Allan Jones: war stories of touring with Lou Reed, Elton John, The Clash and more – book launch events

LONDON WC1: Horse Hospital, Wednesday June 7 (Tube: Russell Square). ***Please note the change of venue for this event on June 7. We are NOT at Seven Dials Club as initially advertised ***

Legendary former Melody Maker and Uncut editor Allan Jones launches Too Late to Stop Now, his new collection of stories about his encounters with rock’s biggest names – from Elton John to Lou Reed to The Clash.

Pat Nevin book launch events

BRIGHTON: Wagner Hall, June 13
CHISWICK, London W4: Boston Room. June 14th

Launch events for the second memoir by Chelsea, Everton, Tranmere and Scotland (and BBC Five Live) legend Pat Nevin. The follow-up to 2021’s The Accidental Footballer, the new book traces the second half of Pat’s career, showing parts of football not normally seen: not just playing for Tranmere and Kilmarnock but ending up in the unique role of player-chief executive at Motherwell (!)

Carlton Kirby’s True Tales of the Tour de France

READING South Street Arts: Wednesday June 21

SOUTHAMPTON The Attic, Totton: Tuesday June 27

Eurosport’s Voice of Cycling launches his second book, Sticky Bottle, on the eve of the 2023 Tour.

Tales of the Real-life Line of Duty, with Christian Plowman

NORWICH: Maddermarket Theatre: Thursday June 15 [NEW DATE].

Former Met Police undercover detective (now working against wildlife trafficking in Africa) shares hair-raising (and sometimes darkly comic) tales of a life lived on the edge – from infiltrating organised crime to posing as an addict in a crack den, buying guns with tax-payers’ money and living with 12 separate identities.

Matt Rendell’s Tales of the Tour de France

NOTTINGHAM: Metronome, Monday June 19

BARNES, LONDON SW13: OSO Arts Centre, Tuesday June 20

The ITV commentator’s live shows delight audiences with a brilliant, unique mix of insights, bizarre stories, poetic reflections and stories about giants of cycling from Eddy Merckx to Mark Cavendish. More dates TBC. Matt joins us for two dates on the eve of the 2023 Tour to preview the race and share stories from his 25 years covering it.

PREVIOUSLY…

Emily Chappell’s Epic Tales of Cycling Adventure

May 2: BARNES, LONDON SW13: OSO Arts Centre.
May 3: READING: South Street Arts Centre
May 4: WINCHESTER: The Nutshell

Emily tells tales from her epic journeys, cycling solo across Europe, Asia, Alaska and beyond – and reflects on how she became a full-time adventurer, author and endurance cyclist, having started out as a distinctly unsporty office worker.

Jeremy Whittle: 30 years in a hire car – true tales of the Tour de France

OXFORD, Tap Social (Tuesday March 28)

As cycling correspondent to, first, The Times and now The Guardian, Jeremy has reported on all the major stories in world cycling over the last 25 years.  In these shows, Jeremy will be telling the stories behind the stories and passing on some of his front-row observations that did not make it to print.

Hear recordings from live events plus exclusive new interviews at the Radio Days Book Club podcast, on BuzzsproutSpotify, Amazon Music and all other podcast providers. Hear the Gunnersbury Gainsbourg, Baxter Dury, discussing his wild West London childhood and growing up as the son of national treasure Ian Dury at this link


Steve Cummings: the Tour de France, the Olympics, Team Ineos and me

PRESTON: Preston Playhouse, Wednesday March 15
HESWALL: Heswall Hall, Thursday March 16

The directeur sportif of Team Ineos looks back on his career as a Tour and Vuelta stage winner – and reflects on his current job, preparing one of the peloton’s biggest teams for the Tour de France. A rare chance to hear from someone on the frontline of top-level sport, mid-season.

John Altman’s amazing true stories of Hollywood & the Hit Parade

NORWICH Maddermarket theatre, Thursday February 9

Composer and arranger John Altman joins me for a highly entertaining race through his 50-year career in music and film. John has worked with a surreal who’s who of music and film stars: from Chaplin and Bowie to Prince and Michael Jackson; George Michael, Van Morrison and Diana Ross to Bob Marley, Alison Moyet, Bjork and Monty Python. Expect a hilarious, eye-opening evening, packed with improbable but true stories of the biggest names in entertainment.

A Sunday in Hell screenings, introduced by William Fotheringham

February 23: READING South Street Arts
February 24: GUILDFORD Electric Theatre
March 6: NOTTINGHAM Broadway cinema

A rare chance to see the classic Paris-Roubaix documentary – widely regarded as one of the best sports films ever made – on the big screen.

Michael Hutchinson: How to be a Cycling Champion

WINCHESTER The Nutshell Wednesday January 25
IPSWICH King Street Cinema, Tuesday January 31.

Michael Hutchinson did not ride a bike race until he was 22. By the time he was 35, he had won more British titles than any man in history. Michael tells us how he did it – and to share stories from his many-sided life, as stand-up comedian, human rights lawyer, Cycling Weekly columnist and acclaimed author. We had some great shows with Michael last year and I’m looking forward to bringing him to two venues that saw very enthusiastic crowds in 2022.

Rolling Stones book launch events, with Lesley-Ann Jones

As the Rolling Stones celebrate their 60th anniversary, acclaimed author Lesley-Ann Jones launched her biography of the self-styled greatest rock’n’roll band in the world at two events, at The Social, London W1 and the Boston Room, W4..

How to save life on Earth: Dr Rebecca Nesbit book launch event

Ecologist Rebecca Nesbit joined us in Bath to launch her new book ‘Tickets for the Ark: From Wasps to Whales – How Do We Choose What to Save?’ 

Derek Pringle’s inside stories of English cricket

Derek Pringle discussed life on and off-the field with England and Essex in the 80s at events at the Seven Dials Club and the OSO Arts Centre.

Daniel Friebe book launch event

Five days before the 2022 Tour de France began, ITV Tour face, Cycling Podcast mainstay and best-selling author Daniel Friebe launched his new book on German Tour champion Jan Ullrich with a one-off event at the Boston Room on Chiswick High Road.

Podcast: Baxter Dury in Conversation, book launch event

Baxter Dury discussed his wild West London childhood, growing up as the son of pop star and national treasure Ian Dury at a live event in Chiswick. Baxter was a great guest, his often dark tales made funny in the deadpan retelling. You can hear the podcast from the event here.

Podcast: Nick Lowe and Will Birch book launch

Hear the podcast at this link.

Podcast: Crime writer Tom Benjamin on the dark side of Italy

Tom Benjamin’s debut murder mystery A Quiet Death in Italy has been acclaimed by everyone from the Daily Mail to the Morning Star. He tells me how working as a security guard in a homeless shelter in Bologna helped him uncover a side to Italy that tourists don’t see. Listen here.

Podcast: The Velvet Mafia, with Darryl Bullock

Author Darryl Bullock explores the demi-monde of 60s pop and showbiz in his new Omnibus Press book, tracing the friendship network of influential gay men, including Beatles manager Brian Epstein, who helped change culture, politics and society. Podcast available via Apple Podcasts here, via Spotify, via Google Podcasts and all your usual providers

Saturday Morning Book Club, with Julian Dutton

Julian Dutton – author and man-about-showbiz, who has worked with everyone from Charlton Heston and Frankie Howerd to Harry Hill – launched his new book on the history of life on Britain’s waterways. Social history and showbiz chat. Hear it on the Radio Days Book Club podcast, on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or at this link.

Buy Water Gypsies by Julian Dutton via this link

Saturday Morning Book Club: True Tales of Greek village life, with Alex Kemp

Hear all episodes of the Book Club podcast

PODCAST: Ian Stone on how The Jam changed his life

Comedian Ian Stone on his memoir To Be Someone, a story of growing up in grey/grim north London in the 70s and having his life changed by The Jam. Listen here.

Zoomcast: The rise, fall and rise again of French football, with Matthew Spiro

Matt Spiro’s new book pieces together the story of a divided team and a divided nation. Hear him discuss it on the Radio Days Book Club Via Apple, Spotify or here

Carlton Kirby’s Cycling Lock-In Podcast

Hear Eurosport’s lead cycling commentator’s Lockdown podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google podcasts etc – or right here.

Click through to buy the e-book of ‘Magic Spanner’ by Carlton Kirby, via Kobo.com.


PODCAST: Kenny Pryde’s Inside story of Team GB/Sky

Kenny Pryde has spent five years investigating the story of the Team GB/Team Sky British cycling project. He wanted to find out how they became the most successful team in sports history – and what substance there was to allegations of sexism, bullying and doping. Kenny discusses his findings in this podcast, recorded at our event in Brighton.

Click through to preview and/or buy the e-book of ‘The Medal Factory’ by Kenny Pryde, via Kobo.com.



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