Birkenhead, 1973. The eighteen-year-old Paul O'Grady gets ready for a big Saturday night out on the town. New white T-shirt, freshly ironed jeans, looking good. As he bids farewell to his mum, who's on the phone to his auntie, and wanders off down the street in a cloud of aftershave, he hears her familiar cry: 'Oh, the devil rides out tonight, Annie. The Devil rides out!' The further adventures of Paul O'Grady - following on from the million-copy-selling At My Mother's Knee - are, if anything, even more hilarious and outrageous than what has come before. As Paul struggles to get to grips with unexpected fatherhood and bereavement, he searches high and low for a job that lasts and somehow finds himself getting married in the process. Work takes him from an abattoir to a children's home, from a hospital to a nightclub, and from penthouse to pavement. Along the way, he takes his first-Savage steps on stage, tastes the exotic delights of Manila and invades Poland ...
My Review
I know, two biographies in a row, it's unheard of for me, but they both turned up at once and had request lists (I got them from the library) so had to get them read.
I read Paul O'Grady's first autobiography last year when it came out and quite enjoyed it, and it finished on a bit of a 'whatever will he do' moment, so i looked forward to reading this one.
This book covers approximately 7 years of his life, from 18 - 25. He talks about all the different jobs he had, and blimey he's been around a lot. I saw a softer side to him as he talked about working in a home for severely disabled children, never would have imagined him doing something like that, but from reading it sounds like he was good at it, and i say good on him. It also takes you through his introduction to the drag scene and the stirring of Lily Savage.
This book had me giggling throughout and was well written. I am surprised at how many details he could remember.
A good read, and I am hoping there will be another one to come.
My Rating
I would give this book 7.5/10. A good read with some laughs!
1 comment:
Hi Becky;
Enjoyed your review. I appreciate bringing it to my attention and could always use a book that could bring a few laughs.
Have you posted this on amazon?
Mike
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