SHOWCASE UK is delighted to announce that they have signed EAMON NANCARROW to a three book deal with the first instalment of his memoires ‘HOLYWOOD STAR‘ to be published on 18th November 2009
Eamon Nancarrow grew up in Holywood, County Down with a passion for rock and roll. He dreamt of striding across the world’s stages, singing his heart out as a rock God and lapping up all the trimmings that success would naturally deliver. As you are well aware he didn’t make it but by the end of his autobiography ‘Holywood Star’ you’ll wish he had.
With a keen eye for observational humour and a knack of getting it down on paper, Eamon Nancarrow will have you convulsing with laughter as he takes you through almost every calamity that befell him, every moment that fate turned against him and every support band that tried to upstage him…
As the final note of the crescendo was being held by his bandmates Thunderchild’s guitarist proceeded to try and smash his instrument up. Unfortunately the flexibility of the floorboards meant that instead of the Gibson SG shattering into a million pieces it just bounced around the stage like a basketball.
His embarrassment was quite palpable. In an attempt save face, he put even more effort into his swings, which only caused the six-string to bounce higher and higher, smashing some of the lights on the lip of the stage and sending shards of red-hot coloured glass into the crowd. Shoulders slumped, drenched in sweat and sporting a reddner like a flasher’s giblets in July, he was just about to give up when he spotted the hatchet that Rollo had used to secure the now demolished lighting board.
A heavily perspiring guitarist ran off stage and returned brandishing the axe above his head like a mad Comanche on the hunt for a fresh paleface scalp. He grabbed the guitar by the neck, knelt down and took a swing. The hatchet made contact, forcing the SG into the trampoline-like stage. The elasticity of the floorboards caused the poor instrument to catapult past the rabbit-in-the-headlights eyes of its ungrateful owner. I couldn’t help but think that for a guitar player with two fingers of his hand already missing this was quite frankly a ludicrously risky thing to do.
And it doesn’t stop there. Eamon’s life is full of moments that not only give you a great insight into how funny trying to make can be, he also draws you into his world and the characters around him. Like the moment he decided to get his first perm…
The girl on the other end of the phone felt the need to remind me that it was a woman’s hairdressers that I was calling, not a barbers. Holywood still hadn’t really taken to the idea of male grooming as such. Men only went to the barbers when absolutely necessary or in Specky Beard MaCaffery’s case when his nasal and ear hairs became the talking point of the kids in the street. The thought of a male asking for a cut and blow dry nearly had the local priest visiting the family home with a little pamphlet about the birds and the bees and the benefits of the Rhythm Method.
Eamon’s failure is his success and even though fame alluded him, once you’ve finished ‘Holywood Star’ you’ll feel like a life long fan.
ABOUT THE BOOK
‘Holywood Star’ is divided up using Eamon’s bands as the chapters: Guilt Edge, No Hot Ashes, Nellie Dean, Social Idiot, Strictly No Ballroom. The book is a paperback and 356 pages long. It’s cover price is £9.99 although Amazon currently have it discounted to £7.99. It is a print-on-demand book that was edited and produced by Miles Bailey and his team at The Choir Press.
SHOWCASE UK was created by broadcaster and journalist Xan Phillips as a vehicle to promote unsigned musicians. Based in Southampton it’s first release was the CD ‘Showcase Sett’ a 16 track compilation album of acts from the south coast. However back in 1987, Xan was an aspiring bass player who accidentally joined Eamon Nancarrow’s band ‘Nellie Dean’. Since then they’ve remained close friends and in July 2007 Eamon began sending a stream stories about his days as a musician and growing up in Holywood. From the beginning it was obvious that Eamon had a knack for comic writing and observational humour. The idea for putting these gems into a book followed soon after which is why ‘Showcase UK’ is proud to have ‘Holywood Star’ as it’s first publication.
Eamon Nancarrow in the Maypole Bar (Ned's), Holywood
EAMON NANCARROW was born at an early age, but grew up fast, so fast; in fact, that he outgrew his hair. He always considered himself to be a bit of a rock star with a fine singing voice, however it wasn’t until the GP presented an ill-fitting truss that he developed his astonishing vocal range. Sounding like a cross between Donald Duck and Tiny Tim made him an attractive catch for bands desperately seeking a singer.
From the age of fifteen he has assaulted the eardrums of the general public without a concern for the damage he was causing. He has used music to achieve his goal of living in abject poverty and boy was he good at it. His life can be mapped out in chapters of the bands he has been in and funny enough that’s just what his book has done. After failing miserably in the music business he decided that a new career was necessary, unfortunately for the sanity of his poor family this didn’t happen until he was thirty.
Eamon resides in Belfast with his partner Donna and his two kids Teelin and Tara. He still screams rock and roll at the weekends but makes a living as a specialist Infection Control Nurse (God help us all).
Holywood Star: The Life and Times of a Rock and Roll Misadventurer
ISBN-10: 0956390005
ISBN-13: 978-0956390004
