One Hit Wonderland
by Tony Hawks
Category: Travel & Holiday / Travel Writing
Publisher: Ebury Press
Publication date: 3 May 2003
Number of pages: 336
Description:
It's 1988 and radios across the land blast out the Top Ten hit 'Stutter Rap' by Morris Minor and the Majors. The man behind the fake moustache is Tony Hawks. Fast forward to the 21st century and those heady days of pop stardom are a distant memory. That is, until it is suggested that Tony is just another One Hit Wonder. Really? We'll have to see about that ...For two years Tony struggles to have a hit somewhere, anywhere, in the world, changing acts and styles with a bewildering lack of integrity. From Nashville to Amsterdam, from Eastern Europe to Africa, he travels the globe in search of that elusive hit. But it's only after a chance encounter with Norman Wisdom that things get really strange. Is it really possible that together they could storm the Albanian charts? In One Hit Wonderland anything can happen ...
Review:
In 1988 comedian and musician Tony Hawks had a Top Five hit (in the guise of Morris Minor and the Majors) with the novelty song Stutter Rap. Since then he has found fame (of sorts) as a panellist on TV and radio (Have I Got News For You, Just A Minute, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue and so on). But the heady days of pop success, the appearances - well, okay then, appearance - on Top Of The Pops are now but a distant memory. When someone has the temerity to suggest that Tony is (shock horror) a mere One Hit Wonder, he takes the remark to heart and sets off in search of that all important Second Hit that has so far eluded him. Here Tony chronicles his quest, as he battles to have a hit somewhere - anywhere - in the world. He changes acts and styles with a shameless lack of integrity. He travels to Nashville to 'go country'; to Amsterdam, pop capital of Europe (dressed as a pixie); to Romania, where he teams up with a beauty queen; to Africa, hoping some of the natives' good melodic sense will rub off on him. But it is a chance encounter with Norman 'Big in Albania' Wisdom that offers the brightest glimmer of hope. Will they take the Albanian charts by storm, or is Tony Hawks condemned to a life of musical obscurity, forever a pop has-been? You can find out by reading these self-consciously surreal-but-true adventures, which are even funnier than Playing the Moldovans At Tennis, his previous literary effort - though that may not be saying much. (Kirkus UK)
What the papers say:
The author of the international bestsellers Round Ireland With a Fridge and Playing the Moldovans at Tennis scores again with his attempt to repeat his 1988 pop music success. This new adventure takes him around the world in a search for an elusive follow-up hit from the Nashville studios to Amsterdam coffee bars; from the plains of Sudan to the wilds of Tasmania. But will his song You Broke My Heart Like a Bird's Egg [But Now the Yolk's On You] ever be a hit anywhere ?
Author's Biography:
Tony Hawks lives in London. He leads a diverse life and has various 'jobs', such as performing stand up comedy, appearing as a panellist on TV and radio (Have I Got News For You, Just A Minute, I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue), acting, writing, playing tennis, and making music.
In Stock: 14 copies
