Elis James

I present the Friday 1-3pm show with @nomadicrevery on BBC Radio 5 Live. Represented by Emily at M&C Saatchi. Tocyn oes ar y tren grefi.

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Book Recommendations:

EJ

Recommended by Elis James

If you’re interested in working class youth culture, football, music and a very authentic portrayal of what the late 70s was actually like, I can’t recommend this book highly enough. It’s an absolute must read if you like The Jam https://t.co/i0P35AaJPo (from X)

To Be Someone book cover

by Ian Stone·You?

Ian Stone grew up in a Jewish, working-class house in North London in the mid 1970s. Everywhere around him, adults were behaving badly. His parents’ relationship was in freefall so he tried not to spend too much time at home. But outside, there was industrial unrest, football violence, racism and police brutality. As for the music, it was all ‘Save All Your Grandma’s Kisses For My Love Sweet Jesus’. It made him feel physically sick. Then The Jam appeared.This is Ian’s story of that time. Of weekend jobs so that he could go to gigs. Of bunking into the Hammersmith Odeon and ending up on the roof. Of going to see The Jam in Paris and somehow finding himself being interviewed for Melody Maker. Of attempting to keep out of the way of skinheads and trying (and failing) to work out how to talk to girls. And of devastation when in 1982 Paul Weller announced that the band were splitting up. There will never be another band like The Jam. For those who went on that journey with them, the love ran deep. And still does. They helped Ian and thousands like him to grow up – to be someone.

EJ

Recommended by Elis James

@Afw154 And the Sun Shines Now: How Hillsborough and the Premier League Changed Britain by @AdrianTempany. It's a remarkable book (from X)

WINNER OF THE NEW WRITER AWARD AT THE CROSS SPORTS BOOK AWARDS SHORTLISTED FOR THE ORWELL PRIZE, THE GORDON BURN PRIZE AND FOOTBALL BOOK OF THE YEAR AT THE CROSS SPORTS BOOK AWARDS FEATURED IN THE OBSERVER'S SPORTS WRITERS' BOOKS OF THE YEAR And the Sun Shines Now is a book about why Hillsborough happened, and how the flawed response to the disaster created a 'whole new ball game' but destroyed a culture. The Taylor Report. All-seater stadia. Police lies. Political neglect. Murdoch. The oligarchs. And an FA plan to gentrify football. But what happens when you take the people's game away from the people? What happens to the game, and what happens to the people? Powerful, funny, soulful and brutal, Adrian Tempany's acclaimed book exposes the real cost of the modern game . . . and the forces that shaped it.

EJ

Recommended by Elis James

This is the last History book I read. Absolutely brilliant, fascinating stuff from @DrLeeworthy. https://t.co/yTBfDPXtdm (from X)

This pioneering book traces Welsh LGBT life and politics from the Middle Ages to the present. Drawing on a rich array of archival sources from across Britain together with oral testimony and material culture, this original study is the first to examine the experiences of ordinary LGBT men and women and how they embarked on coming out, building community, and changing the world. This is the story of poets who wrote about same-sex love and translators who worked to create a language to describe it; activists who campaigned for equality and politicians who shaped the resultant legislation; teenagers ringing advice lines for guidance and revellers in the underground bars and clubs on Friday and Saturday nights. In this rich social history, Darryl Leeworthy presents a study of prejudice and of intolerance, of emigration and isolation, of HIV/AIDS and counter-movements that conveys the complex reality of LGBT life and same-sex desire. Engaging and accessible, this book is an important advance in our understanding of Welsh history.

EJ

Recommended by Elis James

@JosieLong I thought ‘The End of the Party: The Rise and Fall of New Labour’ by Andrew Rawnsley was absolutely scintillating. It covers 9/11 to 2010. His book Servants of the People covers 1997-01. British Politics Since 1945 by Pete Dorey was great, but my edition only covers up to 1995 (from X)

The End of the Party book cover

by Andrew Rawnsley·You?

Andrew Rawnsley's bestselling and award-winning Servants of the People was acclaimed across all media as the most authoritative and entertaining account of New Labour and its first term in office. As one reviewer put it, 'Rawnsley's ability to unearth revelation at the highest level of government may leave you suspecting that there are bugs in the vases at Number 10.' The End of the Party is packed with more astonishing revelations as Rawnsley takes up the New Labour story from the day of its second election victory in 2001. There are riveting inside accounts of all the key events from 9/11 and the Iraq War to the financial crisis and the parliamentary expenses scandal; and entertaining portraits of the main players as Rawnsley takes us through the triumphs and tribulations of New Labour as well as the astonishing feuds and reconciliations between Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and Peter Mandelson. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and confidential conversations with those at the heart of power, Andrew Rawnsley provides the definitive account of the rise and fall of New Labour.

EJ

Recommended by Elis James

@MarkW06 Renegade is the only book I’ve ever finished and then immediately started reading again. The Big Midweek is also great (from X)

Fine/Very Good plus. Hardcover. No marks or inscriptions. A lovely clean very tight copy with unmarked black cloth boards and no bumping to corners. Dust jacket not price clipped or marked or torn with faint crease right across upper edge. 246pp. Autobiography of front man and leader of music band The Fall who has been with the band for three decades. ISBN 0670916749