What do you think?
Rate this book
Big Time: The Life of Adam Faith
Most pop stars' fame used to end with their 25th birthday, but Adam Faith just kept on being interesting until the day he died aged 62.
Born in working-class Acton, Adam Faith defined the post-war aspiration for stardom. Enjoying an unprecedented run of seven top five hits, his chiselled features were a gift to TV and fans swooned each time he smiled. Heavyweight journalists saw him as the 'Spokesman for British Youth' and his sexual adventures were the stuff of legend.
When The Beatles rendered his style of pop obsolete, Adam turned TV actor. As Budgie, the hapless Soho chancer, he played the character he might have become in life had it not been for his steely ambition and boundless energy. Throughout his career, Adam Faith reinvented himself again and again, first as a manager, then financial guru.
David and Caroline Stafford's witty and insightful biography, charts the glorious triumphs and often cataclysmic failures of a 'child man' who spent his life getting away with it.
Born in working-class Acton, Adam Faith defined the post-war aspiration for stardom. Enjoying an unprecedented run of seven top five hits, his chiselled features were a gift to TV and fans swooned each time he smiled. Heavyweight journalists saw him as the 'Spokesman for British Youth' and his sexual adventures were the stuff of legend.
When The Beatles rendered his style of pop obsolete, Adam turned TV actor. As Budgie, the hapless Soho chancer, he played the character he might have become in life had it not been for his steely ambition and boundless energy. Throughout his career, Adam Faith reinvented himself again and again, first as a manager, then financial guru.
David and Caroline Stafford's witty and insightful biography, charts the glorious triumphs and often cataclysmic failures of a 'child man' who spent his life getting away with it.
388 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 13, 2015
3 people are currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
David Stafford
71 books25 followersDavid Stafford is a writer, broadcaster and occasional musician born in Birmingham, England. David began his career in fringe and community theatre in the 1970s. In the early 1980s, he collaborated and toured with Alexei Sayle, which resulted in two series for Capital Radio, two films for TV ('Itch and Didn't You Kill My Brother?), a book, Great Bus Journeys of the World, and various songs and recordings including Doctor Marten’s Boots. At the same time he was a presenter on the Channel 4 consumer programme 4 What It’s Worth and contributed to many arts programmes and documentaries including The Media Show (Channel 4) and extensively to The Late Show (BBC2). His TV plays include Dread Poets Society (BBC2) co-written with the poet Benjamin Zephaniah, My Little Grey Home In The West and Catherine. For ten years he wrote a weekly column for the Saturday Guardian, eventually called Staffordshire Bull. During the 1990s, he presented Tracks for BBC2, Going Places for BBC Radio 4 and was a regular panellist on Radio 4’s literary parody game Booked. David frequently stood in for John Peel as the presenter of Home Truths (BBC Radio 4). After Peel’s death, he became first one of the pool of presenters and later sole presenter of the programme. For the past five years he has taught a screenwriting course at Birkbeck College, University of London.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 3, 2026
As a boy, Adam Faith was my pop idol and I followed his career in later life, too. So when I spotted this biography on a bookseller's shelf, I just had to buy it. And what a good decision that was for it is an absorbing read and brought back many happy memories for me.
Even though it was many years ago, I well remember buying 'What do you want?' and I can recall the excitement when it went to number one in 1960. Thereafter I bought all his singles and followed his career as a singer. I saw him at Blackpool's Opera House in the early 1960s and I was lucky enough to meet him in 1988 when he opened a coffee shop in town when he was starring in 'Down An Alley Full of Cats' at the Grand Theatre. More than 60 years between the two occasions and I took my LPs down for him to sign expecting a huge crowd. Disappointingly there were only about half a dozen people there to witness the occasion but it allowed me to wait until they had cleared and then get my covers signed. And we had a coffee together and spoke about the different reception he had on each of the visits when I said that he could not have done what we were doing (coffee) on his first visit because the place was mobbed with hundreds of screaming young ladies!
Anyway, David and Caroline Stafford have told Adam's or Tel's if you are one of his original friends, story in great detail, warts and all. Interestingly they begin with a first chapter that tells in detail how his stage name came about, how his first Parlophone record reached number one and how he tuned his voice to give the sound that everyone came to know and love, especially his pronunciation of Baby on that first record!
Then the story goes back to his beginnings in London's Acton and how he worked for a record company before getting the call to be a true professional singer. He always said that he did not have a great voice and could not sing but such a comment was not recognised by the record-buying public and his fame soared. He was certainly well liked by the ladies, and this lasted all through his life. He did eventually marry Jackie Irvine, who had once been Cliff Richard's girlfriend and despite everything they remained firm friends right to the end.
He was wise enough to realise that his singing career had taken a turn for the worse when the Beatles entered the scene and so he turned his attention to another of his great loves, acting. And after a few relatively low budget films he got a break when cast as Budgie in a gritty TV drama.
This brought him a new audience and he capitalised on the success to make more film and TV appearances. He also discovered and then spent time managing Leo Sayer and made the singer a huge success.
He was always a lover of cars and at one time he drove a yellow Rolls Royce in which he crashed and had to spend time in rehabilitation. Always looking to make money he went into the financial business and had a number of opportunities to advise clients, through his own offices and his newspaper commitments, on their finances. Sadly it all went wrong in the end and he lost a lot of money for himself and for some of his clients.
Undaunted he pressed on, moved house frequently, separated from Jackie a couple of times but despite his dalliances he always returned to her and the couple had a daughter Katya. And he always kept his acting career going even touring with repertory companies and performing in pantomimes and it was after a performance in the Midlands that he died in his hotel room in Stoke-on-Trent, aged just 62.
The biography is an absorbing read, particularly for those (like myself) of a particular age and admirably portrays the man who was Adam Faith ... or, of course Terry Nelhams-Wright (he had a complicated background) to his friends!
Even though it was many years ago, I well remember buying 'What do you want?' and I can recall the excitement when it went to number one in 1960. Thereafter I bought all his singles and followed his career as a singer. I saw him at Blackpool's Opera House in the early 1960s and I was lucky enough to meet him in 1988 when he opened a coffee shop in town when he was starring in 'Down An Alley Full of Cats' at the Grand Theatre. More than 60 years between the two occasions and I took my LPs down for him to sign expecting a huge crowd. Disappointingly there were only about half a dozen people there to witness the occasion but it allowed me to wait until they had cleared and then get my covers signed. And we had a coffee together and spoke about the different reception he had on each of the visits when I said that he could not have done what we were doing (coffee) on his first visit because the place was mobbed with hundreds of screaming young ladies!
Anyway, David and Caroline Stafford have told Adam's or Tel's if you are one of his original friends, story in great detail, warts and all. Interestingly they begin with a first chapter that tells in detail how his stage name came about, how his first Parlophone record reached number one and how he tuned his voice to give the sound that everyone came to know and love, especially his pronunciation of Baby on that first record!
Then the story goes back to his beginnings in London's Acton and how he worked for a record company before getting the call to be a true professional singer. He always said that he did not have a great voice and could not sing but such a comment was not recognised by the record-buying public and his fame soared. He was certainly well liked by the ladies, and this lasted all through his life. He did eventually marry Jackie Irvine, who had once been Cliff Richard's girlfriend and despite everything they remained firm friends right to the end.
He was wise enough to realise that his singing career had taken a turn for the worse when the Beatles entered the scene and so he turned his attention to another of his great loves, acting. And after a few relatively low budget films he got a break when cast as Budgie in a gritty TV drama.
This brought him a new audience and he capitalised on the success to make more film and TV appearances. He also discovered and then spent time managing Leo Sayer and made the singer a huge success.
He was always a lover of cars and at one time he drove a yellow Rolls Royce in which he crashed and had to spend time in rehabilitation. Always looking to make money he went into the financial business and had a number of opportunities to advise clients, through his own offices and his newspaper commitments, on their finances. Sadly it all went wrong in the end and he lost a lot of money for himself and for some of his clients.
Undaunted he pressed on, moved house frequently, separated from Jackie a couple of times but despite his dalliances he always returned to her and the couple had a daughter Katya. And he always kept his acting career going even touring with repertory companies and performing in pantomimes and it was after a performance in the Midlands that he died in his hotel room in Stoke-on-Trent, aged just 62.
The biography is an absorbing read, particularly for those (like myself) of a particular age and admirably portrays the man who was Adam Faith ... or, of course Terry Nelhams-Wright (he had a complicated background) to his friends!
June 27, 2016
Some nice photos but not a good read or a good book. The authors have a superior attitude and look for every opportunity to belittle Adam Faith giving him little credit for anything he achieved.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews