I'm Coming To Take you to lunch: A fantastic tale of boys, booze and how Wham! were sold to China

Description

"A veteran manager of groups like the Yardbirds, Napier-Bell was just about ready to retire when Wham! fell into his lap...those interested in what goes on backstage and behind the scenes will find Napier-Bell's stories worthwhile and entertaining." -Publishers Weekly A gossipy, rollicking music memoir about bringing Wham! to communist China in the '80's-now, in paperback London, 1983. Pop impresario Simon Napier-Bell has had enough. Tired of managing groups, and sick of the constant grief at home, with his two ex-boyfriends bickering and bleeding him dry, he's ready to give up the music business for good. But before he gets the chance, he falls in love with a new passion: a dynamic young duo, George and Andrew, jointly called Wham!. Soon, he finds himself offering to arrange for Wham! to be the first-ever Western pop group to play in communist China - a masterstroke of publicity which, in one swift move, would make them one of the biggest groups on the planet. What follows is an exciting and unpredictable globe-trotting adventure in the company of a cast of petulant pop stars, shady businessmen and a confusion of spies, students and officials, as Napier-Bell edges closer to inadvertently becoming one of the first Westerners to break down the walls of communist China. As one reviewer put it, "some of it reads like a big, gay Bond thriller."

Simon Napier-Bell has been a film composer, songwriter, record producer, and author, but he is best known for having managed such artists as The Yardbirds, Marc Bolan, Japan and Wham!. Under his management, Wham! became the first Western pop group ever to play in Communist China. He is the author of three other books about the music industry: You Don't Have to Say You Love Me, Black Vinyl White Powder and The Business, as well as the forthcoming memoir Sour Mouth, Sweet Bottom. He is CEO of the Pierbel Entertainment Group, and continues to consult, write and broadcast on the music industry. @SimonNapierBell

"A veteran manager of groups like the Yardbirds, Napier-Bell was just about ready to retire when Wham! fell into his lap...those interested in what goes on backstage and behind the scenes will find Napier-Bell's stories worthwhile and entertaining." --Publishers Weekly "A riot of boys, booze and 80s excess...a great raconteur and his snide asides are a joy...Bitchier than an Elton John put down." --Elle"Reading this is like sitting across a table groaning with foie gras, listening to a raconteur extraordinaire ramble through an alcoholic mist...tremendous fun."--Gay Times"Richly funny and entertaining..some of it reads like a big, gay Bond thriller; other bits are pure, pungent travelogue." --Mojo"Given Napier-Bell's hedonistic life in Eighties London, his diverse circle of acquaintances and his pithy, lively writing style, this book could hardly fail to entertain."--Observer"Tells the story with a raconteur's relish and a cast of shady characters straight out of a Graham Greene novel."--Q Magazine