My family and other rock stars

A book of the year for the Times, the Sunday Times, the Independent, the Guardian and the Daily Mail

‘Charming . . . heartbreaking, sometimes both funny and unsettling, and always – from start to end – very, very good’ RODDY DOYLE

‘Magical . . . as scrumptious as the home-made mayonnaise, pumpkin soup and game pie coming out of Joan’s kitchen’ DAILY MAIL, BOOK OF THE WEEK

‘A love letter to a remarkable childhood. A total joy’ SARAH WINMAN

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In a small corner of a field in Wales, Tiffany Murray is hiding with Boggle the dog, dreaming of her mum’s moussaka, blackberry and apple crumble, and, if she’s lucky, ice-cold lemonade. A sheep bleats. The smell of hay tickles her nose. The twang of a guitar and crack of a snare carry on the breeze.

It’s the late 1970s and Tiff lives with her mum, Joan, at Rockfield, the iconic recording studios. This place of legend, where some of the most famous rock albums of all time were recorded, is the background to a freewheeling, ever-changing whirlwind of a childhood. Tiff’s days are spent running around the farm, making friends with local wildlife and helping out with the endless array of dishes her mum creates to keep the bands fed. She’s looking for a dog, she’s looking for a father; but the one constant throughout is her and Joan, building an unconventional family in the most unlikely of locations.

My Family and Other Rock Stars is Tiff’s remarkable, truly unique story of growing up in a rural idyll, of Cordon Bleu cookery and of a childhood where the chances of bumping into Freddie Mercury playing piano, or a group of Hell’s Angels turning up to record for Lemmy, or even the hope of David Bowie appearing, were as normal as hopscotch and homework.
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‘You will fall in love with Tiff, her hilarious non-nonsense mother Joan, and a cast of hungry rock stars from Freddie Mercury to Siouxsie Sioux. An utter treat’ RACHEL JOYCE

‘Full of pop gossip that’ll leave you starry-eyed, and written with a warmth and precision you’ll want to savour for as long as you can . . . I didn’t want it to end’ SÉAMAS O’REILLY

‘Enchanting’ INDEPEDENT, 20 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR

Longlisted for the Penderyn Music Book Prize

My Family and Other Rock Stars was the Daily Mail book of the week 17.05.2024