Around about August 1948, Mr and Mrs Cyril Wakeman had an early night and some time later, at Perivale in Middlesex, Mrs Wakeman produced a bonny baby son. They named him Richard, but he quickly became known as Rick.Rick was a likeable little fellow who had a talent for the piano and for making trouble. Music became Rick's life - he joined a popular music group called Yes and became a legend. Much later he became a Grumpy Old Man who appears on Countdown, hosts a hugely po...

What do Postman Pat, Tommy Cooper, Norman Wisdom and George Best have in common with being abandoned in a Costa Rican jungle after a severe bout of flatulence? Indeed, how are they also connected to trying to buy an Australian brewery just to get a beer, owning twenty-two cars, an American soccer team and a Swiss mail-order pornography company?The common feature is of course a certain Richard Wakeman.The Further Adventures of a Grumpy Old Rock Star takes you, the p...

Around about August 1948, Mr and Mrs Cyril Wakeman had an early night and some time later, at Perivale in Middlesex, Mrs Wakeman produced a bonny baby son. They named him Richard, but he quickly became known as Rick.Rick was a likable little fellow who had a talent for the piano and for making trouble, and music became Rick's life. Later he joined a popular music group called Yes and became a legend. Much later he became a Grumpy Old Man who appears on Countdown, hosts a h...

'From the beginning to not quite the end... just yet'.From piano-playing child prodigy, through to classically trained keyboardist and onto his rise with Yes and as a solo artist, Rick Wakeman's life so far has been one of very dramatic spirals, spectacular comebacks and legendary rock ‘n’ roll excess.The first of his epic concept albums, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, was released in 1973 to indifferent reviews, but was a worldwide hit, to ...

'From the beginning to not quite the end... just yet'.From piano-playing child prodigy, through to classically trained keyboardist and onto his rise with Yes and as a solo artist, Rick Wakeman's life so far has been one of very dramatic spirals, spectacular comebacks and legendary rock ‘n’ roll excess.The first of his epic concept albums, The Six Wives of Henry VIII, was released in 1973 to indifferent reviews, but was a worldwide hit, to ...

This is the book that Daniel Tammet, bestselling author and mathematical savant, was born to write. In Tammet's world, numbers are beautiful and mathematics illuminates our lives and minds. Using anecdotes and everyday examples, Tammet allows us to share his unique insights and delight in the way numbers, fractions and equations underpin all our lives.Inspired by the complexity of snowflakes, Anne Boleyn's sixth finger or his mother's unpredictable behaviour, Tammet explores questio...

Known for his intelligent and often surreal humour, Paul Merton’s weekly appearances on BBC1’s Have I Got News For You – as well as Radio 4’s Just A Minute and his travel documentaries – have seen him become an artfully rebellious fixture in our lives for over 25 years.He also has a real story to tell. In ONLY WHEN I LAUGH, his rich and beautifully-observed autobiography, Paul takes us on an evocative journey from his working-class Fulham childhood to the present ...

"Now Michael, you're the son of a naval officer, you must behave like a naval officer at all times..."What Captain William Rutherford told his seven-year-old son Michael was to stay with him all his life.Born in 1950, Michael was truly his father's son, even serving in the naval section of the student cadet corps at one of England's top public schools, Charterhouse. Mike's future lay in the civil service: it was a subject that he discussed with his father at Captain Crawford...

When Genesis announced their reformation and tour dates early in 2007, the shows sold out in just a few hours - proof, if any were needed, that despite being in hibernation for some years, they remain on of the most popular acts in rock music.Now the band has just three original members; but fans hark back to the golden period of the early seventies, when the ranks included superb guitarist Steve Hackett and above all the charismatic front man Peter Gabriel.This fully illustrated eBook tel...

Barry Cryer is one of the great comedians of the last 50 years. This is a sparkling series of hilarious and true anecdotes, almost all of which have never been told before!Barry Cryer has collaborated with all the greats from Max Miller to Tony Hancock, Bob Hope, Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, John Cleese, Frankie Howerd, Kenny Everett, Spike Milligan, Eric Sykes, Dave Allen, Richard Pryor, Tommy Cooper, Les Dawson, Graham Chapman, the Two Ronnies, Morecambe and Wise...

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...

'Enlightening … Funny, smart, original and provocative ... It is hard to imagine the stalwarts of Mock the Weekrecognising the Druze militia leader Walid Jumblatt in a London cinema' NEW STATESMAN'Few standups have come close to capturing a fraction of this creative energy in a book … Alexei Sayle is an exception' GUARDIAN"What I brou...