Pop Scars: A memoir on fame, addiction and the dark side of 90s pop - 'Unflinching and unmissable', HEAT Magazine

by KAVANAGH ANTHONY

'Darkly comic' - Guardian
'Raw, funny and completely fearless' - Heat

Born in Manchester in 1977, Anthony Kavanagh's rise to fame was stratospheric, scoring a record deal at the age of just eighteen and winning the much-coveted Smash Hits Male Artist of the Year Award in 1997, all the while achieving top ten hits, appearing on countless magazine covers, performing on Top of the Pops and gigging alongside the Spice Girls. The stuff that dreams are made of.

But Anthony - or Kavana as he came to be known - was also trying to keep his sexuality a secret while navigating his way through an industry where image was everything; where his success depended on him having to be exactly who he wasn't.

What followed was a dark and dangerous spiral into addiction, an illness that would insidiously follow and baffle him for years to come. Pop Scars is a story told with fearless honesty that's at times as funny as it is heartbreaking, chronicling the highs, the lows, the self-destruction and the chaos of hitting rock bottom and then finding out that rock bottom has a basement.

Thirty years on, Anthony is ready to tell his jaw-dropping story. Pop Scars is a book about teenage stardom, fame, addiction, grief and - ultimately - survival and sobriety.

Genres: Biography, Memoir, Nonfiction, Music, Addiction, Audiobook

280 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 17, 2025

Reviews

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a trashy, easy-read (listen), nostalgic pop memoir. Vaguely remembering Kavana as a 90s one-hit wonder, I didn’t have high expectations for this book… but it was really good. Written by Anthony himself (not a ghost writer) after finally getting sober, he also narrated the audiobook. It made me laugh out loud, and shed a tear at the end.

[Shell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up in the 90s I wasn't really into the boybands and pop boys so although I was aware of Kavana it was mostly just seeing him in Smash Hits or Top of the Pops, but I do love a music memoir.
This was brilliant- brutally honest but told with a lot of humour.
I have a lot of respect for Anthony for writing this and really hope he is is doing well, I'm rooting for him! Sometimes relatable, sometimes a hard read but written with a lot of heart.
Also recommend listening to the audiobook which Anthony reads himself.

[S Atkinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honest, funny and very revealing.

[LVG · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to pace myself going through this! Anthony’s writing captures his honest and funny voice, while describing a coming of age through nineties fame that changed his life forever. His hopes and insecurities are so palpable, while getting a little look into a life most of us can only guess after. You get to know ‘Kav’ as an ambitious, but anxious and closeted young man - and I found myself rooting for him in many parts of the story, for success in his music career, his love life, for him to beat the addiction, and for his family’s health. Anthony’s story to me shows that life isn’t meant to be a success story (even if it seems like one at times), but that it is kindness and compassion- from others, but also towards yourself - that are the true drivers of your life’s story.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a highly readable account of a wrecked life. It shows 90s pop star Kavana going from his early success - with talent in both singing and writing - to decades of alcohol and substance abuse. It also shows him feeling under considerable pressure to keep his sexuality hidden (he only came out as gay in 2024).
It is a fragmented book, moving from one sliver of memory to the next, each giving us a brief glimpse of the hells Kavana found himself in (as well as the occasional highs). One feels relieved when reaching the end, where he seems to have found some peace and sobriety.
The first part of the book concentrates on his developing career, under the guidance of a powerful pop manager with whom he is also romantically obsessed. Much later, as he undergoes therapy in one of his rehab clinics, a therapist suggests that something which happened on his eighteenth birthday could be understood in terms of grooming. Kavana himself does not interpret it this way, and the episode is not explored in detail, but it lands as a quiet bombshell that echoes back through the earlier chapters.
A frank and, given the grimness of the subject, surprisingly enjoyable read. One hopes he stays sober.

[N.S. Ford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review first appeared on my blog https://nsfordwriter.com on 5th September 2025.

'A memoir on fame, addiction and the dark side of 90s pop', this book is written in a friendly, honest style with humour despite some very low times. I only knew one song by Kavana (the pop star name of Anthony Kavanagh), 'I Can Make You Feel Good', but this didn't prevent me from enjoying the book.

The book narrates the story of the author's life and career, from meeting his first manager aged 16, becoming a pop sensation and touring with the Spice Girls, to moving to the US, and his descent into alcoholism and addiction as his music and TV career foundered. All the while, he was hiding his sexuality from the media and most of the people he knew. Young male singers had to pretend to be straight, as they were marketed to girls and it was a different media landscape (remember Stephen Gately's forced outing to the press?). I am sure that any readers who are interested in the crazy world of 90s pop, or in memoirs of alcoholism, or both, will find this a compelling read.

Thank you to the publisher Blink for the review copy.

[Cara bunnypop_bookstagram · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, what a memoir! From that opening prologue this book was a rollercoaster ride!

As someone who grew up in the 90’s and was a huge fan of 90’s pop music reading this book was like an insight into some of the inner workings, the good, the bad and the ugly.

How this book is written, it’s exactly like Anthony is sat with you having a chat and a coffee and just pouring his heart out.
This book had me laughing, crying and clutching my pearls in shock.
As a child looking up to your favourite pop stars you don’t realise half of what goes on in the business until you read books like this as a grown up and it’s actually a bit heartbreaking to know someone you idolised was going through such an awful time.

I just wanted to give ‘Kav’ a big hug by the end knowing what he’s been through personally and professionally

If you were a fan of 90s pop music, cheeky northern pop singers and wanting to see what life was really like like behind the fame then don’t hesitate to pick this up

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

[Nicky McElhatton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book so much and there are moments when it has real promise. I fear it could’ve benefitted from a proper proofread and an edit. There were so many typos throughout. It’s littered with pop culture inaccuracies- mentions things that didn’t exist in the time he’s writing about. Random people in his anecdotes names change from sentence to sentence A lot of the phrases he uses are repetitive. His sentence length and structure with dashes and brackets are hard to read and make sense of and therefore have to be re read, becoming arduous. And finally the tone of the entire book is a bit jarring to the extent that it seems insincere. E.g. every pop star he meets is “a good lad” or a “right laugh” or “really genuine” (except Louis Walsh who we all know is a notorious cunt).

Having said that it is a truly devastating read as it deals with a young man trying to discover who he is in the pop industry as he struggles with addiction, his sexuality, an eating disorder, rejection, Louis Walsh being a cunt and his wider identity and how he fits in.

[Laura Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not normally one for a celebrity memoir but I had 7 and half hours left on my book beat (the hours can’t be carried over) so this was fit perfectly and oh boy I’m glad choose it especially I my teen years were in the 90s!
Quite liked the fact ages wasn’t spent on his childhood it got straight to the main story
A very honest account of drugs and alcohol and how destructive it can be.
Made me sad he felt he had to hide his sexuality for so long can’t imagine that now.
My only complaint as a big fan of big brother he didn’t talk of his stint in there especially as he was in a great series with my favourite Michelle visage. Would have liked have heard about the big reunion times as well .. so I guess my only real complaint is that I wish this book was longer despite the fact I choose it for its running time 😂

[KathVBtn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pop Scars is a totally binge worthy and eye opening memoir from the heart. Kavana seemed to have it all in the 90s, fame, good looks, money, a thriving pop career. Underneath it all he was hiding his sexuality, at a time when being outwardly gay would have brought everything crashing down.

His memoir is honest and open about his addictions, the highs and lows, all the coping mechanisms he used to hide who he was and mask the pain that he was in. There are some beautiful moments, like the time he met Amy Winehouse- and crashing lows- necking aftershave for the alcohol doesn’t sound like a great idea.

It’s completely astonishing looking back how much was masked and how much more open we are now and I’m so sorry that Kavana was trying to find his place in a world and time that wouldn’t accept him.

[Dani (piggindani_reads) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not gonna lie, I think Anthony Kavanagh broke my heart reading this. 💔
As an adorable (lol) teeny bopper at the time, I believed the lie they told us but this (Pop Scars) was incredibly eye opening.
Yes, it was a massive nostalgia trip but underneath the image there was so more going on than I could have ever imagined.
Even his first steps to becoming a pop star are tinged with sadness.
God, kids (myself included) were so dumb.

I was kindly gifted a finished copy but when I saw that Kavana himself narrated the audiobook, I had to use my BookBeat hours and listen (as I read along) 🎧

We are given a glimpse of what it was like for Kavana during his many highs and lows as he fought for his dream to come true. And, I must say, I feel upset with myself for being like so many of the people he met. By that I mean, he was a shiny new toy that I adored until the next one came along and I discarded and forgot about him. I’m pretty sure Kavana won’t hold it against me because he, better than anyone, knows that’s just how fickle the pop world is (and I was a silly kid!) 🥰 But, Damn! The pop world was such a toxic place.

What stood out for me was:

*How real, raw and exposed Kavana is.
*The humour that, at times, I felt was used to hide his sadness and loneliness.
*The unlikely friendship with Amy Winehouse, (Brilliant! I wish I was at that panto. 😂),
*The love & tenderness that fills the pages.
*The lasting feeling of hope.

This was truly a beautiful, bittersweet memoir.

I will say this though ~
Not sure on the accents (sorry, Anthony lol) and
I’ll never look at Joop the same again! lol

This memoir deals with some hard topics (alcoholism, drug addiction, sexuality, grooming) so please don’t go into thinking it’s a fun, lighthearted look back on his pop career, it is so much more!

Honestly though, thank you, Blink Publishing via Bonnier Hive, for a finished copy.
It honestly made my year when it arrived.

I don’t like giving ratings to someone’s life and experiences but I highly recommend this.

[Lindsey Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so honest, bleak, sincere, harrowing and funny!! And there’s so much vulnerability in his writing.

He gives you all the unflinching and scandalous details of what he chooses to share but it also feels like there’s a lot omitted, whether due to word count or discretion.

I really liked that he didn’t milk any of the relationships he had with well-known celebrities, instead lightly skimming over interactions with Amy Winehouse, Stephen Gateley and the Spice Girls etc. and without trying to centre the book around them.

He seemed to inspire so much goodwill from people around him, before his descent to “rock bottom” as he describes it, and it’s easy to see why from his writing.

I really hope he’s able to continue on his path of peace and sobriety.

[Yves · Rating 4 out of 5]

Both raw and funny, and brutally honest, Anthony Kavana’s account of his downward spiral in alcoholism and drug use is incredibly gripping. You can’t help but rooting for him to make it, and thankfully it looks like he finally has. I admire how he doesn’t lay the blame with anyone and takes full responsibility, although it would have been interesting to dive into the causes a bit more. Some of the episodes are pretty shocking, and he is lucky to be able to tell the tale. Now I will be digging out his 2 CDs and have a listen, as yes, I was a bit of a fan at the time!

[mrsbookburnee Niamh Burnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

If like me, you grew up on cheesey 90s pop, then you need this memoir, this brought back so many memories of songs I loved, award shows and musical performances. I went down rabbit holes while googling some of the events ‘Super Kav’ on you tube was a favourite ❤️

When I look back on those days, I would always think about the fun the artists seemed to be having and how amazing ‘stardom’ seemed, Anthony shows us the real side the industry and as with some highs, there are many lows, my heart broke reading what he had been through and how he was let down by some.

There are some hilarious moments in this book, I loved the antics with his school friends and his bonds with his family, alongside these are some important messages on the pitfalls of fame and the last effect it can have. This is a heartwarming read, that will have you routing for ‘Kavanna’ and binge listening to his songs!

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Pop music in the 90's/00's and was/ am a fan of Kavana. Thanks to Kavana for sharing such personal details with us in this memoir that has made me cry sad and happy tears.

This was a very difficult read. The dark side of the industry is a terrifying place. It is very brave of Kav to open up about what happened to him over such an extended period of time.

I hope to be able to continue to follow his career in which I wish him success and hope he finds happiness in all aspects of his life. ❤️

[Dan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Following on from recent(ish) documentaries about the ups and downs of boyband life, this felt like something I wanted to read. It was, but it's more focused on the personal effects of fame and then being "in the dumper" and having addiction issues. A good read but I was expecting more about "The Manager" (he's not referred to by name in this book) as discussed in that boybands documentary and the Robbie Williams CGI ape film.

[Conor Moynihan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think its always a good sign of a book when you read it in a day- I couldnt put this down. Warm, funny, raw, self deprecating, honest. Not salacious at all. I felt like Kavana was narrating my story at times- too en pointe at times about trying to hide ones sexuality. Loved it, and love him now.

[Ben Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awful story told in an entertaining and wry way. A story of survival in a world that looked so sunny and shiny from the outside. You do root for him despite the terrible things he does and bear in mind, I thought he was bloody awful when I was a teenager!

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember his name but not much else, as I'm not a pop music fan. However I was intrigued by what happened to him. The story is sad and told in a somewhat disjointed manner. I think a lot was left out. I hope he can remain sober.

[Clare Mephan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I listened to the audio book and being read from him is a must!!! He is so funny and even when he talks about the awful parts of his life the way he talks about it and his honesty will have you laughing, even if you know you shouldn’t. Highly recommend and I hope he makes another one!!!

[Luis DH · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warm and honest, raw and emotional, a complicated journey of fame, rejection and addiction. A memoir about resilience and hope. Any 90s pop fan will love this one.

[Nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a fan, this was a heartbreaking read, very raw, but very truthful and sadly an all to often read tale of the pitfalls of fame! Well done Kav for sharing your story x

[Hayley Thorpe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh Kav

[Andy Green · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just finished reading this book, and I loved reading Kavana's story. Had a huge crush on him big time growing up (still do), and this book made me smile,cry, and join him in having hope.

[Nicola Bardon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not your average celebrity memoir. The honesty, the urge to read behind your hands and yellow "no!!! Don't do it!!"
Anthony has been so open and honest, everyone should give it a read.

[Miss · Rating 1 out of 5]

This might be a good book, but hearing the author was so annoying, that i returned it to the library

[Alastair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not your average memoir! A brutally honest, almost chaotic telling of his story! A must read for any 90’s pop fans!

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

A revealing insight into the lack of support people get when they are catapulted into fame

[Jane Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably one of the most sincere autobiographies I’ve ever read. There were parts were I laughed out loud, parts where my heart broke. Just loved every bit of it! Thanks for inviting us in, Anthony

[Kay Townsend · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found this book just OK.