A Young Man's Passage

by Julian Clary

One of Britain’s most loved comic entertainers; this is Julian Clary’s story, in his own words — a touching, beautifully written and wryly-witty account of a unique progression from shy child to comedy icon.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Autobiography, Humor, LGBT, Comedian, Memoir

320 pages, Paperback

First published April 7, 2005

About the author

Julian Clary is an English comedian and novelist. Clary began appearing on television in the mid-1980s and became known for his deliberately stereotypical camp style. Since then he has also acted in films, television and stage productions, and was the winner of Celebrity Big Brother 10 in 2012.

Clary has released two large format comedy books: My Life With Fanny The Wonder Dog (1989) and How To Be A Man (1992).

Between 2005 and 2008, Clary wrote a fortnightly column for the New Statesman magazine. He has also published an autobiography, A Young Man's Passage, which covers his life and career up to the 1993 "Norman Lamont incident" at the British Comedy Awards. In 2007, Clary released his first novel, Murder Most Fab, published by Ebury Press. His second novel, Devil in Disguise, was published in 2009. His first book for children, The Bolds, was published by Andersen Press in 2015.

Adapted from Wikipedia.

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best autobiography I've ever read. I laughed, whooped, screamed and cried. What a life!

Was totally absorbed.

Five stars.

[Baba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haha, what a title! Obviously very candid, the self penned rise and fall of Julian Clary, covering childhood, the dog act, making it big, his conquests and love affairs, AIDs, holidays and working on the circuit with the likes of Paul Merton, Jo Brand etc. This started off quite slow, but some of the later stuff is very interesting and poignant. 6 out of 12

[Ben Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Uncompromisingly as open as you might expect from someone of Julian Clary's long standing. Other than the TV shows and Lamont remark, I knew pleasingly little but have since come over all familiar. And as I've just proven, its a lot harder than it looks.

[Moon · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fabulous autobiography! I loved it so much. The honesty, the joking matter he delivers his life's best and worst moments is incredible.

I loved how human he appears in this, how his autobiography recounts all the important (and not so important) details of his life without a bigger message.

I'm a big fan of biographies and autobiographies alike, but how do all these people get to experience some profound revelation just from reaching stardom and then having lots of sex and doing drugs (sometimes not in that order).

Sometimes I'd just like to read about the craziness of ones life without the story ending in some extraordinary conclusion that ties it all together. Sometimes stuff that happens in your life doesn't lead to a big finale. Not everything has to have a bigger meaning.

Sometimes you have to talk about a kitten named Puppy that likes books and is immensely adored by your parents. And let them wonder about the rest.

[Iworm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good.

Delivers the expected camp humour - along with some insight into the man beneath.

I found especially poignant the parts covering his schooling. As a pupil at the same school (a small number of years after him...) I found especially telling how he recounts the sheer violence of the place. The rampant sexual abuse that carried on there for years is well documented (and might yet reach closure if Interpol catch the last bastard who is still on the run...) and Clary hints at this. But for any one else who attended that hell-hole his depiction of the sheer thuggery and pitiless violence is spot on.

An excellent read!

[Angela · Rating 1 out of 5]

No offense Julian Clary, but you bored me intensely when you weren't making me laugh, which sadly wasn't much.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Dead John Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Young Man's Passage by Julian Clary I like biographies because a good one will reveal more of a person that you think you know something about.
 
I think a good biography should consist of several elements.1. What happened to them.2. What they did with that.3. What they make of it all.
 
What happened to them.This is the mundane details of their life like: where they were born, what their family was like, what school was like etc.
 
What they did with that.This is normally the full description of their career/chosen path and their struggles to overcome both their own limitations and external obstacles to finally achieve their goal.
 
What they make of it all.This should contain some reflection about the bigger things in life and point to a deeper understanding about their life.
 
Sadly many biographies,  especially of living subjects, contain only the first two of the above elements. Not so this one though.
 
I cannot imagine this is ghost written because Julian's voice comes through so clearly, complete with asides in that deadpan  delivery. As you can imagine it is very frank and no prisoners are taken along the way. What else would you expect? Anything else would be a let down.
 
 

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clever, witty and often hilarious I found myself in fits of real laughter a good few times reading this, Julian Clary is an absolute legend and such a likeable person, he draws you right into the events of his life upto the point of writing, there are touching moments, tortured moments and laugh out loud moments along with frequent dirty bits in there as well in his own outrageous and comical style, a very clever and intimate read, very enjoyable and a great purchase he has lived an interesting life so far.

[Barbra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny...good read....

[Sophy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bloody brilliant! I absolutely love Julian Clary and his humour. This book was no exception, I ended up hearing his voice in my head as I was reading and couldn't stop giggling.

He is naughty, cheeky and hilarious.

There are poignant conversations too about Christopher, his partner at the time, who sadly died of AIDS.

Overall a fabulous, flirty, fantastic offering from one of my favourite comic human beings!

[Carole Tyrrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This could have almost been entitled ‘Julian Clary’s Sticky Moments’ after his sit TV show or even ‘Moments in Love.’ But anyone expecting a very salacious read will be disappointed as, although it doesn’t shy away from details of Mr Clary’s love life it doesn’t dwell on them.
I bought this book to cheer myself up and it certainly did that. Wry and witty, it begins on the night of the infamous ‘fisting Norman Lamont’ incident at the British Comedy Awards which led to a lifetime ban from live TV as he’s waiting to go on stage.
Then he takes us on a troll through his suburban childhood and the first indications of what direction his sexuality might lie. He was educated by Benedictine monks with no jokes about ‘not getting into the habit.’ Julian seemed certain of his sexuality from an early age after one schoolboy encounter and one very brief foray in heterosexuality in his 20’s. He does discuss his love life and various liaisons as he relates his time at Goldsmiths College, followed by community theatre, singing telegrams and then into the emerging alternative comedy circuit of the ‘80’s. This is where he met the comedian Paul Merton who states on the book cover ‘ I, for one, never knew that Julian was gay.’ As one photo caption of them together with Mr Merton gamely wearing a beret ‘….I was Grayson to his Hancock.’
Then good fortune smiled on Julian as two life changing events happened to him. Firstly, the finding of Fanny the Wonder Dog, a mongrel pup, from a SE London pet shop. Under her influence Julian re-invents himself as The Joan Collins Fan Club. Then Channel 4 arrived and brought with it the seminal Saturday Night Live a few months later. Julian even has a minor hit with his inimitable version of ‘the Leader of the Pack. One of my fondest ‘80’s memories was seeing the accompanying video on Night Network when Mick Brown asked a bemused rapper his opinion of it and the rapper merely said ‘He’s cool.’
This was followed by the successful ‘Sticky Moments’ and I enjoyed his comments on the fickle nature of TV fame. ‘In TV terms, of course, one’s career goes through a number of phrases from ‘Accept no offers. You’re too good for that! to ‘How lovely to be asked. I’ll take anything!’. He’s never afraid to poke fun at himself either as when he describes his attempts to walk in amore manly fashion as ‘By this time I’m waddling like a horse rider with piles’ before he gives up and decides to ’mince in my usual fashion through the foyer.’ He describes his tours of Australia and his first ideas of fisting jokes after he’s rumoured to have broken his arm whilst performing this on someone. That was a dangerous path to go down….
Two of Julian’s lovers die from AIDS as it begins to cut a swathe through society and he describes their deaths with affection and sorrow.
We leave Julian having moved from his Gothic, not necessarily in a good way, house in Holloway back to his spiritual home in Camden after the Lamont fisting scandal and the resulting aftermath. It has taken stock of his life and beginning to move on. A survivor. A really good uplifting read.

[Amy W · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just OK really. I enjoy autobiographies, and there was a lot of sex in this which spiced things up, but not many revelations or anything unexpected.

Julian says the period after his lover's death was a terrible time (not a spoiler, it's on the back), but he skated over it really. I suppose he didn't want to dwell on a bad time in his life, though I think it would have added a bit more pathos to the book which came across mostly flippant.

I got through it quickly and I didn't dread picking it up each time so that's something, but I can't say this was particularly memorable or interesting.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not a fag hag but I do find something quite endearing about Julian Clary, despite his increasingly botoxed lop-sided leer. His biog contains plenty of witty asides and double entendres as you would expect - it's also a bit sad in parts about his meltdown around the tasteless Norman Lamont joke which I can't even remember. Not sure he should bother with part 2: 'Even further up a young man's...' however.

[Mark Nunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

For someone like me who remembers watching Julian Clary back in the days of Friday Night Live and Sticky Moments this is a great read. He describes his early life and the journey he took to become the well known household name. It's impossible to read it without hearing his voice.

He writes with the pithy humour you'd expect but is also very moving and often startlingly candid. Truly a warts and all autobiography (literally)

[Larelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bear in mind that JC doesn't mince his words (unlike all his mannerisms), so if you are easily shocked, this book probably isn't quite for you. It certainly reveals a softer, more deeply emotive man than comes across in his screen/stage persona. It was a good read and I loved learning more about him. His comedy is vulgar, but I love it/him!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a wonderfully funny and literally warts and all tale of Julian’s life up to 1993. If he amuses you on screen he’ll amuse you just as much in print. The early years of Fanny the Wonder Dog are covered and the middle of the book has some great photos of young Julian in costumes which still look flamboyant and a half today.

[Kirsty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book on holiday, and found it hilarious in parts. There's something about Julian Clary that makes you want to watch him on TV, and his book makes you want to read more. There are some parts where he is a little too honest(!!), but on the whole its a good read.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've long been a fan of Julian Clary, and I loved this book. It is a witty account of his life with some laugh out loud moments.
There are low moments too. particularly the death, from AIDS, of his boyfriend.
Julian is a queen, a bit of a slut but he is very likeable and a very witty man.

[Haldoor42 · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read. Julian holds no punches - he tells it as it was. This is a sometimes painful sometimes amusing tale of life and loves, as well as the obligatory puns, quips and lashings of sexual encounters with just short of too much detail! Thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Mike Jennings · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it. It's Julian Clary and it reads as if he's speaking to you, so if you're a little homophobic (be honest) you probably won't like this.

Amusing, occasionally really funny with some sad, touching bits (ooer).

[Lucy Condon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sadly I didn’t laugh once which was disappointing as I find him quite funny on the TV. Adult life was a stream of sex in parks, toilets, clubs and flats. All very alien and shallow leading him to depression and loneliness. Too much anal warts and not enough emotion in the book.

[Blorengia · Rating 2 out of 5]

A bit disappointed by this one. I like JC on TV, although I haven't seen much of him recently, but this book didn't engage me. I got about a third of the way through but then put it aside... maybe I should have stuck with it longer but perhaps I was just not in the right mood for it.

[Kellyanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just loved this book. Clarys style of writing is the same as you know him to be. I was quite astounded to read what a hard life he has has and the book left me wanting to read so much more!

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Julian Clary = intelligent, extremely funny and amazing. This book was written with absolute honesty, pouring his heart out to us readers. I feel like I need to read more of him...

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honest, although not completely frank (e.g. the depression is skated over). Not as funny as I'd hoped, but still illuminating.

[Andy]

A biography of the infamous comedian - Not as funny as it could have been but lays bare his early years before the infamous Norman Lamont incident.

[Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really good book. It was really funny and interesting reading about his life. It was honestly written and I hope he will write a continuation from this!

[Lisa Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant read, very funny, and touching in places. He's such an interesting guy, and with what he's been through, you do feel sorry for him. He seems like such a nice guy, with a heart of gold.

[Gavin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just starting.