The Glamour Chase: Maverick Life of Billy MacKenzie (Paperback)

He was the handsome, charismatic, mischievous frontman of 80s Scottish pop band The Associates. Looking like a cross between Johnny Depp and Mickey Rourke, Mackenzie had a voice that could scale three octaves and still burst a microphone with its power.

Not surprisingly, everybody - including Warner Records - thought Billy would go on to become a global mega-star. And s a young man, he did really, really wanted to be a pop star and he loved music. But, most of all, he loved his family... he loved his whippets... and he loved a laugh.

Mackenzie was an unusual guy, with an irrepressible sense of humour. He was a
charmer from a tough, 'rag-and-bone trade' background. And he'd been an athlete at
school. So, he could handle himself in a business deal, or indeed a punch-up.

The one story most people know about Mackenzie is how he was eventually 'let go' by
Warners. They'd invested a fortune in him. He'd given them a few hits, given the A&R
man assigned to look after him a nervous breakdown, pulled heaps of scams, stunts and
gags on them. And though he never owned up, he had probably pinched the master
tapes to one of his own albums - which are still missing.

And even when Warners finally had had enough, they still liked him. So they took him to
lunch to tell him the bad news: he was being 'dropped'. As they were leaving Billy said to
Max Hole, their A&R man: 'Don't look so sad Max." And Max asked "Will you be alright?"
And Mackenzie replied "Yeah. But, do you think I could get a cab home on the company
account?" And Max agreed. So, Billy took the company cab home... to Scotland - 600
miles away.
Buy this book. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll click on Amazon and buy the music.

He was the handsome, charismatic, mischievous frontman of 80s Scottish pop band The Associates. Looking like a cross between Johnny Depp and Mickey Rourke, Mackenzie had a voice that could scale three octaves and still burst a microphone with its power.

Not surprisingly, everybody - including Warner Records - thought Billy would go on to become a global mega-star. And as a young man, he did really, really wanted to be a pop star and he loved music. But, most of all, he loved his family... he loved his whippets... and he loved a laugh.

Mackenzie was an unusual guy, with an irrepressible sense of humour. He was a charmer from a tough, 'rag-and-bone trade' background. And he'd been an athlete at school. So, he could handle himself in a business deal, or indeed a punch-up.

The one story most people know about Mackenzie is how he was eventually 'let go' by Warners. They'd invested a fortune in him. He'd given them a few hits, given the A&R man assigned to look after him a nervous breakdown, pulled heaps of scams, stunts and gags on them. And though he never owned up, he had probably pinched the master tapes to one of his own albums - which are still missing.

And even when Warners finally had had enough, they still liked him. So they took him to lunch to tell him the bad news: he was being 'dropped'. As they were leaving Billy said to Max Hole, their A&R man: 'Don't look so sad Max." And Max asked "Will you be alright?" And Mackenzie replied "Yeah. But, do you think I could get a cab home on the company account?" And Max agreed. So, Billy took the company cab home... to Scotland - 600 miles away.

Buy this book. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll click on Amazon and buy the music.