Mark Radcliffe

31 Jul 2010

Gosh, the gap between acquisition and reading is a bit big at the moment! Mind you, I've only got a shelf of TBR at the moment, so not so many acquired in the second half of the year.

Anyway - this, the third part of a 2 for 3 purchase from Waterstones, was an excellent choice. I've liked Radcliffe's work in print and on the radio for years, and this did not disappoint. Rather than a straight autobiography, he picks out days when something exciting or interesting happened, and show more writes a short piece, not as long as a whole chapter, about each of them. This covers radio, at various stations, walking, bands he's seen and bands he's been in, heroes, entertainment and all sorts. There is a very small overlap with his book about the bands he's been in, and there's very little about his family, except when they're pursued by journalists in the very interesting section on Mark and Lard's attempt to do the Radio 1 Breakfast Show. The pieces are funny, touching and always well written, and this is a book that lends itself very well to being re-read. show less

It took me a couple of chapters to realize that the book was going to be 75% Radcliffe enjoying his own jokes and 25% actual rock history. But fortunately, once I did realize that, it turned out that I also kind of enjoyed his sense of humor. And the history bits tended to focus on things I didn't already know. So in the end I liked it more than I would have guessed.

Thank You For The Days is subtitled 'A Boy's Own Adventures In Radio' and broken down into chapters dealing with notable incidents from Radcliffe's career, such as meeting his idols (Bowie, Bush, Jagger), getting fired from the breakfast show, swearing on live radio, and unintentionally upsetting Kylie Minogue. There's also much about his love of music, from the band that changed his life (Dr. Feelgood) to the band that made his life complete (the Family Mahone). Yet the most affecting show more chapter has nothing to do with radio at all. It deals instead with a coast-to-coast walk he undertook between leaving Radio 1 and joining Radio 2. There's real emotion on display here, and genuine wit, making this far more than just another celebrity memoir. If he ever gets tired of radio, Mark Radcliffe could easily become the next Bill Bryson. I hope he finds the time to write more soon.

Read the full review at my blog. show less

Mark Radcliffe takes his reader to crossroads, points in time when musicians stood at a junction and chose a particular route that changed their music and fortunes. Dotted with the personal tales of someone who has been involved in the music industry for many years, particularly in Manchester, this is a light and often amusing book. There is plenty of interest here for music fans, from Nirvana to Elvis Presley with stories about Black Sabbath, Fairport Convention and Bob Dylan among others. show more Mark Radcliffe knowledge of the music industry is vast and this means he digresses often and gives his readers additional facts and stories as asides. Each chapter stands alone and this makes it a great book to dip in and out of. show less