Approaching 50, Mark Radcliffe decided to write about his life, most importantly, his time in music. But crucially, he only wanted to write about the most interesting days and not the dull ones in between. With predictable good taste, Mark takes his title from the Kinks' song and has written an entertaining, funny book worthy of such a pedigree.Mark's family life is covered by 'The Day My Mother Hit Me With a Golf Club' , his school life by 'The Day I Ruined a Perfectly Good Suit' ...

When Radio One chief Matthew Bannister popped into 'A Lite Bite' in Altrincham for his favourite gherkin roll, little did he expect to find the two northern chancers who would bring so much sophistication to his beloved station. For there in the corner, playing a DLT Give Us A Break trivia game, stood Mark Radcliffe and his mate, known not particularly affectionately as Lard. Soon millions would be tuning in to hear the witty banter and roughhouse sketches of the men once described as 'tha...

'If you love dogs, if you love travel and if you don't mind Mark, you will love this book' Paddy McGuinnessCall me Mark. My first time in the Roman district of Trastevere was in 1997 whilst covering the England World Cup qualifier for Radio 1. Nearly thirty years later, I'm headed back there, with my wife Bella and dog Arlo in tow.Call me Arlo. I normally hate the sight of suitcases in case it means Him and...

Standing at the crossroads – the Mississippi crossroads of Robert Johnson and the devil’s infamous meeting – Mark Radcliffe found himself facing his own personal crunch point. Aged sixty, he had just mourned the death of his father, only to be handed a diagnosis of mouth and throat cancer.This momentous time in his life, and being at the most famous junction in music history, led Radcliffe to think about the pivotal tracks in music and how the musicians who wrote and perfo...

When Mark Radcliffe was born in the late 1950s, Britain was trying to find its own version of the dangerously sexy Elvis … we gave the world Cliff Richard but by the time Mark was old enough to recognise pop songs on the radio, the UK was exploding into the world's most exciting place to be for a young music fan.In this, his eagerly awaited new book, Mark Radcliffe takes a record from each year of his life, using the song as a starting point from which to reach out and pull togethe...

'If you love dogs, if you love travel and if you don't mind Mark, you will love this book' Paddy McGuinnessCall me Mark. My first time in the Roman district of Trastevere was in 1997 whilst covering the England World Cup qualifier for Radio 1. Nearly thirty years later, I'm headed back there, with my wife Bella and dog Arlo in tow.Call me Arlo. I normally hate the sight of suitcases in case it means Him and...

STRANGER THAN KINDNESS is funny, poignant, intelligent and compelling.I believe books are like stepping into little alternative worlds floating in your mind and this world was one I wanted to stay in much longer.' Jo Brand. It is 1989 and Community Care is about to reboot the industry of psychiatry. In a soon-to-be-closed asylum a bruised nurse, Adam Sands, is feeling less like a purveyor of kindness and more like a concentration camp guard with every passing drink. Many years later Adam h...

Tender astute and very, very funny.' Christopher Brookmyre. Gabriel Bell is a grumpy 44 - year old web journalistirritated by the accumulating disappointments in life. He and his girlfriend Ellie want to start a family, but Gabriel has so few sperm he can name them and knit them flippers. So it's IVF, which is expensive. Losing his job was bad enough, but getting run over and waking up to find himself in a therapy group run by angels really annoys him. In Gabreils' group are a professional...

If you could save the life of a loved one by trading in years of your own life, how many years would you give? How many lives could you save? Would you know when to stop? Francis Broad has done just that and has negotiated the day of his death, now he must come to terms with the decisions he has made. Three Gifts explores one man's attempt to live a good life, his sense of responsibility, gratitude and what it means to love.

All 36 episodes of the maverick literary quizPoet Ian McMillan is our host in this gleeful game of literary tomfoolery, outrageous parody and biting wit. Joining him for some lighthearted competitive wordplay are a quartet of writers and comedians, all ready and eager to run riot through the halls of great literature.Their bookish challenges include 'New Beginnings and Endings', which sees them topping and tailing well-known literary works to produce some v...

Thomas Edison became a great American inventor and businessman. But do you know what he was like as a child? From exploring shipyards and pastures to feeding a girl worms, Thomas was a curious and creative child. This playful story of his childhood will help young readers connect with a historic figure and will inspire them to want to achieve greatness.

The first hilarious volume of comedy writer, journalist, radio DJ and screenwriter Danny Baker's memoir, and now the inspiration for the major BBC series CRADLE TO GRAVE, starring Peter Kay.'And what was our life like in this noisy, dangerous and polluted industrial pock-mark wedged into one of the capital's toughest neighbourhoods? It was, of course, utterly magnificent and I'd give anything to climb inside it again for just one day.'...