well, regular readers will be all too aware of the fact that i hold the guitarist Nasher (Brian Nash for cheques) in the highest regard possible. not only was he part of Frankie Goes To Hollywood, a band that for me will always be that band, you know, the one you forever hold a special place in your heart for, but he's gone on to make some extraordinary solo records too. if that wasn't quite enough, he's had an incredible "open door" policy with fans of all the music he has made, happy to answer all (sensible and legal) questions and chat about this, that and the other.
the door he keeps open will pretty much, i am glad to say, be removed from the hinges and widened considerably in September when his autobiography hits the shelves. and yes, actual bookshelves and virtual ones, for i believe there is to be a "digital e-book" version.
ladies and gentlemen, the book you are looking for has the name Nasher Says Relax, and looks like this.
now then, what else to write here is tricky. as a Frankie fan and a Nasher fan of course i am going to say "buy it, and buy it now". let me have a bash at saying why, without giving much of anything of the book away.
the short version of Nasher's musical career is - obscurity, the single biggest band on the planet, "tax exile", much anticipated return, band implosion, legal wrangles, fighting to get anywhere in the music industry in the 90s, self-satisfying and well received solo career. this is something more than the usual rags to riches to super riches or a return to rags, then. there's no self-pity or "worship me" from Nasher - he throws straight dice and tells a straight story.
the big selling point is of course going to be behind the scenes of Frankie Goes To Hollywood. from dominating the charts (Relax remains one of the biggest non-charity selling singles of all time, Two Tribes stayed at the top of the charts for 9 - that's nine - weeks) and being in demand by a world seduced by their charm and music to the eventual disintegration and falling apart of the group. for a band so big, it's strange that very little has ever surfaced in terms of telling the story. some twenty years ago Holly Johnson published A Bone In My Flute of course. as superb as that book was in terms of telling Holly's story, it perhaps lacked details of Frankie that fans, then and indeed now, wanted. Nasher's book promises to tell the story of going from hustling to playing pubs and clubs to having the choice of which stadiums to all of a sudden sell out in a manner not seen since Ian Hunter's celebrated Diary Of A Rock N Roll Star.
there's more to it than that, though. Frankie, after all, finished some 25 years ago. Nasher's fame as a member of Frankie was huge but brief. just what path do you take when all of a sudden you are not featured in a poster on the wall of every other teenager? not every 80s superstar, after all, becomes either an internet parody like Rick Astley or part of the "Establishment" like George Michael or Duran Duran. Nasher's tale may well surprise you, but it will certainly interest you.
a few of us Frankie fans have been fortunate enough to hear some of the things Nasher will have in the book, and indeed had a sneak peek at one or two of the never before published pictures to feature in it. i can't give anything i know away, but i can ask you to trust me on this one - the book will very much be worth your time, whether you are a Frankie fan, a music fan or just someone that likes reading fantastic, amazing and yet true stories. oddly, i think even my Dad is going to like this one.
some links for you :
for those of you on the grand social network, here's the official face page
non-UK residents will find that amazon offer the best worldwide deal on the book - amazon order page
in Europe i gather play offer a good deal too - play order page
and for those in the UK - waterstones order page
HMV have not got it listed as yet.
a full review shall appear here after publication, and indeed after my copy gets delivered! i am pretty sure you can guess it will be a on the whole positive review, but by the time it's on the shelves i should be able to give away a little bit more of the content to attract your interest.
thanks for reading this and having an interest in Nasher's book.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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