Hello, Three Counties!
This is me, sitting in a self-op studio in the bowels of Television Centre, talking about me. Well, talking about my book, which is about me. I decided to take a self-op picture of myself talking about me for posterity because it is a lonely existence, even though you are talking constantly to presenters at BBC local radio stations. I have done identical sessions to this to promote my other books. It's what you do. It's ritualistic solipsism in the name of commerce. So, yesterday morning, between 0950 and 1310, I did 18 interviews, each of them ten minutes long. BBC Radio Northampton pulled out at the last minute, and BBC Radio Gloucestershire sort of got lost in the ether, but British Forces Radio pulled in at the last minute (cue: "My brother was in the army," I always say that to get on their good side), as did BBC Radio York.For the record, then:
0950 Newcastle
1000 Hereford & Worcester
1010 BFBS
1020 Stoke
1030 Wiltshire
1040 Three Counties
1050 Derby
1100 break
1110 Manchester
1120 Lincolnshire
1130 break (due to disappearance of Gloucestershire)
1140 Berkshire
1150 Humberside
1200 West Midlands
1210 Coventry & Warwickshire
1220 Kent
1230 Shropshire
1240 Norfolk
1250 Solent
1300 York
1310 Stop talking about myself.
It's exhausting. It's illuminating. It's like a lightning trip round England. A seemingly endless list of producers' names and presenters' names (Alfie, Mike, Nick, Olly, Lorna, Andy, Heather, James, Sarah, Lara, Trish, Bob, Dom, Clare, Karen and Graham, Charlie, Adam), and just ten minutes with each one, whether it's going well or not. Some take flight, others are a little stolid. You do you best to remain animated and if you're me, you call up the station's website first and find a photo of the presenter you're speaking to, which makes it that bit more personal. Inevitably you say the same things, and tell the same stories, but that's because they've all got the same press release and almost none have had time to read the book, so it's your job to fill in the blanks. (Some of them didn't even have a copy of the book! Well done, my publishers!) On the whole, you'd be hard pushed to find a more sparky and upbeat bunch than the footsoldiers of local radio. Since I stopped broadcasting live, regularly, last year, I find I miss the thrill of it. I'm quite jealous of Alfie, Mike, Nick etc., whereas the last time I did this, I had no need to be.
I've also discovered that summing up my book in ten minutes is pretty difficult. Maybe that's why it's been so difficult to sell.
Funnily enough I had a text from Phill Jupitus afterwards, who'd been listening to me talking about me on Radio Norfolk, on his way home from Latitude. We should be on the radio.
posted by Andrew Collins @ 12:46 PM
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Northampton pulled out? How rude, you'd think they'd love to promote their number one export.
A timing issue, Phil. I did the interview with Radio Northampton this morning. They have been about as supportive as any local radio station could be!
(I think Alan Carr is now officially Northampton's number one export.)
Don't let Carlsberg catch you saying that...
Bauhaus were, are, and always will be Northampton's Number One Export. Sorry.
I can just imagine Radio Northampton's Bernie Keith interviewing Alan Carr...
Oh - and that'll be the Alan Carr who constantly repeats how much he hated/hates Northampton and couldn't wait to leave, would never go back etc, etc. Andrew, you do a cracking job as our ambassador!
Who from the West Midlands did you talk to Andrew?
Thank you for reminding me to buy the book - loved the other two!
Trying to post this again - just wanted to say thank you for reminding me to buy the book - I loved the first two. People who bought your book also bought the Flight of the Conchords DVD. Or is that too obvious? I used to love going in HMV and buying very unrelated CDs...
Anyway good luck with the promo stuff.
Your very own press junket. Were you as unfriendly as Christina Ricci by the end!
I'm sorry if you've covered this in some detail on previous occasions, Andrew (I only began reading the blog a short while ago), but wouldn't it be fair to say that the first book was an easy(ish?) sell because it flew in the face of what was such a smothery trend at that point, whereas this one does not?
Also, while I think about it, have you ever made any of your old illustrations available on the internet?
Best wishes,
Tom
Gavin, it was Trish Adudu who I spoke to from BBC West Midlands. She doesn't seem to be listed on their website, but she was very good, despite (I think) being one of those who didn't have a book.
Ian, I can assure you I was as nice as pie from 0950 to 1310. Unlike Christina Ricci, I remain flattered that anybody would wish to talk to me for ten minutes. She was so over that stage! (Also, I was partly to blame for her strop.)
I will always stand aside for the mighty Bauhaus, Ishouldbeworking, but you knew that already!
Tom, good point. You always need a one-line pitch, and both my previous memoirs had one. That's why you should never be talked into writing a third book when you never planned to by your publisher, stoked by the vanity of completing the trilogy! (Hey, we're all fallible.) The annoying thing is, I think TMITC has come out really well, and I enjoyed reliving it. WDIAGR? will always be the one people pick up, I think. I'm very grateful for that.
There are pages from my diaries, the latter ones featuring cartoons, on the PHOTO ALBUM page, but I haven't really the facilities to scan my bigger illustrations. I'd like to, though.
It's a shame that TMITC isn't more popular but I guess it doesn't have the wider appeal of WDIAGR. Personally, and as someone who really enjoyed your first two volumes, TMITC has been my favourite.
And I have recommended it to everyone I know who was an early-90s NME reader, Naked City viewer, fan of Grass and current 6Music listener. I guess there's the narrower appeal right there, but I know loads of people who fit that description!
Did you also write/edit a Friends Reunited book? I found it in Ramsgate's British Heart Foundation shop the other week for £1.95, next to a Michael Flatley video.
Anna
That was mine, Anna. All my BOOKS are listed here.
Thanks for spreading the word, Ian.
Andrew,
I also have bought TMITC, seems one of the few during the original publication, and took it on holiday to read last year and really enjoyed it (along with a a book by dave haslam about DJ's and a book on the history of the casual movement, both also good). You have to tell us now, unless you have done so elsewhere and I missed it, who the 'celebrity' was that you ghost wrote the column for?
Funny, seems Ive ended up with a collection of four Andrew Collins books (including the great Billy Bragg biography), you must be doing soemthing right. Although, to be fair, it seems that I will buy all you can throw at me if its written by an ex-NME writer, cant get enough of this type of thing and cant wait for the big one to come out, the great Danny Baker autobiography, although not sure if anyting is planned.
If anyone can suggest other books in this genre (such as it is, and I hate to use that word as your cab driver would not approve) then I would be grateful, still looking for a reasonable priced copy of Steve Lamacq's book Going Deaf For A Living!
Paul in Northampton
Naked City was a brilliant show. I remember a Johnny Vaughan intro that went something like
They're fish and chips
They're cheese and macaroni
They're Gladys and her pips
They're Collins and Maconie...
Great days...
I'm (slowly) getting through your book AC, and am chuffed to read about your cycling trip with They Might Be Giants.
It always gives me a tiny thrill to hear TMBG at the start of Banter.
(I'm being asked to type 'fxbooby' in order to submit this comment by the anti-spam measure. Perhaps it thinks I'm posting a comment on you entry on The Wire?)
After all those holidays on the Rock, you'd have thought BBC Radio Jersey might have shown some interest?
18 stations? Ligtweight! I did 26 last month! Still didn't sell any fricken books, mind..
The latest update has just gone missing. How mysterious, is it a New World Order-style cover-up?
um, can see a blog about alternative medicine on my Livejournal feed, but it doesn't seem to be here. Just wondered if you deleted it?
Northampton is also represented by Hugh Dennis, I think, he was talking about getting an honourary degree from the university there on Mock the Week a while ago, unless I've remembered it wrongly. I always admire your positivity as I'm sure those local radio station presenters did.
No cover-up. Posted something in anger at the start of the day. Went out. Came back later this afternoon to find lots of comments that reminded me why I steer clear of this subject! (It was the comment that began, "Fuck off AC ..." that convinced me to just pretend I never posted it.) I don't know what came over me!
I can't say who the celebrity I ghost-wrote the column for, because I still freelance for the publishers who published the magazine, and I need to continue working. Ghost writing is a shady business.
What's your book, Mikey?
How kind of you to ask.. :)
It's called 'Sod Abroad' and it's a collection of light comic essays about holidays, and how generally disappointing and/or dangerous they can be.
there's stuff about food, booze, bikinis, drugs and nazis - so something for everyone, really...
Blimey - people do get passionate/unreasonable on the internets don't they. Many of us have opinions on alternative medicine, some of those opinions will be the right one, like mine, but there's no need to get all sweary.
Good on you for deleting the entry. Life's too short to bother with it. There are plenty of sites people can have these debates on. Having said that, it's a shame you don't feel you can post what you want. COuldn't you just ignore the ones you felt were unreasonable? It's your site, so you're legitimately entitled to be the judge.
This must be Mikey's book (you can follow the links from his profile)...
http://thegloveontherailing.blogspot.com/
Have you read Giles Coren's letter to The Times' subs Andrew? http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jul/23/mediamonkey
What do you think about this? He's getting a lot of stick about it. Ever felt the need to do this yourself?
Zoe
Richard will be both delighted and dismayed at me. I picked up your book yesterday. However it was part of a 3 for 2 offer at waterstones and it was the cheapest book so strictly speaking I didn't pay for it.
That'll learn him for stealing my joke before I'd written it down.
"but there's no need to get all sweary."
you are fucking right
Despite the pissy attitude, I can see Coren's point.
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