David Stafford

Caroline Stafford

On paper, Kenny Everett's qualifications did not look promising – with little in the way of education, physique or social skills. What he had was a gift for funny voices, an oblique imagination and a way with a tape recorder. Yet, the British radio revolution in the ‘60s and ‘70s needed these exact qualities. Ever a corporate player, Kenny was frequently fired, but still went on to reinvent television. Meanwhile, outside the studios, the challenge to 'get a life' brought moments of ecstasy, frequent bother and at least one suicide attempt. And at the exact moment when tabloid frenzy about the AIDS epidemic reached its peak, he came out. This new biography, based on intricate documentary research as well as interviews with colleagues, friends and enemies – including Alexei Sayle, Barry Cryer, David Mallet and "Whispering" Bob Harris – not only gets under the skin of the man, but also gives a taste of the times. Cupid Stunts covers the novelty and excitement of hearing all-pop radio for the first time, the terror and bluster of the high-ups, the brilliant blossoming of gay culture throughout the 70s and 80s, and the tragedy and vile hypocrisy that surrounded the AIDS epidemic.

Cupid Stunts:The Life & Radio Times Of Kenny Everett

Halfway to Paradise: The Life of Billy Fury

Big Time: The Life of Adam Faith

"There's only ever been two English rock 'n' roll singers," Ian Dury said, "Johnny Rotten and Billy Fury." Butter adverts have tainted Johnny's status, but Billy's combination of beauty, sex, innocence, talent, charisma, and vulnerability has never been matched. The Sound of Fury, his first L.P., is still widely revered as the best British rock'n'roll record ever made. When he first appeared on TV, a generation of teenagers found true love, and his post-rock'n'roll heartbreak ballads were the essential soundtrack to adolescent angst. In 1973, he was brought out of semi-retirement to play Stormy Tempest--to some extent a parody of himself--in the movie That'll Be The Day. The magic rose above the parody. David and Caroline Stafford guide the reader through Billy's troubled childhood in Liverpool to his later years as a farming ornithologist and his comeback cut short by his premature death. Billy Fury was a key figure on that watershed between post-war privations and 1960s excess. He knew everybody, auditioned the Beatles to be his backing band, met and outhandsomed Elvis, partied with Keith Moon, and hosted acid parties. Yet, throughout the mayhem, he always remained true to himself--diffident and amused. Halfway To Paradise tells the full story with the compassion and affection due to an artist who, decades after his death, still has the power to command admiration and adoration.

The Life of Billy Fury

Halfway to Paradise

Lionel Bart was a writer and composer of British pop music and musicals, best known for creating the book, music and lyrics for Oliver! He also wrote the famous songs Living Doll (Cliff Richard) and From Russia With Love (Matt Munroe). He was unable to read music. He was a millionaire aged thirty in the Sixties, bankrupt in the Seventies and died in 1999. The authors gained exclusive access to Bart’s personal archives – his unfinished autobiography, his letters and scrapbooks. They detail how he signed away the rights to Oliver! to finance his new musical Twang – based on Robin Hood - which flopped badly in the theatre. Reveal how his heavy drinking led to diabetes and how he died in 1999 aged 69 from liver cancer. They have interviewed his personal secretaries, friends, family, counsellors and many of the performers, musicians and producers who worked with him. Interviewees include Rocky Horror’s Richard O’Brien and actors Dudley Sutton and Nigel Planer.

Caroline Stafford

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