David Bowie - I was there

David Bowie - I was there (Author Neil Cossar)

This book is full of stories by David Bowie fans from their personal memories of seeing the great man in concert over those fantastic years that he was alive. I was asked by Neil to provide a couple of stories from the many gigs I had attended. I have two stories in the book, one from my first Bowie gig at The Hardrock in Manchester in December 1972, the second from his last ever Manchester gig at The MEN Arena in November 2003.

There are over 350 stories in the book, with many from people that knew Bowie on a personal level plus several from people that just met him by chance. The book is a must have for any Bowie fan.

The Hurricane

The Turbulent Life & Times of Alex Higgins (Author Bill Burrows)

Bill Burrows was in the process of writing the official autobiography of former World Snooker Champion Alex 'The Hurricane' Higgins when, as at least one author before him, fell foul of the Irishman's temper the outcome being that he was left with the prospect of wasting all the work he had done to that point or carrying on and changing tact slightly.

Having put out a call for people to contact him regarding their personal experience of Higgins I spoke to Bill about the time I met him on a 'pitch & putt' golf course in Stockport. The story is included alongside many more.

The Belfast Boy

George Best

I was asked by George Best's sister to contribute a story for inclusion in the book - 'George Best Will Not Be Playing Today'.

The book has been compiled using previously unpublished tributes from the many books of condolence opened after his death in 2005, as well as messages of support sent to the Best family by leading international figures.

The book’s title was chosen to sum up the unprecedented impact the mercurial footballer had on the game — taken from a poster outside a football stadium warning match-goers that the man they had most likely come to see was not on the team sheet.

I, like many Stockport County supporters, was lucky enough to see Best play for County on the three occasions he played for the Hatters, my memories take up two pages of this brilliant book.

The Non-league Groundhopper’s Diary

For many years keen amateur photographer and Cambridge United fan Alan Burge has combined his two passions by visiting non-league grounds up and down the country taking photographs and watching football. Alan had never really thought about sharing his photos until July 2016 when he started to send a few photos to me when I was the editor at TheNonLeague Magazine for use in our ‘around the grounds’ feature. Over the next few months Alan I persuaded Alan to write some text to go with his snaps which in turn became a feature of its own. Several years later we decided to turn his memories into a book.

‘Diary of a Groundhopper’ is available here: The Non-league Groundhopper’s Diary – Victor Publishing

The Non-league Groundhopper’s Diary - volume 2

Following on from the success of ‘The Non-League Groundhopper’s Diary’ keen amateur photographer and Cambridge United fan Alan Burge has delved into his personal archives to produce another volume of his memoirs. For many years Alan has combined his two passions by visiting non-league grounds up and down the country, taking photographs whilst watching football and collecting badges, programmes and other bits of nostalgia. As with his first collection Alan has written a few words to accompany the photos from his visit. Again there are some grounds that are sadly no longer with us, and some grounds that he just happened to discover whilst on his travels, and like any self-respecting ‘groundhopper’ no matter that there wasn’t a game on, he took photos anyway.

In this book there is an added bonus as Alan has grasped new technology with both hands and invested in a ‘drone’ which sees his photography moving to a new level.

Volume 2 is available here: The Non-league Groundhopper’s Diary – Volume 2 – Victor Publishing

The Non-league Groundhopper’s Diary - volume 3

The final book in Alan Burge's trilogy. As with volume 1 & 2 Alan has written a few words to accompany the photos from his visit. Again there are some grounds that are sadly no longer with us, and some grounds that he just happened to discover whilst on his travels, and like any self-respecting ‘groundhopper’ no matter that there wasn’t a game on, he took photos anyway.

Like Volume 2 there is an added bonus as Alan has grasped new technology with both hands and invested in a ‘drone’ which sees his photography moving to a new level.

Volume 3 is available here: The Non-league Groundhopper’s Diary – Volume 3 – Victor Publishing