It’s 1985 and keyboard player Jonnie Cole’s dream of playing in a band revolves around girls, money, girls, travel, girls, drugs, girls - oh, and music too. But the band’s first single has stalled at number 40 in the charts. Still, with new hit producer ‘Magic’ Dan McCloud on board, 1986 looks like being their year.
They set off for Europe with a new single about to be released and Magic Dan at the soundesk. Foul-mouthed manager Degsie Daniels attempts to keep their wilder excesses in check while his photographer daughter, Amanda, attempts to remain aloof from the mayhem.
Intent on success in the synth-pop heaven of 1980s Europe, they have reckoned without Magic Dan’s murky past. Join them on their first tour of Europe as they discover themselves, each other and the dangerous cargo they have unwittingly stowed on the tour bus.
CAUTION: This tale of sex, drugs and synthesisers contains all three, plus a lot of swearing.
I also won this in a giveaway, and loved the personalised message! The book was fantastic, much more of a story than was obvious from the blurb on the back, and I really enjoyed it. There were a few spelling and grammar mistakes which annoyed me - I'm a bit anal about that sort of thing! Overall though it was a great little read :)
A joy to read, a clever combination of nostalgia, with a good story, and some very authentic touches. I've known a few muso's in my time, and they were nicely captured here - whilst still coming up with nicely rounded characters in the main. I say it has a good story, in fact that's not quite right, there are several storylines here, and they are all kept nicely on the go, as to the ending - I liked it - and that's all you get, no spoilers here! I should note I got this free in a Goodreads giveaway, but that's not why I gave it a good review, that's just because I liked it!