Sixth Beatle by Michael A Duffy
Sixth Beatle: When Music Changed The World
Michael A
Duffy
4 Stars
435 Pages
Published: 24
Sept 2013
Publisher’s
Blurb
When Music Changed the World
John Lennon, Mozart, Kurt Cobain, Buddy Holly, Marc Bolan, Schubert. All
brilliant musicians, all dead before their time. All favourites too of
Liverpool born Johnny Litherland, as they float through his mind in the five
minutes and fifty nine seconds before his expected death. He's been shot, as
once was his dearest hero John Lennon, although the bullet comes as no
surprise. Because Johnny tells us he too has possessed the gift of
extraordinary musical ability - and the payback is that he must now die in this
his 40th year. Set in Liverpool in the fading era of The Beatles, the early Seventies,
and paralleled with Johnny's potential last day, in May 2005, 'Sixth Beatle' is
about a boy who grew up wanting to better the world with music. But when
tragedy strikes in his family, his ideal seems crushed. Yet can Johnny then
create music so perfect that miracles are created? Can he save the people he
loves? Can he save so many others too - all who want to be saved? If he
succeeds, then his will be the story of the day that music changed the world.
Review
The story of Johnny
Litherland and his family in Liverpool during the 60's and 70's
An epic tale of 6 year old Johnny and his love of
music which includes a realistic setting of Liverpool and its landmarks and the
scouse vernacular.
The narrative is well written and easy to read. It
starts with 40 year old Johnny reminiscing about his life after being shot like
his hero John Lennon and it is a strange story to say the least.
I'm not a big fan of supernatural goings-on but
the elements here are introduced slowly and are expertly woven into the more
normal family dramas of Johnny, his mam, dad and his little brother Worm.
The characters are well rounded complete with
their own flaws and I was gripped by the interactions between family and
friends.
Being born in the 60's myself there was a lot of
great background that brought back happy memories, not least the exploits of
Liverpool FC and their journey to the league championship and the FA Cup (I'm
not a Liverpool fan but the team under Shankly were world class - if only West
Ham could ever get that good)
I don't want to give anything away but the
explosive final chapters firmly tie up all the loose ends and deliver a real
'Sixth Sense' slap in the gob that is well worth waiting for.
Author
Born in the North West of England, Michael A. Duffy’s formative years were shaped by the cobbled streets and colourful characters of a declining Lancashire Mill town. When he became old enough he escaped off to Merseyside to watch his favourite footy team, Liverpool FC. Then he became a student in Manchester in the late Seventies, becoming heavily involved in the indie music scene, playing in bands and writing for both national and local music magazines.
Once his head had been turned by the bright lights
of both Liverpool & Manchester, he reckons that he could never return to
his dreary though charming Cotton Town roots. So he then moved to and fro
between these two far more exciting Northern cities, embarking on a glamorous
working life. Well not particularly glamorous, but he did have a few jobs anyway.
Varied stuff like English teaching, commercial management and then marketing,
each work-life chapter claiming to result in varying degrees of enjoyment and
success.
So, as he observed life in both Lancashire and
Merseyside, he eventually assembled the mosaic fragments of characters he
shamelessly stole for the basis of his two novels, 'Sixth Beatle' and 'Gavin
& The Bodysnatchers'.
He now lives on Merseyside with his wife, Sue,
occasionally visited by their grown up kids - none of whom wish to listen to
Michael's later life singer-songwriting efforts, nor indeed hear him wax
lyrical about his next novel idea, the one that's sure to be the Next Big Thing!
Comments
Post a Comment