'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 juncture. Aged sixty, he had just mourned the death of his father, only to be diagnosed with mouth and throat cancer. Together these events led Radcliffe to think about pivotal tracks in music and how the musicians who wrote and performed them had reached the crossroads that led to such epoch-changing music.Cr...

Having been sacked from his university teaching job, Ed has returned to his home town to pick up the threads of his old life with his friends and ex-girlfriend, Jeannie, in the Northern Sky folk music club. His dream is to play with them again, making music like his hero Nick Drake - and maybe even a little money. But know-it-all Matt O'Malley is now running the club and has ambitious plans for them that involve contracts and record deals. Can Ed get in on the act, or does O'Malley have a ...

'Mark Radcliffe: the world of rock salutes you' Melody MakerMark Radcliffe recalls his less-than-glittering rock career in a succession of bands which all ended in ignominy and frustration.'Lancashire's answer to Nick Hornby. If Mark Radcliffe ever gets bored with DJing, there's a highly promising career as a writer waiting for him.' MirrorCombining his trademark humour with an acute eye for the ridiculous, Mark ad...

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...

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...

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...

'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...

The dazzlingly funny second volume of Danny Baker's memoirs: the television years.Since my first book was published I have had countless friends and family members get in touch to say how come I hadn't included this story or that tale. Was I ashamed of being shot twice, once up the arse, in Jamaica Road? How long should a man live with such a secret? If by retrospectively dropping my trousers every few pages I can reveal a fuller picture of myself during these year...

'Walters's book . . . has moments of Alan Bennett warmth' SUNDAY TIMES'Humorous and . . . moving' WOMAN AND HOME'I was enthralled by her memoirs' A. N. Wilson, READER'S DIGESTHer mum wanted her to be a nurse so that is what Julie did.But in her heart she had always wanted to be an actress and soon she was on stage at the local theatre in Liverpool. Her career snowballed with highli...

A compelling story of two remarkable women connected across the decades by the men who love them. . . and the magic of a place called Zanana. KATE, a strong-willed heiress determined to defy Edwardian convention, but she must pay the ultimate price to keep the home she loves so much. . . ODETTE, an independent and idealistic young journalist caught in a fierce battle to save Zanana from ruthless developers. . . Years apart yet inextricably linked by Zanana, the magnificent mansion they bot...

In the peaceful cathedral city of Lafferton, a gunman is terrorising young women. What - if anything - links the attacks? Is the marksman with a rifle the same person as the killer with a handgun or do the police have two snipers on their hands?Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Serrailler is in charge of the case, but he is also struggling to deal with a tragedy at the heart of his own family. Two forthcoming events - a local fair and the high-profile cathedral wedding of the Lo...