Author:Simon Napier-Bell
Pop manager extraordinaire Simon Napier-Bell had had enough. He'd had enough of pop groups. He'd had enough of the constant grief at home with his two ex-boyfriends bickering and bleeding him dry; and most of all he'd had enough of the music biz. But then he fell in love with a new passion - the Far East; and a dynamic new duo - George and Andrew - jointly called Wham! Soon, in an audacious attempt to have the best of both worlds, he found himself offering to arrange for Wham! to be the first ever Western pop group to play in communist China - a masterstroke of PR which, in one swift stroke, would make them one of the biggest groups in the world.
What follows is an exciting, unpredictable and hilarious romp around the more curious corners of the world as Napier-Bell dives into the unknown, attempting to achieve the unachievable. We soon find ourselves in the company of a wonderful cast of petulant pop stars, shady international 'businessmen', and a hilarious confusion of spies, students and institutionalised officials and ministers as he edges ever closer to inadvertently becoming one of the first Westerners to break down the walls of communist China.
Tells the story with a raconteur's relish and a cast of shady characters straight out of a Graham Greene novel
—— Q magazineA riot of boys, booze and 80s excess...a great raconteur and his snide asides are a joy...Bitchier than an Elton John put down
—— ElleReading this is like sitting across a table groaning with foie gras, listening to a raconteur extraordinaire ramble through an alcoholic mist...tremendous fun
—— Gay TimesFunny and totally absorbing
—— Pink PaperRichly funny and entertaining..some of it reads like a big, gay Bond thriller; other bits are pure, pungent travelogue
—— MojoGiven Napier-Bell's hedonistic life in Eighties London, his diverse circle of acquaintances and his pithy, lively writing style, this book could hardly fail to entertain
—— ObserverSteinmeyer ... has a gift for translating stage performances to the page
—— Time OutThis is a really marvellous book, the most uninhibitedly intimate portrayal ever of the short, hard life and overall musical triumph of Lady Day...With Billie vividly reflects the chaos that Billie Holiday was born into and only rarely escaped from
—— Spectator