Showbusiness

In his first book, Mark Radcliffe recalls his less-than-glittering rock career in a succession of bands which all ended in ignominy and frustration. Combining his trademark humour with an acute eye for the ridiculous, Mark admits his part in bands like The Berlin Airlift (hastily named during a history lesson), the life-changing punk revolution in Bob Sleigh and The Crestas and even a flirtation with thirty-something pub rock. Interwoven with the musical disasters is the appealing rites-of-passage story of a middle-class grammar school boy who finally leaves Bolton for university. Splattered with memorable episodes and Viz-like characters, "Showbusiness" retraces the steps that should have led Mark to headlining Wembley Arena, but which took him to Radio 1 instead.