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So Tell Me What You Want: My story of making it in the mad, bad and fab pop music industry
*One of Waterstones' Best Entertainment Books of the Year 2024*
1987. Armed with a Filofax, a brick of a mobile phone and steely determination, 20-year-old Nicki Chapman is walking through the seedy streets of Soho towards her first job in the music biz.
But how did Nicki go from being a looked-over assistant running promo packages over to BBC Radio 1 to a judge on Pop Idol with 15 million viewers tuning in for the nail-biting moment Will Young triumphed over Gareth Gates?
Everyone knows there were the kingmakers in the heady days of 90s British pop music, but this is a queen's side of the story; a down-to-earth, no-nonsense team player who fought to make it in an industry that was very much a man's world.
Empowering, entertaining and sprinkled with stardust, Nicki's inspirational behind-the-scenes story takes in the rocketing highs and heart-breaking lows of promoting, managing and touring with the Spice Girls, Amy Winehouse, David Bowie, Take That, Billie Piper, Phil Collins and S Club 7, all whilst confronting chauvinism and smashing through the career glass ceiling.
1987. Armed with a Filofax, a brick of a mobile phone and steely determination, 20-year-old Nicki Chapman is walking through the seedy streets of Soho towards her first job in the music biz.
But how did Nicki go from being a looked-over assistant running promo packages over to BBC Radio 1 to a judge on Pop Idol with 15 million viewers tuning in for the nail-biting moment Will Young triumphed over Gareth Gates?
Everyone knows there were the kingmakers in the heady days of 90s British pop music, but this is a queen's side of the story; a down-to-earth, no-nonsense team player who fought to make it in an industry that was very much a man's world.
Empowering, entertaining and sprinkled with stardust, Nicki's inspirational behind-the-scenes story takes in the rocketing highs and heart-breaking lows of promoting, managing and touring with the Spice Girls, Amy Winehouse, David Bowie, Take That, Billie Piper, Phil Collins and S Club 7, all whilst confronting chauvinism and smashing through the career glass ceiling.
- GenresNonfiction
288 pages, Paperback
Published October 14, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
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May 1, 2026A not at all in depth account of Nicki Chapman’s career as a music plugger, fun but I could have done with more detail.
January 26, 2025
This was pretty interesting although in my opinion it felt more like a series of photos that were being described: "here is one moment, let me describe what is happening" rather than a cohesive account of her career.
I thought that it would have flowed better with some context to the events she covered, or even just her thoughts on some things - for example, I struggle to believe she had no opinions on Chris Evans proposing to Billy Piper when he was nearly 20 years older than her!
I thought that it would have flowed better with some context to the events she covered, or even just her thoughts on some things - for example, I struggle to believe she had no opinions on Chris Evans proposing to Billy Piper when he was nearly 20 years older than her!
May 12, 2026
An easy read Abbas an impressive life story. Felt genuine and not too much name dropping.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews