Fast approaching his fortieth birthday, Andrew is cornered at a family gathering by the nine-year-old son of his brother-in-law's sister. Having seen him as a talking head on TV, the boy asks, 'What are you?' It is a question so frank and simple that Andrew doesn't have an immediate answer to hand. So, with hilarious self-deprecation, he sets out to retrace how he got to where he is today. Seventeen precarious jobs in seventeen years: from trolley collector at Sainsbury's to high-flying film critic sipping cocktails with Will Smith and Jerry Bruckheimer on a yacht in Cannes. This is Andrew's tale of rubbing shoulders with the world's biggest stars: pissing off Christini Ricci, having his hairstyle mocked by Noel Gallagher, trying not to wake Clive James from his afternoon nap, having his apple pie eaten by Bob Geldof, and somehow stumbling into the next dream job. Along the way, he's been the world's worst gossip columnist, an almost-hip young gunslinger at the NME, a Radio 1 DJ (enduring a hellish Radio 1 roadshow in a car park in Birmingham), an ITV presenter, "EastEnders" scriptwriter, ghost writer for a major TV personality and much, much more. It charts a world of hedonism, mundanity, towering egos, shallow idiocy and occasional moments of mind-blowing joy. And, of course, being sent shit in a box.
That's Me in the Corner
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Review
'Film critic Andrew Collins takes us on an amusing journey of how
he got to where he is today - from working in a supermarket to sipping
champers with the stars. Entertaining from start to finish.'
-- Hot Stars, 5 May 2007
'all recounted in a wittily self-deprecating style. As good an
insight into magazine life as you'll get.' -- Q Magazine, June 2007
he got to where he is today - from working in a supermarket to sipping
champers with the stars. Entertaining from start to finish.'
-- Hot Stars, 5 May 2007
'all recounted in a wittily self-deprecating style. As good an
insight into magazine life as you'll get.' -- Q Magazine, June 2007
Book Description
Self-deprecating tale of an ordinary man's life in the celebrity bear pit - from the Sunday Times-bestselling author
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
You'd be forgiven for now knowing who Andrew Collins is, as by his own admission he doesn't consider himself a celebrity. Yet he has written for the Brit Awards, Eastenders, Not Going Out, Clive James and Family Affairs, not to mention hosted his own TV Shows, radio shows and podcasts.
His first book, Where Did it All Go Right?: Growing Up Normal in the 70s, presented itself as anti-self help books, to show that there are people who didn't grow up tortured by their own parents. Now in later life, Collins again writes in the style of someone to whom good things just happen.
If, like me, you are a child of the 70s and 80s and have grown up with the NME, Select Magazine, Britpop, and all the scenes that go with them, then you will enjoy a lot of this book. There is plenty of behind-the-scenes nostalgia from his time with fellow upstarts as John Yorke (Eastenders Supremo), Steve Lamacq, Stuart Maconie and others.
It isn't Collins' style to dish the dirt, so anyone expecting juicy gossip from back in the day will be disappointed.
Other reviews suggest that this is a book too far for Collins. I disagree, I think his second book was unnecessary. It's certainly the case that leading lights far brighter than Collins have condensed far more years into just one book, but in an age of celebrity literature, it's reassuring that some writers are capable of writing funny stuff, even if they don't consider themselves celebrities.
His first book, Where Did it All Go Right?: Growing Up Normal in the 70s, presented itself as anti-self help books, to show that there are people who didn't grow up tortured by their own parents. Now in later life, Collins again writes in the style of someone to whom good things just happen.
If, like me, you are a child of the 70s and 80s and have grown up with the NME, Select Magazine, Britpop, and all the scenes that go with them, then you will enjoy a lot of this book. There is plenty of behind-the-scenes nostalgia from his time with fellow upstarts as John Yorke (Eastenders Supremo), Steve Lamacq, Stuart Maconie and others.
It isn't Collins' style to dish the dirt, so anyone expecting juicy gossip from back in the day will be disappointed.
Other reviews suggest that this is a book too far for Collins. I disagree, I think his second book was unnecessary. It's certainly the case that leading lights far brighter than Collins have condensed far more years into just one book, but in an age of celebrity literature, it's reassuring that some writers are capable of writing funny stuff, even if they don't consider themselves celebrities.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Couldn't help feeling that the theme of this book and the reality of Andrew Collins' life seem somewhat at odds; although he sets out to describe the party from the point of view of the ordinary boy in the kitchen, his CV suggests a rather different location. Self-deprecation is all very commendable but smacks rather more of false modesty as he moves from one high profile editorship to another, taking leading roles in many of the biggest and best-loved publications of the 80s and 90s and then going on to what would, by most yardsticks, count as a pretty successful career in media and entertainment. Not quite the shrinking violet, one suspects.
Highly readable for the most part, however, particularly in his attempts to break into the music press (a dream shared by many who grew up in the 70s regarding the NME as a Bible which arrived in weekly instalments), and worth the admission price for that alone.
Highly readable for the most part, however, particularly in his attempts to break into the music press (a dream shared by many who grew up in the 70s regarding the NME as a Bible which arrived in weekly instalments), and worth the admission price for that alone.
15 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is the latest (third) part of the author's autobiography. Having enjoyed all three, I feel as if I know Mr Collins all my life. It is only in this latest instalment that he moves from the ordinary to a variety of jobs at NME, the BBC, Radio 1, Empire magazine and Radio Times, but we feel pleased for him because we feel we know him and deep down is an ordinary fan boy like the rest of us.
The focus here is work related, very little about relationships, marriage, family etc and it would have been nice to have a flavour.
He writes with ease and with a wry look at himself and the people around him and never takes himself seriously. It's astonishing that someone can have produced a three-part biography at the age of forty without being overly famous!
If I met him in a pub, I'd buy him a pint because I feel I've known him all his life and that is the essence of his books, you feel you have grown up with him.
The focus here is work related, very little about relationships, marriage, family etc and it would have been nice to have a flavour.
He writes with ease and with a wry look at himself and the people around him and never takes himself seriously. It's astonishing that someone can have produced a three-part biography at the age of forty without being overly famous!
If I met him in a pub, I'd buy him a pint because I feel I've known him all his life and that is the essence of his books, you feel you have grown up with him.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Smugness personified
I was given this book along with other autobiographies as part of a study of the genre and I didn't have a clue as to who Andrew Collins was whereas all the other authors were... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Son Of The Rock
2.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing and a chore to read.
Although Collins' first 2 books made for fabulous reading, were amusing and very entertaining, unfortunately his 3rd book is very disappointing. Read more
Published on 2 Sep 2010 by monkey
2.0 out of 5 stars
Blog-standard
The cut-outs of famous celebs on the cover seem to pitch the book in the same bracket as Piers Morgan's tabloid memoirs, which had a similar design. Read more
Published on 1 July 2010 by Mr. C. Morris
2.0 out of 5 stars
That's enough books now, Andrew
So, the secret is out: you don't need talent and experience to make it in the world of the media, and Andrew Collins should know. Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2010 by Jl Adcock
5.0 out of 5 stars
3rd great book in this series
This is the 3rd book in the series about Andrew's life and brings us (almost) up to date. It's another very enjoyable, well written, interesting and funny look at his mainly... Read more
Published on 28 April 2009 by Mrs. L. C. Miller
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not that funny for a comedy writer
I am of a similar vintage to Andrew Collins so I was looking forward to reading this book. But I found it a bit disappointing. Read more
Published on 24 April 2009 by Grover Netzer
1.0 out of 5 stars
Really dull
Basically just a list of Andrew Collin's jobs.
Thrill as Andrew has two weeks off from editing Q with the flu! Read more
Thrill as Andrew has two weeks off from editing Q with the flu! Read more
Published on 14 Sep 2008 by dangerkid2
2.0 out of 5 stars
Shame..
I was really disappointed in this, after thoroughly enjoying Andrews other books. I think it's because he moved away from music (and therefore musical references) and into comedy. Read more
Published on 22 July 2008 by DSH
5.0 out of 5 stars
An insight into the fascinating career of Andrew Collins
I loved this book. I hadn't read his first two before buying 'That's Me in the Corner' - it didn't matter. Read more
Published on 3 May 2008 by Amelie Austin
4.0 out of 5 stars
That's him for now.
I have thoroughly enjoyed all 3 of his memoirs.His first 2 books could easily have been me growing up in the 70s and 80s and had a real everyman feel about them. Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2007 by Mr. M. Broad
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