of rock’s most influential bands formed and prevailed. With over 70 million records sold, Black Sabbath, dubbed by Rolling Stone “the Beatles of heavy metal,” helped create the genre itself, with their distinctive heavy riffs, tuned down guitars, and apocalyptic lyrics. Bassist and primary lyricist Geezer Butler played a gigantic part in the band’s renown, from suggesting the band name to using his fascination with horror, religion, and the occult to compose the lyrics and build the foundation of heavy metal as we know it.In Into the Void, Butler tells his side of the story, from the band’s beginnings as a scrappy blues quartet in Birmingham through the struggles leading to the many well-documented lineup changes while touring around London’s gritty clubs (Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Zappa, and The Who makes notable appearances!), and the band’s important later years. He writes honestly of his childhood in a working-class family of seven in Luftwaffe-battered Birmingham, his almost-life as an accountant, and how his disillusionment with organized religion and class systems would spawn the lyrics and artistic themes that would resonate so powerfully with fans around the world.Into the Void reveals the softer side of the heavy metal legend and the formation of one of rock’s most exciting bands, while holding nothing back. Like Geezer’s bass lines, it is both original, dramatic, and forever surprising.By Richard Bacon. 2012
Have you ever been stitched up to the national press by your best mate?Or unintentionally upset a band with a…
slip of the tongue on a live TV show?Or ruined a dinner party by transforming everything alcoholic into water?Hello. I’m Richard Bacon and this is A Series of Unrelated Events. All of the stories are true. All of them happened to me. I’ve made the mistakes so you don’t have to (you’re welcome). So now, if you should ever find yourself sobbing on top of a box of gherkins in the stockroom of a Mansfield McDonald’s… having a Twitter conversation with your mum while she’s pretending to be an illiterate dog… performing stand-up to an audience who are funnier than you are… or just letting down all of the children of Great Britain……you’ll know exactly what to do.By Griff Rhys Jones. 2006
Semi-detached Griff relives freezing bus journeys to school and the impulsive stealing of that half-a-crown from Charlie Hume’s money box;…
sitting outside Butlins at Clacton (longing to be inside and on the Waltzer instead of stranded on the pebbles with his dad); hazy summer afternoons spent with feral gangs in the woods, or storming the mud flats singing extracts from the Bonzo Dog Dooh Dah Band. The memories are like Mivvis, frozen and fuzzy at the edges, but a sweet jam of pure recollected goo at the centre.From birth to the BBC, this is a story of a confident middle child. Griff’s devoted parents Gwynneth and Elwyn gave him love, security and plenty of asparagus soup from a fake wicker vacuum flask with a plastic top. Griff’s father Elwyn, a retiring hospital doctor with a penchant for sweeties and ice-cream, loathed the tedium of English social ritual and hid behind his family and woodwork. From tree houses to boats, puppets to tables, he sawed and hammered his way into his family’s affections.Griff left the bosom of his loving, irascible, eccentric, solid, all engulfing family for the firm embrace of real life; via the Upminster Fun Gang, the Direct Grant System and Party Sevens, losing his virginity down the back of a bunk in a twenty nine foot yacht, discovering the romantic advantages of shared babysitting engagements and the drawbacks of infatuation with identical twins. If he hadn’t moved around so much as a child, would Griff have felt less like a voyeur, looking in on the lighted window across the square, the Georgian house glowing in the sun, the clink of glasses and the bray of public school certainties? Would he be able to tuck in his own shirt? Would he be fully detached? A laugh-aloud buffet of baby boomer Britain, Griff’s self-deprecating, elegant, affectionate prose reveals a little bit better how on earth you got from there to here.By Richard Branson. 2010
Richard Branson is an iconic businessman. In Screw It, Let's Do It, he shares the secrets of his success and…
the invaluable lessons he has learned over the course of his remarkable career. As the world struggles with the twin problems of global recession and climate change, Richard explains why it is up to big companies like Virgin to lead the way in finding a more holistic and environmentally friendly approach to business. He also looks to the future and shares his plans for taking his business and his ideas to the next level.Richard reveals the new and exciting areas into which Virgin is currently moving, including biofuels and space travel, and brings together all the important lessons, good advice and inspirational adages that have helped him along the road to success. This is a fantastic motivational business book that will help every reader achieve their own dreams.By Fenton Bailey. 1979
'Like a superheated kernel of corn, the world has gone Pop... Drag has become mainstream. Being gay became cool. From…
being the criminal outsider, being queer has even become representative of the way the outsider voice is common to us all.'When he moved to New York in 1982, Fenton Bailey saw the world go Pop. Together with filmmaking partner Randy Barbato, their production company World of Wonder would pioneer the genre of Reality TV and chronicle the emerging Screen Age through their extraordinary programs and outrageous subjects - from Bible Belt televangelists and conspiracy theories to pioneering drag queens.Working with icons such as Britney Spears, Tammy Faye Bakker and RuPaul, the production company's shows tell a wider story of how television has fundamentally shifted our reality.Packed with glorious insider gossip and amazing celebrity stories, these are the riotous tales behind the shows that would make ScreenAgers of us all.By Vanessa Schneider. 2018
&“A beautiful eulogy and a much-needed corrective&” (The New York Times)—a love letter to Maria Schneider, the 1970s movie starlet…
who catapulted to fame in the controversial film Last Tango in Paris—only to live the rest of her life plagued by scandal, as told from the perspective of her adoring younger cousin.The late French actress Maria Schneider is perhaps best known for playing Jeanne in the provocative film Last Tango in Paris, directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and released to international shock and acclaim in 1972. It was Maria&’s first major role, alongside film legend Marlon Brando, when she was barely eighteen years old. The experience would haunt her for the rest of her life, traumatizing her and sparking a tabloid firestorm that only ceased when she began to retreat from the public eye nearly two decades later. To Maria&’s much younger cousin, Vanessa Schneider, Maria was a towering figure of another kind—a beautiful and fearsome fixture in Vanessa&’s childhood, a rising star turned pariah whose career and struggles with addiction won the family shame and pride in equal measure. Here, Vanessa recounts the challenges of their overlapping youths and fraught adulthood and reveals both the tragedy and inevitability of Maria&’s path in a family plagued by mental illness and in a society rife with misogyny. Unsentimental and moving, My Cousin Maria Schneider is a love letter to a talented artist and the cousin who admired her, and a powerful story of exploitation and how its lingering effects can reverberate through a lifetime.&“Concentrating on personal finance don&’ts is a clever idea . . . an intriguing reminder of what not to do when investing your…
money.&” —The New York Times Brilliant investors and top businesspeople make mistakes, too—very expensive ones. Drawing on his twenty-plus years of experience at some of Wall Street&’s most prestigious firms, as well as original research and interviews with these legendary investors, Stephen Weiss offers fascinating narrative accounts of their billion-dollar blunders. Here, such prominent figures as Kirk Kerkorian, Bill Ackman, David Bonderman, Aubrey McClendon, and Leon Cooperman discuss the most significant trade or investment that went against them, the magnitude of the loss, its effect on their businesses—and on their personal lives. The book skillfully examines the causal relationship between the quirks of each investor&’s personality and the mistakes they have committed—as well as the lessons learned. While some investors made errors of judgment, others made errors of perception. But no matter how many zeros were attached to these particular losses, investors at any level can profit from the wisdom gained—and avoid the same missteps. &“When a great investor flubs it, everyone can learn a lesson. With that in mind, author Stephen Weiss delves into the biggest mistakes of such Wall Street luminaries as Bill Ackman, Leon Cooperman and Richard Pzena.&” —Barron&’sBy Cary Elwes, Joe Layden. 2014
From actor Cary Elwes, who played the iconic role of Westley in The Princess Bride, comes the New York Times…
bestselling account of the making of the cult classic film filled with never-before-told stories, exclusive photographs, and interviews with costars Robin Wright, Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, and Mandy Patinkin, as well as author and screenwriter William Goldman, producer Norman Lear, and director Rob Reiner.The Princess Bride has been a family favorite for close to three decades. Ranked by the American Film Institute as one of the top 100 Greatest Love Stories and by the Writers Guild of America as one of the top 100 screenplays of all time, The Princess Bride will continue to resonate with audiences for years to come. Cary Elwes was inspired to share his memories and give fans an unprecedented look into the creation of the film while participating in the twenty-fifth anniversary cast reunion. In As You Wish he has created an enchanting experience; in addition to never-before seen photos and interviews with his fellow cast mates, there are plenty of set secrets and backstage stories. With a foreword by Rob Reiner and a limited edition original poster by acclaimed artist Shepard Fairey, As You Wish is a must-have for all fans of this beloved film.By Dave Roberts. 2014
All Dave Roberts ever wanted to do (apart from collect football programmes) was to work in advertising. More specifically, to…
work for the world's best advertising agency, Saatchi and Saatchi. There was just one problem. Even when he managed to persuade someone to employ him, Dave's copywriting assignments were mainly for second hand car dealers and double glazing companies. And Leeds, Manchester and, bizarrely, New Zealand were a long way from Charlotte Street and Madison Avenue. This was the world of the Sad Men.In his sparkling new memoir, Dave tells the story of a life shaped by his love of adverts, from seeing the PG Tips chimps at the age of three to writing infamous ads such as the Westpac Rap and having David Jason plug a family restaurant. Bursting with brilliant ideas - and some pretty daft ones - it is the cautionary tale of a quest for advertising glory... and not quite ever getting there.By Ronnie Drew. 2009
The late great Dubliner, Ronnie Drew, was six months into writing his biography when he was diagnosed with cancer. He…
had produced warm, witty and insightful material that made it clear that he was a wonderful writer as well as a great singer and storyteller. With the encouragement of his wife Deirdre and his family, he continued to think about the book and conducted a number of interviews to keep things ticking over until he was well enough to resume work on it. But sadly, much as he wanted to, Ronnie did not get to finish his story.However, with the whole-hearted co-operation of his daughter and son, Cliodhna and Phelim, it has been possible to put together Ronnie's work on his memoir along with his other writings, interviews with Cliodhna and Phelim, a wealth of photographs and other material from the family archive, and contributions from close friends, to create a book that is a wonderful portrait of, and a fitting and loving tribute to, the man Bono called 'the king of Ireland'.By Spike Milligan. 1974
VOLUME TWO OF SPIKE MILLIGAN'S LEGENDARY MEMOIRS IS A HILARIOUS, SUBVERSIVE FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT OF WW2'Brilliant verbal pyrotechnics, throwaway lines and…
marvelous anecdotes' Daily Mail 'Desperately funny, vivid, vulgar' Sunday Times ______________'Keep talking, Milligan. I think I can get you out on Mental Grounds.' 'That's how I got in, sir.' 'Didn't we all.' The second volume of Spike Milligan's legendary recollections of life as a gunner in World War Two sees our hero into battle in North Africa - eventually. First, there is important preparation to be done: extensive periods of loitering ('We had been standing by vehicles for an hour and nothing had happened, but it happened frequently'), psychological toughening ('If a man dies when you hang him, keep hanging him until he gets used to it') and living dangerously ('no underwear!'). At last the battle for Tunis is upon them . . .______________'The most irreverent, hilarious book about the war that I have ever read' Sunday Express 'Milligan is the Great God to all of us' John Cleese 'The Godfather of Alternative Comedy' Eddie Izzard 'A totally original comedy writer' Michael Palin 'Close in stature to Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear in his command of the profound art of nonsense' Guardian