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Simon Cowell: The Unauthorized Biography
 
 
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Simon Cowell: The Unauthorized Biography (Hardcover)

by Chas Newkey-Burden (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
RRP: £18.99
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Product details

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books Ltd (3 Sep 2009)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1843173905
  • ISBN-13: 978-1843173908
  • Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.2 x 3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 896 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #1 in  Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Business
    #10 in  Books > Biography > Film, Television & Music > Music > Rock & Pop
    #18 in  Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Music > Styles > Rock & Pop

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Product Description

Review

Insightful...learn what's driven [Simon] to success and about the family he cherishes so much. 4 Stars. --News of the World, August 30, 2009


Product Description

Love him or loathe him, Simon Cowell is arguably the most influential player in the British entertainment industry and one of Britain's most successful exports. After a humble start in the post room at EMI, his meteoric rise began when he became a top A&R executive, signing huge acts from "Westlife" and "Five" to "Robson & Jerome". Fame and a television career followed when he became a judge in the TV talent shows "Pop Idol" and "American Idol" and subsequently created the hit shows "The X Factor" and "Britain's Got Talent", watched by millions every year. His trademark blunt honesty coupled with his extraordinary business savvy has made him a household name - but what do we really know about this charismatic and sharp-tongued man? In Simon Cowell Chas Newkey-Burden finds out, interviewing friends and old colleagues, and lifting the lid on the professional and private life of one of Britain's most eligible bachelors.
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars I liked this 100%, 31 Aug 2009
What I loved about this book is that Chas Newkey-Burden explores and weaves together two strands: the personal and the professional Simon Cowell. My view of Simon has always been that he's clever, that he performs a role, but that behind any outward nastiness he is a gentleman, a strong and driven individual. In reading this book, my views on Simon have been strengthened and reading the words, `I've never believed this is going to last forever' have made me like Mr Cowell even more.

Within `Simon Cowell: The Unauthorized Biography', there is the exploring of Simon's childhood and his forming as a strong minded individual. Chas Newkey-Burden looks at Simon's life growing up near Elstree Studios, describing Simon's first ever business, his first ever kiss, his being expelled from school and how he became a runner for Stanley Kubbrick (after Kubbrick bought the Cowell family home). This book shows Simon's strong family roots, his love of the finer things, his intimate relationships and his overcoming of personal trauma.

The other strand looks at Simon Cowell's professional growth. There is no doubt that Mr Cowell has experienced a spectacular rise into stardom. This biography tracks it all, from Pop Stars to X Factor and not forgetting just how Simon Cowell managed to crack America.

I am left with a renewed admiration for Simon Cowell. Chas Newkey-Burden joins Simon's words with interviews given by the people who know Mr Cowell best. I found it compelling and devoured the book within hours.

A must-read for anyone interested in the man behind the persona.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars You're through to the final, 26 Aug 2009
By Kelkoozee (London, England) - See all my reviews
I have a love hate relationsip with Simon Cowell (loved Pop Idol, hate X Factor) so as a biography connoisseur I picked the book up with an open mind. Well the story is told with warmth and with the childhood pranks, teenage naughtyness and his rise to fame it's like getting to know him properly and he does come across as likeable. The author has a good turn of phrase which made the bits about X Factor tolerable. The early pics were sweet and could have been printed slightly more high quality maybe. 5 stars overall though.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read for fans, 23 Sep 2009
By M. N. Ezra "Michael Ezra" (London, U.K.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
"In your heart, you know he's right," was the campaign slogan of an American presidential candidate in the 1960s. It could also be the mantra of Simon Cowell's legion of fans, as they sit at home watching him deliver another of his candid verdicts to a contestant on one of his many talent shows. How many of us have tuned in to American Idol, The X-Factor or Britain's Got Talent out of morbid fascination for Cowell's stinging remarks? These last few years have seen Simon propelled to extraordinary fame - among huge swathes of the public he is identifiable by his first name alone. As Newkey-Burden writes in this biography, a 2008 children's poll named Cowell "the most famous person in the world."

Chas Newkey-Burden is himself developing quite a following for his celebrity biographies. The Simon Cowell bio follows those of Paris Hilton and Amy Winehouse. His style and prose make his writing highly readable. The Cowell biography is a rip-roaring read and will be loved by Simon's fans. It paints a vivid picture of Cowell's early life, where he struggled to keep a job, to his first taste of success in the music industry in the 1980s, through his subsequent financial problems that forced him to move back in with his parents in his early thirties, and on to his global success with Pop Idol and beyond.

For long-standing Cowell fans, the book throws up many names from the past. Rick Waller, who pulled out of the first series of Pop Idol; the hotly contested final between Will Young and Gareth Gates in 2002; Michelle McManus winning the second series and various other contestants from the television show that gripped the nation. It's all in there. They, and many more, are discussed by Newkey-Burden along with the more recent successes with the X Factor, American Idol and Britain's Got Talent. The biography is bang up to date. For those addicted to watching You Tube videos clips of Susan Boyle from this year's Britain's Got Talent, Newkey-Burden has not left information out of his book about this singer who captured the world's imagination whilst defying the stereotype of how a star performer should look.

But why should someone read this book? More to the point, why did I want to read this book? The answer for me was simple. It is for what Newkey-Burden refers to as the Cowellisms and for what I will refer to as the Simonisms. There are more than enough for the fans including my personal favourite of the put-downs: "When you sing, you remind me of a cod on a fisherman's slab." What I also found out from reading the book is the answer to the question as to whether or not Simon really is Mr. Nasty. If you read this book, which I highly recommend to Simon fans, you will also find the answer.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Looks interesting
This is a xmas present for Brother in Law, so havent read it myself. Am a fan so hoping to get this book too! Looks pretty intresting though. Lots of photos.
Published 6 days ago by L. Stephens

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