Get acquainted with a northern soul Jimmy Nail has been a household name since Auf Wiedersehen, Pet hit our screens in the 1980s. since then, his career as an actor and a musician has put on him on the silver screen alongside Madonna and given him a No. 1 hit single. Success on this astonishing scale was beyond the wildest dreams of the working class lad whose harsh childhood and brutal schooling put him on a collision course with Strangeways. But a short spell in prison helped propel Nail onwards and upwards. With the support of his friends and family, it wasn't long before Jimmy's unique talents and single-minded determination brought him attention of a different kind and changed his life for ever. In A Northern Soul, Jimmy Nail tells his own vivid story in this intriguing, inspiring and sometimes confounding account of how one man rose to fame and fortune by refusing to be anything but himself.

2007-12-11 A Northern Soul???

An ok read as far as biogs go but the overwhelming feeling i got from it was an air of hypocrisy. Throughout the book Nail talks of the unwelcome attention and invasion into his private life that stardom has brought him, mainly due to his brilliant role as Oz in Auf W Pet and the apprehensions he had of going back to the role when subsequent series were mooted. With this in mind he is interestingly the only cast member other than the late Pat Roach who has actually released an autobiography. I would say that all the rest of the cast with the exception of Gary Holton have been as successful as Nail since Auf W Pet, Timothy Spall and Kevin Whatley in particular. Maybe it is me who is pessimistic but surely someone who does not welcome attention to themself would be the first to turn down the opportunity to write an autobiography?
He also states in the book that when they visited the North East to film the 3rd series of Auf W in Middlesbrough he was reminded of how grim the north really is. That is maybe so but its that grimness that made him the person he was (past tense) and got him the incredibly luck break and passport to better things. He also has not lived anywhere near the North East since his unexpected break back in the early 80's. Didn't take the Northern Soul long to up sticks and go did it?