One Way or Another

by Nikki McWatters

In 1981, fifteen-year-old Nikki McWatters is living in a Gold Coast suburb, dragging herself through humdrum schooldays and dreaming of losing her virginity to a rock star. With three friends she starts the Vulture Club for aspiring groupies – and so begins a festival of sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll.

As Nikki gets older, her conquests get bigger and the stakes get higher. From Australian Crawl to INXS, Pseudo Echo to Duran Duran, she is living her teenage dream – but is the groupie life all it’s cracked up to be?

One Way or Another is an irresistible romp through a world of pub rock, big hair, wild nights and mornings after. With irrepressible humour and a bulging little black book, Nikki McWatters recalls an age when everything seemed possible – even if everything wasn’t such a good idea.

Genres: Nonfiction, Music, Memoir

250 pages, Paperback

First published March 21, 2012

About the author

Nikki is an Australian-based writer who lives with her family north of Sydney, near the beach. She was shortlisted for a Queensland Premier's Literary Award for Emerging Writer

Her memoir, 'One Way or Another, the story of a girl who loved rock stars' was released by Black Inc in 2012.

Nikki's short fiction has appeared in The Big Issue, The Newcastle Literary Award Anthology, The Grieve Anthology and The Twisted Tales anthology. Her short story, 'Yellow Belly' won the prestigious international Moth Prize, juged by John Boyne (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas).

Hexenhaus, her most recent young adult novel will be the first in a series of three epic tales of female empowerment; witches, warrriors and wise women.

Nikki writes for the UK Huffington Post, the Sydney Morning Herald and online magazines such as mamamia and ivillage and was selected to have her fiction piece 'James Franco's Smile' included in the prestigious annual fiction edition of The Big Issue.

Nikki is a former actor who now writes full-time.

Reviews

[Julie scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this novel abt a young teenage gjrl growing up in the 80s named Nikki who spenf her teen yrs sneaking out of her bedroom window 2 live out her sexual fantasies with Rock Stars n boy she sure did that even having 2 pay her younger sister 2 keep her secret. But it was'nt all fun n games 4 Nikki tho wen she got introduced 2 drugs n discovering she was pregnant. This novel took me back 2 my teens going 2 constant rock concerts i recommend this novel 2 any 1 who luvs their music n their Rock Gods......

[Leah Toohey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this coming of age book set during the hedonistic 80's Aussie pub rock scene. It bought back many fond memories of my own teen years during this time. I saw myself in young Nikki in many ways. While not a groupie myself, I was obsessed with the Aussie rock scene, where life was one big rock gig, and rockstars were gods. Nikki bought to life my middle aged nostalgia of a great time left long ago, and conjured up memories of bands and venues long gone. I may have queued for the loo with Nikki at some overcrowded venue! From sweaty beer soaked beer-barns in and around Sydney such as Coogee Bay Hotel, to local RSL clubs and pubs up and down the east coast, summertime saw an endless procession of bands, parties, DAS and all that goes with the 80's Aussie rock culture. A wonderful time, and a ripper good read to travel back those heady days!

[Sarah Belle · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a wild life Nikki had! How I'd love to have a cuppa and a chat with her - they stories this lady could tell!

This was an entertaining read and took me back to my own teen years during the 80's, when Australian music seemed to shine all over the world and every teenage girl wanted to marry a rockstar.

It's light and brutally honest, and written in a very self-depreciating and humourous style that brought me closer to the author and the world she lived in. I would have liked loads more juicy details, but I understand that the author would have left herself open to potential law suits if she named names. Although I think she got to shag my favourite Duran Duran member - well done Nikki!

Overall, an enjoyable, quick read.

[Glenda Hughes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this was a top book about a young girl's coming of age in the eighties. Her wild nights as a teenage groupie were sometimes a bit shocking...but she never shied away from telling it like it was....It was a very brave read tackling subjects like abortion and depression. It was hilariously funny and brutally honest and heartbreakingly sad. Well written. I read it in one night and couldn't put it down. Now I want to read it again and savor it. Good stuff. A fast paced read full of meaty subjects. And it made me fantasize once again about Duran Duran and Michael Hutchence and.....

[Henry Ix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This short read packs quite the punch. A romantic weekend getaway turns into a meeting with a dark, shadowy figure who knows how to get what he wants. I love the way the characters and setting lull you into a false sense of security and then ...ka-pow! This is the sexiest horror story I've ever read. Guaranteed to leave you breathless.

[Nicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this. Good account of growing up and living a wild life in the 80's. I enjoyed the authors journey and seeing how she came through it all. The overall message of accepting yourself and moving on from your mistakes was a good one.

[Stefan Redford · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book had me captivated from the very first sentence. A page turner for me and I finished it in one session. Althiugh I did not live a life such as Nikki's, I found a lot that I could relate too. Cannot recomnend it high enough.

[Ned Manning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A terrific account of a young woman's voyage of discovery around the world of rock & roll and acting. Funny and irreverent. Just the thing for reading on the beach and musing about the good old days!

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I raced through this book and liked it. It was fun to go back to the 80s and the Sydney scene.

[Rosina Carbone · Rating 4 out of 5]

more than a “groupie memoir”. i walk around sydney and now suspect the sordid and vivid activities of the 80s that would have soiled its streets. i can still see those same hopefuls strutting its pathways in my own gen

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, Rock’N’Roll history lesson like no other, with a sweet ending that’s worth strapping yourself in for.

[Paul Christensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good insight into the groupie mindset, also a warning to other girls not to engage in this degenerate lifestyle.

They thought they were cold-blooded athletes, notching up muso after muso, then she falls in love with one she can’t have and ends up aborting his baby without even telling him. (Referred to only as ‘The Poet’, subtle clues in the text reveal this to have been Steve Kilbey from The Church.)

Just keep your fucking legs shut before marriage, sluts.

A book likely only of historical interest, as do groupies still exist?

Do bands still exist???

[Sybilla Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was taken back to the eighties and it was such a ride. The music, the hairdos and the music! Nikki's story was well written and reflective but with just enough humour to keep it lively and entertaining (while also being very moving and shocking). I loved how she grew from a wild and troubled teen into a caring and nurturing woman who came to understand her femininity and sexuality in a more healthy way. I read it in one night and couldn't put it down and was sad to get to the end.

I also went to some of the Kings Cross venues mentioned like The Manzil Room and Benny's. And I particularly enjoyed reading the epilogue to see what happened to all the characters from her early life. For fans of Duran Duran and INXS it shows another side of the glitz and glamour of rock and roll. Highly recommended.

[Nettie Grey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm. I was expecting this to be more fun somehow.

Smuttier and more shameless, and perhaps naming a few names to boot. It isn't entirely devoid of merit, but I think a higher trashiness factor might have actually been a good thing, at least in terms of keeping my attention.

Nikki McWatters' account of her wayward youth as a New Wave groupie isn't boring as such, but her story, on reflection, is just not all that compelling or even especially unusual. Less workmanlike prose may have helped make this a more memorable read, as might have some genuinely scandalous material. Though readers of a certain age (ahem) may be able to amuse themselves by speculating on just which pseudonymous eighties hair rockers our heroine managed to lure to her bed...

[Leda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book took me back to growing up in the eighties. It was beautifully written and very honest. It was funny and sad...a nice blend and it looked at things we all did (most of us) but in a unique way. Rock and roll was exciting in the eighties and I could easily pick all the rockstar lovers because there were very obvious clues. This was one of those books you read in a single sitting (or two) and I was sad when it ended....I wanted to know what Nikki did next!!! I really loved this book. I laughed out loud on the plane and had to hide behind tissues occasionally. I'd recommend for women who grew up in the eighties or young girls who like Rock and Roll. This book was really, really great!