Nige Tassell – författare

5/5 - Mojo‘A beautiful thing’ Tim Burgess'Unapologetically eccentric - a perfect fit for Prefab Sprout' Uncut'A charming, compassionate and utterly entertaining book' The Mirror'This is a book as playful, quirky and engaging as the band themselves' Stuart MaconieA celebration of a much-cherished pop group and a long-overdue companion to their unique musical output.Rolling Stone called him ‘the last pop genius’, while Richard Osman claimed he is ‘the most unfairly overlooked lyricist of his generation’.Paddy McAloon is undoubtedly one of the great songwriters of the last half-century. As the leader of Prefab Sprout, he’s overseen ten heavily praised albums, including the classic Steve McQueen, along with a trail of hit singles, among them ‘When Love Breaks Down’ and ‘The King of Rock ’n’ Roll’. His songs have been sung by Kylie and Cher. Others were written for Madonna, Sinatra and Streisand.But despite the commercial success and abundant critical acclaim, McAloon remains an enigmatic figure within the bright, brash world of pop. The semi-reclusive Prefab Sprout have seldom followed paths trod by others. They rarely toured. They took their time to make records. They always danced to their own drum.A lifelong fan of the band, acclaimed writer Nige Tassell attempts to illuminate the mystery, to uncloak the enigma. Truly Gifted Kids is the deepest dive ever made into McAloon’s craft, exploring the motivations and methods of a man who, 13 years since the band’s last album, still obsessively marries melody to words on a daily basis, in the process building up an enormous stockpile of songs that no one will hear.Occasionally esoteric and freeform, and always original, Truly Gifted Kids pulls together stories, interviews, analysis, history and travelogue to fashion a fulsome portrait of the band, with its chief creative force at the very centre. During his investigations, Tassell both acts as an ad-hoc roadie for solo Sprout Martin McAloon and goes undercover in search of pop music’s most famous motorbike.At its beating, romantic heart, Truly Gifted Kids is a celebration of a much-cherished pop group, a long-overdue companion to their wonderful music.

'A beautifully observed and sympathetic tour of modern Britain that runs on the tracks of our years.'David Quantick'Charming…The accounts will make any fan of railways want to experience these delights for themselves.' – The IndependentAll aboard for a one-of-a-kind journey by train to some of the most obscure parts of BritainOn the 200th birthday of the world’s first passenger-carrying railway, Nige Tassell sets out to ride Britain’s railway network all the way to its lesser-travelled-to corners, its seldom-visited outposts. From Wick to Penzance and many points in between, he stays on until the end of the line. He is the last man sitting.The sixteen final destinations he visits offer sixteen different stories. By delving into their histories, by speaking to their people and by having a good old-fashioned nose around, Tassell reveals much about places that rarely have light cast upon them – from ferry ports to abandoned resorts, from tiny hamlets to towns being reclaimed by the sea. It's a journey that takes in Harry Potter, Muhammad Ali, goths, Alan Bennett, Vera Brittain, Viz comic, Alex Horne, Nigel Farage. Vikings, John Betjeman, Aneurin Bevan, Tyson Fury, Charlotte Rampling's dad and the weepy judge from The Great Pottery Throwdown. All human life is here.So grab yourself a window seat for an odyssey that tells us much about Britain today. All aboard, all aboard.

'A beautifully observed and sympathetic tour of modern Britain that runs on the tracks of our years.'David Quantick'Charming…The accounts will make any fan of railways want to experience these delights for themselves.' – The IndependentAll aboard for a one-of-a-kind journey by train to some of the most obscure parts of BritainOn the 200th birthday of the world’s first passenger-carrying railway, Nige Tassell sets out to ride Britain’s railway network all the way to its lesser-travelled-to corners, its seldom-visited outposts. From Wick to Penzance and many points in between, he stays on until the end of the line. He is the last man sitting.The sixteen final destinations he visits offer sixteen different stories. By delving into their histories, by speaking to their people and by having a good old-fashioned nose around, Tassell reveals much about places that rarely have light cast upon them – from ferry ports to abandoned resorts, from tiny hamlets to towns being reclaimed by the sea. It's a journey that takes in Harry Potter, Muhammad Ali, goths, Alan Bennett, Vera Brittain, Viz comic, Alex Horne, Nigel Farage. Vikings, John Betjeman, Aneurin Bevan, Tyson Fury, Charlotte Rampling's dad and the weepy judge from The Great Pottery Throwdown. All human life is here.So grab yourself a window seat for an odyssey that tells us much about Britain today. All aboard, all aboard.

''A beautifully observed and sympathetic tour of modern Britain that runs on the tracks of our years.''David Quantick''Charming…The accounts will make any fan of railways want to experience these delights for themselves.'' – The IndependentAll aboard for a one-of-a-kind journey by train to some of the most obscure parts of BritainOn the 200th birthday of the world’s first passenger-carrying railway, Nige Tassell sets out to ride Britain’s railway network all the way to its lesser-travelled-to corners, its seldom-visited outposts. From Wick to Penzance and many points in between, he stays on until the end of the line. He is the last man sitting.The sixteen final destinations he visits offer sixteen different stories. By delving into their histories, by speaking to their people and by having a good old-fashioned nose around, Tassell reveals much about places that rarely have light cast upon them – from ferry ports to abandoned resorts, from tiny hamlets to towns being reclaimed by the sea. It''s a journey that takes in Harry Potter, Muhammad Ali, goths, Alan Bennett, Vera Brittain, Viz comic, Alex Horne, Nigel Farage. Vikings, John Betjeman, Aneurin Bevan, Tyson Fury, Charlotte Rampling''s dad and the weepy judge from The Great Pottery Throwdown. All human life is here.So grab yourself a window seat for an odyssey that tells us much about Britain today. All aboard, all aboard.

'A beautifully observed and sympathetic tour of modern Britain that runs on the tracks of our years.'David Quantick'Charming…The accounts will make any fan of railways want to experience these delights for themselves.' – The IndependentAll aboard for a one-of-a-kind journey by train to some of the most obscure parts of BritainOn the 200th birthday of the world’s first passenger-carrying railway, Nige Tassell sets out to ride Britain’s railway network all the way to its lesser-travelled-to corners, its seldom-visited outposts. From Wick to Penzance and many points in between, he stays on until the end of the line. He is the last man sitting.The sixteen final destinations he visits offer sixteen different stories. By delving into their histories, by speaking to their people and by having a good old-fashioned nose around, Tassell reveals much about places that rarely have light cast upon them – from ferry ports to abandoned resorts, from tiny hamlets to towns being reclaimed by the sea. It's a journey that takes in Harry Potter, Muhammad Ali, goths, Alan Bennett, Vera Brittain, Viz comic, Alex Horne, Nigel Farage. Vikings, John Betjeman, Aneurin Bevan, Tyson Fury, Charlotte Rampling's dad and the weepy judge from The Great Pottery Throwdown. All human life is here.So grab yourself a window seat for an odyssey that tells us much about Britain today. All aboard, all aboard.

In these days of oligarch owners, superstar managers and players on sky-high wages, the tide is turning towards the lower reaches of the pyramid as fans search for football with a soul.Plucky underdogs or perennial underachievers, your local non-league team offers hope, drama or at least a Saturday afternoon ritual that's been going for decades. Nige Tassell spends a season in the non-league world. He meets the raffle-ticket seller who wants her ashes scattered in the centre-circle. The envelope salesman who discovered a future England international. The ex-pros still playing with undiluted passion on Sunday mornings. He spends time at clubs looking for promotion to the Football League, clubs just aiming to get eleven players on a pitch every week, and everything in between.One thing unites them: they all inhabit the heartland of the beautiful game.'The Bottom Corner is a wonderful journey through life in the lower reaches of the football pyramid. A fascinating tale of a very different world of football from that of the overpaid stars of the television age' Barry Davies

‘Gus Poyet declared it to be the toughest league in England. Neil Warnock went further, believing it to be the tightest division in Europe. Norwich boss Daniel Farke went further still: “The Championship, without any doubt, is the toughest league in the world.”’   On the final day of the 2019/20 season, only four clubs in the Championship, England’s second tier of soccer, had nothing to play for, everyone else was fighting for promotion or survival. It’s stats like this that give the league its well-deserved reputation as the most exciting league in football. Anything can happen, and often does.   In The Hard Yards, Nige Tassell tells the Championship’s stories, uncovers its hidden gems and takes the reader on an entertaining and eye-opening tour of the 2020/21 season. Following three clubs in particular – newly promoted Wycombe Wanderers, newly relegated Bournemouth and stalwarts Sheffield Wednesday, who start the season on 12-point deficit – he’ll dip into the seasons of clubs across the league, interviewing managers, fans, kit men and chairmen. A world away from the glamour and melodrama of the Premiership, the Championship is the heart and soul of football and in The Hard Yards Nige Tassell will take it back to basics.   Praise for The Bottom Corner: ‘Warm and celebratory but also sharp and insightful, The Bottom Corner is a love letter to non-league football that is also a vivid snapshot of its place in our national life’ -- Stuart Maconie ‘A wonderful journey through life in the lower reaches of the football pyramid. A fascinating tale of a very different world of football from that of the overpaid stars of the television age’ -- Barry Davies

‘Gus Poyet declared it to be the toughest league in England. Neil Warnock went further, believing it to be the tightest division in Europe. Norwich boss Daniel Farke went further still: “The Championship, without any doubt, is the toughest league in the world.”’  On the final day of the 2019/20 season, only four clubs in the Championship, England’s second tier of soccer, had nothing to play for, everyone else was fighting for promotion or survival. It’s stats like this that give the league its well-deserved reputation as the most exciting league in football. Anything can happen, and often does.  In The Hard Yards, Nige Tassell tells the Championship’s stories, uncovers its hidden gems and takes the reader on an entertaining and eye-opening tour of the 2020/21 season. Following three clubs in particular – newly promoted Wycombe Wanderers, newly relegated Bournemouth and stalwarts Sheffield Wednesday, who start the season on 12-point deficit – he’ll dip into the seasons of clubs across the league, interviewing managers, fans, kit men and chairmen. A world away from the glamour and melodrama of the Premiership, the Championship is the heart and soul of football and in The Hard Yards Nige Tassell will take it back to basics.  Praise for The Bottom Corner:‘Warm and celebratory but also sharp and insightful, The Bottom Corner is a love letter to non-league football that is also a vivid snapshot of its place in our national life’ -- Stuart Maconie‘A wonderful journey through life in the lower reaches of the football pyramid. A fascinating tale of a very different world of football from that of the overpaid stars of the television age’ -- Barry Davies

'';Gus Poyet declared it to be the toughest league in England. Neil Warnock went further, believing it to be the tightest division in Europe. Norwich boss Daniel Farke went further still: '';The Championship, without any doubt, is the toughest league in the world.'''' On the final day of the 2019/20 season, only four clubs in the Championship, England''s second tier of soccer, had nothing to play for, everyone else was fighting for promotion or survival. It''s stats like this that give the league its well-deserved reputation as the most exciting league in football. Anything can happen, and often does. In The Hard Yards, Nige Tassell tells the Championship''s stories, uncovers its hidden gems and takes the reader on an entertaining and eye-opening tour of the 2020/21 season. Following three clubs in particular newly promoted Wycombe Wanderers, newly relegated Bournemouth and stalwarts Sheffield Wednesday, who start the season on 12-point deficit he''ll dip into the seasons of clubs across the league, interviewing managers, fans, kit men and chairmen. A world away from the glamour and melodrama of the Premiership, the Championship is the heart and soul of football and in The Hard Yards Nige Tassell will take it back to basics. Praise for The Bottom Corner: '';Warm and celebratory but also sharp and insightful,The Bottom Corneris a love letter to non-league football that is also avivid snapshotof its place in our national life'' -- Stuart Maconie '';A wonderful journey through life in the lower reaches of the football pyramid. Afascinatingtale of a very different world of football from that of the overpaid stars of the television age'' -- Barry Davies

100 years of Wembley Stadium told through 100 matches.  Hundreds of thousands of fans, 5,000 were on the pitch, and a horse called Billy. That was the scene for the inauspicious first football match to be played at the British Empire Exhibition Stadium back in 1923, soon to be known as Wembley.  More than a century later, Wembley remains the world's most famous football stadium. Watching your team there is the highlight of a fan's lifetime of support; playing on its hallowed turf the fulfilment of a childhood dream. Nige Tassell chooses 100 matches that have shaped Wembley's legacy - from England's triumphs in World Cup and Euros tournaments to groundbreaking women's matches and various non-league finals, by way of greyhounds, stunt motorcycles and the feet of 72,000 music fans at Live Aid - and tells a lively and original alternative history of the past century of football, and of Britain. Field of Dreams is the story of how football found its home. 

100 years of Wembley Stadium told through 100 matches. Hundreds of thousands of fans, 5,000 were on the pitch, and a horse called Billy. That was the scene for the inauspicious first football match to be played at the British Empire Exhibition Stadium back in 1923, soon to be known as Wembley. More than a century later, Wembley remains the world's most famous football stadium. Watching your team there is the highlight of a fan's lifetime of support; playing on its hallowed turf the fulfilment of a childhood dream.Nige Tassell chooses 100 matches that have shaped Wembley's legacy - from England's triumphs in World Cup and Euros tournaments to groundbreaking women's matches and various non-league finals, by way of greyhounds, stunt motorcycles and the feet of 72,000 music fans at Live Aid - and tells a lively and original alternative history of the past century of football, and of Britain. Field of Dreams is the story of how football found its home.

100 years of Wembley Stadium told through 100 matches. The 1923 FA Cup final aka the White Horse final was the first football match played at the British Empire Exhibition Stadium. Although best-remembered for non-playing reasons notably its vast, well-beyond-capacity crowd, which had to be marshalled by a policeman atop a white horse that afternoon marked the historic opening chapter of the stadium''s long and eventful history, of the stadium soon to be known simply as Wembley. Over the 100 years since that overcrowded day, Wembley has established itself as the home of the beautiful game and, almost certainly, the world''s most famous football stadium.Wembley occupies a special place in the hearts of players and punters alike. Watching your team at Wembley is the highlight of a fan''s lifetime of support; playing there the fulfilment of a childhood dream. Its sacred pitch has been the crucible of so many classic matches across the decades. World Cups have been won here, as have European Championships, FA Cups, European Cups, play-off finals, home internationals and more. Nige Tassell chooses 100 matches - from the well known to the unusual - that have shaped Wembleys legacy and tells a lively and original alternative history of the past 100 years of football, and of Britain.We hear a ball boy''s perspective on the FA Cup Final when Bert Trautmann broke his neck, and from the other commentator of the 1966 World Cup Final.Field of Dreams isthe story of how football found its home.

A cycling race from frost to palm trees, this is the untold story of the celebrated Paris–Nice where the world’s greatest riders are madeThe annual Paris–Nice race – aka the Race to the Sun – takes frostbitten riders from the chill of the Paris suburbs to the palm tree-fringed balm of the Côte d’Azur in a matter of days, via time trials, mountain stages and the Massif Central.Bestselling cycling journalist Nige Tassell investigates the particular significance of 14 iconic races in colourful detail with in-depth portraits of each race’s winner. From Eddy Merckx’s maiden win in 1969 and Laurent Jalabert’s hat-trick-sealing triumph in 1997 to Tadej Pogacar’s final-day win in 2023, this book is the ultimate celebration of the race’s near-100-year existence.The book also weaves despatches from the road from 2026, where Tassell witnesses, from the closest of quarters, a truly historic edition of the race.

In these days of oligarch owners, superstar managers and players on sky-high wages, the tide is turning towards the lower reaches of the pyramid as fans search for football with a soul.Plucky underdogs or perennial underachievers, your local non-league team offers hope, drama or at least a Saturday afternoon ritual that's been going for decades. Nige Tassell spends a season in the non-league world. He meets the raffle-ticket seller who wants her ashes scattered in the centre-circle. The envelope salesman who discovered a future England international. The ex-pros still playing with undiluted passion on Sunday mornings. He spends time at clubs looking for promotion to the Football League, clubs just aiming to get eleven players on a pitch every week, and everything in between.One thing unites them: they all inhabit the heartland of the beautiful game.'The Bottom Corner is a wonderful journey through life in the lower reaches of the football pyramid. A fascinating tale of a very different world of football from that of the overpaid stars of the television age' Barry Davies

Discover the hectic behind-the-scenes drama of transfer deadlines through the players, managers, chairmen, agents, scouts, analysts, fans, journalists, broadcasters and bookmakers.For football fans who hungrily feed on gossip and rumour, Christmas comes twice a year - once in August and again in January. These are the months when the transfer window dominates thoughts, when the prospect of a new signing or two reinvigorates the hopes and dreams of the hopelessly devoted.Nige Tassell goes behind the scenes to observe the workings of the transfer window and to examine why it continues to hold such fascination for a nation of football lovers. He speaks to players, managers, chairmen, agents, scouts, analysts, fans, journalists, broadcasters and even bookmakers to hear how they survive - and possibly prosper from - these red-letter months in the football calendar.Nobody writes about football like Nige Tassell: poignant, funny, nostalgic and reminds us why we love the game.

Longlisted for the Penderyn Music Book Prize'Skilfully written, engaging and sensitive' HELEN O'HARA'Hugely readable' MOJO'A compelling, moving book' THE TIMESIn the early 1980s, the pop charts were dominated by musicians tarted up in Day-Glo colours, who fought it out for coverage on our TV screens and magazine pages. Dexys Midnight Runners did things differently. They were surly. They were serious. They were ambitious, but success had to come on their terms. They were a disciplined outfit, a gang with a defined purpose: to make music so pure that it couldn't fail to elicit a deep emotional response from anyone within earshot.And they managed it. This motley crew - in woolly hats and donkey jackets for their first coming; all dungarees and copious body hair for the second - gate-crashed the charts, scoring number-one hits around the globe. But being in Dexys wasn't all sunshine and roses. Many members came, many members went. Some returned unexpectedly as being part of this particular gang was a way of life; it was everything.Nige Tassell, author of the Penderyn Prize-shortlisted Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids? employs his skills of detection to go off in search of the dozens of members who - for however brief a period, and to whatever level of success - have been a part of Dexys Midnight Runners. These are the people who gave the band its sound, its soul, its substance. But whatever happened to them?

''Skilfully written, engaging and sensitive'' HELEN O''HARA''Hugely readable'' MOJO''A compelling, moving book'' THE TIMESIn the early 1980s, the pop charts were dominated by musicians tarted up in Day-Glo colours, who fought it out for coverage on our TV screens and magazine pages. Dexys Midnight Runners did things differently. They were surly. They were serious. They were ambitious, but success had to come on their terms. They were a disciplined outfit, a gang with a defined purpose: to make music so pure that it couldn''t fail to elicit a deep emotional response from anyone within earshot.And they managed it. This motley crew - in woolly hats and donkey jackets for their first coming; all dungarees and copious body hair for the second - gate-crashed the charts, scoring number-one hits around the globe. But being in Dexys wasn''t all sunshine and roses. Many members came, many members went. Some returned unexpectedly as being part of this particular gang was a way of life; it was everything.Nige Tassell, author of the Penderyn Prize-shortlisted Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids? employs his skills of detection to go off in search of the dozens of members who - for however brief a period, and to whatever level of success - have been a part of Dexys Midnight Runners. These are the people who gave the band its sound, its soul, its substance. But whatever happened to them?

'Skilfully written, engaging and sensitive' HELEN O'HARA'Hugely readable' MOJO'A compelling, moving book' THE TIMESIn the early 1980s, the pop charts were dominated by musicians tarted up in Day-Glo colours, who fought it out for coverage on our TV screens and magazine pages. Dexys Midnight Runners did things differently. They were surly. They were serious. They were ambitious, but success had to come on their terms. They were a disciplined outfit, a gang with a defined purpose: to make music so pure that it couldn't fail to elicit a deep emotional response from anyone within earshot.And they managed it. This motley crew - in woolly hats and donkey jackets for their first coming; all dungarees and copious body hair for the second - gate-crashed the charts, scoring number-one hits around the globe. But being in Dexys wasn't all sunshine and roses. Many members came, many members went. Some returned unexpectedly as being part of this particular gang was a way of life; it was everything.Nige Tassell, author of the Penderyn Prize-shortlisted Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids? employs his skills of detection to go off in search of the dozens of members who - for however brief a period, and to whatever level of success - have been a part of Dexys Midnight Runners. These are the people who gave the band its sound, its soul, its substance. But whatever happened to them?

Discover the hectic behind-the-scenes drama of transfer deadlines through the players, managers, chairmen, agents, scouts, analysts, fans, journalists, broadcasters and bookmakers.For football fans who hungrily feed on gossip and rumour, Christmas comes twice a year - once in August and again in January. These are the months when the transfer window dominates thoughts, when the prospect of a new signing or two reinvigorates the hopes and dreams of the hopelessly devoted.Nige Tassell goes behind the scenes to observe the workings of the transfer window and to examine why it continues to hold such fascination for a nation of football lovers. He speaks to players, managers, chairmen, agents, scouts, analysts, fans, journalists, broadcasters and even bookmakers to hear how they survive - and possibly prosper from - these red-letter months in the football calendar.Nobody writes about football like Nige Tassell: poignant, funny, nostalgic and reminds us why we love the game.

''You will love this book.'' - RICHARD OSMAN Shortlisted for the Penderyn Music Book Prize A Rough Trade Book of the YearA Resident Book of the YearA Monorail Book of the Year A Virgin Radio Book of the Year In 1986, the NME released a cassette that would shape music for years to come. A collection of twenty-two independently signed guitar-based bands, C86 was the sound and ethos that defined a generation. It was also arguably the point at which ''indie'' was born.But what happened next to all those musical dreamers?Some of the bands, like Primal Scream, went on to achieve global stardom; others, such as Half Man Half Biscuit and The Wedding Present, cultivated lifelong fanbases that still sustain their careers today. Then there were the rest - the ones who endured general indifference from the record-buying public and ultimately returned to civvy street.Now, thirty-five years on, journalist Nige Tassell tracks down the class of C86, unearthing members of all twenty-two bands and sharing the stories, both tragic and uplifting, of these long-lost musicians.Told with warmth, compassion and humour, this is a very human account of ambition, hope, varying degrees of talent and what happens after you give up on music - or, more accurately, after music gives up on you. It''s a world populated by bike-shop owners, dance-music producers, record-store proprietors, ornithologists, driving instructors, solicitors, caricaturists and possibly even an Olympic sailor. And let''s not forget the musician-turned-actor gainfully employed as Jeremy Irons'' body double...More than simply the tale of the tape, Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids? is an exploration of C86''s wide-reaching and often surprising legacy.

'You will love this book.' - RICHARD OSMAN Shortlisted for the Penderyn Music Book PrizeA Rough Trade Book of the YearA Resident Book of the YearA Monorail Book of the YearA Virgin Radio Book of the YearIn 1986, the NME released a cassette that would shape music for years to come. A collection of twenty-two independently signed guitar-based bands, C86 was the sound and ethos that defined a generation. It was also arguably the point at which 'indie' was born.But what happened next to all those musical dreamers?Some of the bands, like Primal Scream, went on to achieve global stardom; others, such as Half Man Half Biscuit and The Wedding Present, cultivated lifelong fanbases that still sustain their careers today. Then there were the rest - the ones who endured general indifference from the record-buying public and ultimately returned to civvy street.Now, thirty-five years on, journalist Nige Tassell tracks down the class of C86, unearthing members of all twenty-two bands and sharing the stories, both tragic and uplifting, of these long-lost musicians.Told with warmth, compassion and humour, this is a very human account of ambition, hope, varying degrees of talent and what happens after you give up on music - or, more accurately, after music gives up on you. It's a world populated by bike-shop owners, dance-music producers, record-store proprietors, ornithologists, driving instructors, solicitors, caricaturists and possibly even an Olympic sailor. And let's not forget the musician-turned-actor gainfully employed as Jeremy Irons' body double...More than simply the tale of the tape, Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids? is an exploration of C86's wide-reaching and often surprising legacy.

The 1989 Tour de France is arguably the greatest ever. It saw American rider Greg LeMond overturn a 50-second deficit to France's Laurent Fignon on the final stage on the Champs Elysees to snatch the title by a mere eight seconds. After three weeks and more than 2,000 miles in the saddle, these few seconds remain the smallest margin of victory in the race's 100+ year history.But as dramatic as that Sunday afternoon on the streets of Paris was, the race wasn't just about that one time-trial. During the previous fortnight, the leader's yellow jersey had swapped back and forth between LeMond and Fignon in a titanic struggle for supremacy, a battle with more twists and turns than the maziest Alpine mountain pass. At no point during the entire three weeks were LeMond and Fignon separated by more than 53 seconds.In Three Weeks, Eight Seconds, Nige Tassell brings one of cycling's most astonishing stories to life, examining that extraordinary race in all its multi-faceted glory with fresh interviews and new perspectives and laying bare that towering heights of adrenaline, agony, excitement, torment and triumph that it produced.

El Tour de Francia de 1989 es seguramente el más grande de todos los tiempos, una carrera que vio a Greg LeMond remontar 50 segundos de desventaja en los Campos Elíseos durante la última etapa, para llevarse el maillot amarillo por solo 8 segundos. Tras tres semanas y más de 3.000 kilómetros, esta diferencia se mantiene como el margen de victoria más reducido de la centenaria historia del Tour.Pero por muy dramática que fuera aquella tarde en las calles de París, la carrera fue mucho más que esa contrarreloj final. Arrancó con la etapa prólogo de Luxemburgo a cuya salida llegó el ganador de la edición anterior, Perico Delgado, con casi tres minutos de retraso. Tras un desastroso comienzo, Delgado fue remontando posiciones hasta colarse en el podio, mientras LeMond y Fignon mantenían una auténtica lucha de titanes con el maillot amarillo cambiando de espalda varias veces y sin que la ventaja entre los dos primeros pasara nunca de los 53 segundos en todo el Tour. Algo inesperado para un LeMond con más de 30 perdigones insertados para siempre en su cuerpo tras un accidente de caza dos años antes.Entre los testimonios que se recogen en este libro destacan los de Pedro Delgado, Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche, Bjarne Riis, Andy Hampsten, Raúl Alcalá, Charly Mottet, Sean Yates, compañeros de equipo de LeMond y muchos más ciclistas de esa época.Adrenalina y agonía. Controversia y conflicto. Tormento y triunfo. La vida misma. Libro nominado a los Sports Book Awards del Reino Unido en la categoría de mejor libro ciclista del año.

'You will love this book.' - RICHARD OSMAN Shortlisted for the Penderyn Music Book Prize A Rough Trade Book of the Year A Resident Book of the Year A Monorail Book of the Year A Virgin Radio Book of the Year In 1986, the NME released a cassette that would shape music for years to come. A collection of twenty-two independently signed guitar-based bands, C86 was the sound and ethos that defined a generation. It was also arguably the point at which 'indie' was born.But what happened next to all those musical dreamers?Some of the bands, like Primal Scream, went on to achieve global stardom; others, such as Half Man Half Biscuit and The Wedding Present, cultivated lifelong fanbases that still sustain their careers today. Then there were the rest - the ones who endured general indifference from the record-buying public and ultimately returned to civvy street.Now, thirty-five years on, journalist Nige Tassell tracks down the class of C86, unearthing members of all twenty-two bands and sharing the stories, both tragic and uplifting, of these long-lost musicians.Told with warmth, compassion and humour, this is a very human account of ambition, hope, varying degrees of talent and what happens after you give up on music - or, more accurately, after music gives up on you. It's a world populated by bike-shop owners, dance-music producers, record-store proprietors, ornithologists, driving instructors, solicitors, caricaturists and possibly even an Olympic sailor. And let's not forget the musician-turned-actor gainfully employed as Jeremy Irons' body double...More than simply the tale of the tape, Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids? is an exploration of C86's wide-reaching and often surprising legacy.