Contact: tonymcmahon@rostraconsulting.org
I’ve had two books published on this era. One is the biography of Neville Staple – front man in The Specials, the legendary 2Tone band. The other is the no-holds-barred story of black British boxing champ Errol Christie…
I co-wrote Original Rude Boy (Aurum Press) with Neville Staple of The Specials. This was an amazing experience having the opportunity to meet my ska and 2Tone heroes as well as getting Neville to talk about his life.
We charted his rise through the 70s sound system scene and his chance meeting with Jerry Dammers and the rest of The Specials. This was a time when Coventry was at the epicentre of a unique sound that captured the frustration, anger but also hope of a generation.
DISCOVER MORE: Biography of Neville Staple co-authored with Tony McMahon
No Place To Hide (Aurum Press) was my biography of the middleweight champion boxer Errol Christie. Shortlisted for best sports biography of 2011, it told a grim tale of sport and racism in the late 70s and early 80s.
Errol was fighting in the boxing ring and testing his fists on the streets as well against fascist skinheads. Not that all skins are Nazis of course! But Errol had the misfortune to encounter a whole heap of bad people at that time.
DISCOVER MORE: Young, black, and British in 1970s and 1980s Coventry
In 2016, I co-wrote an analysis of Islamism in the United Kingdom from the 1990s to today reviewed in national newspapers and TV.
And if you’re into historical fiction, Bertelsmann published a Templar novel I wrote back in 2012.
I love this era! Although, I was young and only present for the tame moments. I look forward to reading about the more exciting things that I missed while off roller skating and collecting unicorn stickers.
Angie – good to hear from you! Hope you enjoy the blog as much as I enjoy writing it.
Hey, thanks for stopping by and following. Lots of interesting stuff here – takes me back, that’s for sure – me being a child of the ’80s and all 🙂
I’ve got plenty more – just never threw anything away – magazines, newspaper, gig tickets…etc. I could keep this going for years!