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The Sensational Alex Harvey

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title The Sensational Alex Harvey
Authors and Contributors      By (author) John Neil Munro
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:256
Dimensions(mm): Height 198,Width 129
Category/GenreRock and Pop
ISBN/Barcode 9781846970887
ClassificationsDewey:782.42166092
Audience
General
Illustrations 12 Plates, black and white

Publishing Details

Publisher Birlinn General
Imprint Birlinn Ltd
Publication Date 6 October 2008
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Glasgow-born Alex Harvey's career began in the 1950s when he won a competition to become Scotland's answer to Tommy Steele (he dubbed himself 'Last of the Teenage Idols'). He was a devoted family man but in front of an audience he became an unforgettable entertainer - courageous, provocative and intense. The Sensational Alex Harvey Band eventually became one of the most exciting live acts of the 1970s, taking in Jacques Brel, rock and vaudeville. But Harvey's life offstage was beset by tragedy and alcoholism: his younger brother, Les, was electrocuted on stage; his manager and friend Billy Fehilly was killed in a plane crash; eventually, with his band in tatters, Alex sank into a sea of alcohol, finally succumbing to a fatal heart attack while waiting for a ferry home from Belgium in 1982, the day before his 47th birthday.

Author Biography

John Neil Munro lives in Laxdale, Isle of Lewis. He studied Modern and Economic history at Glasgow University then completed a postgraduate journalism course in Cardiff. Other publications include Some People are Crazy: The John Martyn Story (Polygon, 2008).