Janet Jackson: For the Record

by Craig Halstead, Chris Cadman

By the best selling authors of 'Michael Jackson: For The Record' Janet Jackson was born on 16th May 1966 in Gary, Indiana - she was just three years old when five of her older brothers, as the Jackson 5, scored their first hit: I Want You Back. Janet's first, self-titled, album was released in 1982 when she was 16 years old, but her input to it was minimal. Not until her first marriage, to James DeBarge, was annulled in November 1985 did Janet sit down, to think seriously about her future direction - and, to her surprise, she realised more than anything she wanted to make music. Decision made, Janet bravely took the first big step on the road to taking control of her own destiny. She fired her manager: her father. Instead, against her father's advice, she teamed up with James 'Jimmy Jam' Harris III & Terry Lewis - formerly members of Prince's band The Time - and the rest, as the saying goes, is history.

241 pages, Paperback

First published July 28, 2010

About the author

Craig Halstead was born and raised in Rochdale, England, where he still lives with his son Aaron, to whom his books are dedicated. He is an ardent reader, and after graduating from university with an honours degree in Applied Chemistry with Biochemistry, he spent six months in Israel, four months working on a kibbutz followed by two months working on a moshav. Back in the UK, not sure what he wanted to do, he accepted a temporary post at a busy multi-cultural community centre, which he enjoyed so much he was happy to make the post permanent when the opportunity arose.

Craig’s first novel Tyranny was inspired by the human rights violations that took place in Chile, following the military coup led by General Augusto Pinochet in September 1973. The book, more off than on, took ten years to research and write, and during this time Craig wrote several articles that were accepted and published by philatelic magazines, including one titled ‘Better To Light One Candle’, which marked the 25th anniversary of Amnesty International.

Craig’s second novel The Secret Library was a thriller featuring a disgraced ex-SAS soldier, James Harris, which one reviewer described as a ‘cracking, fast-paced thriller’, and likened it to a new James Bond book. In creating the character James Harris, Craig deliberately chose to make his ethnicity mixed. He says ‘I wanted to create a character who was different to the traditional hero who, whether he’s American or British, is invariably white. At the same time, I wanted a character who was credible, capable and well trained, but who was a normal guy who experiences the same highs and lows as the rest of us.’

The Secret Library was the first book in the James Harris trilogy, and was followed by Shadow Of Death and Twist Of Fate. Never one to stick to one genre, Craig has written several completely different novels and novellas in recent years, including Cataclysm and books with a coming of age and/or LGBTQ+ theme.

Craig has had a passion for music and music charts since he was a boy, and he has written numerous music books including the best-selling Michael Jackson: For The Record, which he co-wrote with Chris Cadman. The ‘For The Record’ series also includes books dedicated to Donna Summer, Janet Jackson and Whitney Houston.

Craig is also the author of Christmas Number Ones, which details the UK’s Christmas #1 singles from 1940 to date (and is up-dated annually), plus a series of 'All The Top 40 Hits' music books dedicated to some of his favourite artists.

Craig has always been interested in ancient and historical mysteries, one of which he explored in The Secret Library, and when he isn't researching or writing his next book, or up-dating one of his already published music books, he is an ardent reader who is interested in antiques and collectables, ancient alien theory and cryptozoology, and has a passion for 1960s to 1990s music, nature and wildlife.