Product Description

He street jams in spandex and wrestles in lycra. He's been a magician, a ventriloquist and a clown. He's hugged some of the biggest stars in the world, and pretty much anyone else who's crossed his path. He mucks about, wears silly costumes and manhandles his friend Alan Carr on national TV on a weekly basis. And people have literally paid him to do all this. Good times!

But life wasn't always so kind to young Justin. He discovered he couldn t kiss very well at school camp in Plymouth. ''An attractive sixth-form girl let me snog her. I was about 12. She pulled away, and said 'Aaah, you can't do it.' Then she then picked me up and carried me back to my room.'' The years stacking shelves at Bristol's Marks and Spencer weren't exactly a high point. Being told to 'walk faster' by his boss and being given a final warning: ''it dawned on me they thought that putting out knickers and crisps was beyond me!'' Bad times.

But mere retail couldn t keep him down! This hilarious coming-of-age story follows his journey from collecting Star Wars toys as a small boy to schmoozing Carrie Fisher in her Hollywood home, and becoming one of the most loved and instantly recognised faces on British TV. For each new twist his life has taken, he hasn't changed a bit. He's as bouncy, funny, shambolic, huggable and of course Bristolian as he's ever been. This is the story of how it all happened. By accident.

But this book is not just a routine celebrity autobiography/memoir that would be boring. Especially for Justin himself, whose attention span is that of a small child at the best of times. Instead, this is JLC utilising his remarkable photographic memory to ponder the unfeasibly peculiar and funny moments that have defined his life, and desperately trying to make sense of it all. Rock on!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #691 in Books
• Published on: 2009-09-17
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 352 pages

About the Author
A proud Bristolian, Justin began his performing career as a stand-up. But he hated it, and thanked the lord when he was able to become a full time TV presenter instead. He was spotted fronting Flipside TV, a cult late night show on digital, which lead to his big break with BBC3 hosting the spin-off show to the first series of Strictly Come Dancing. Since then he has become the co-host of Sunday Night Project with his proper friend Alan Carr and fronted myriad personal documentaries for Channel 4 and Sky 1. He will soon be hosting his own chat show on ITV2, fulfilling his dream to become ''the man behind the desk''.

Customer Reviews

Very funny and touching
JLC has always amused me on TV so when I saw this at the airport I thought I'd give it a go. It made me laugh out loud on the plane quite a few times and I really enjoyed the way it was written - very open and honest, especially about his early disasters with women! I thought he came across as a very genuine and lovely chap.
Definitely worth reading.

It's allright me babber!
I'm not much of a reader it has to be said - but what I am is Bristolian and frankly, if you can make it by being completely yourself, accent and all, and remain completely down to earth then well, you've done alright in my book...well I haven't got a book, but if I did it would say that.

As I mentioned, I've not read many books, not since Jayne Eyre and To Kill a Mockingbird since school days, (And obviously The Da Vinci Code - who hasn't?) but he has a way with words that you just wouldn't expect from his persona on screen - and I actually love the fact that he has written this himself, it pains me to hear about the likes of Jordan making more money that most will in a lifetime by selling ANOTHER biography that she hasn't even so much as held a biro in IKEA let alone written it.

I've had this little `what if' thing with JLC dating back to a decade or so ago where I worked in the same video shop as him in Brizzle (He references it a few times) - not name dropping because I never really had anything to do with him, our shifts would never overlap because it was only ever one person working but I always felt like given a different situation, another day perhaps where we actually met and had a coffee, we could've been friends, but lets face it, that's him isn't it? He has that way of making you feel like that whether you know him or not, and this book just emphasises that fact. On finishing it I actually felt like he'd opened up to me individually, like he had sent me a personal email, or even that I'd stumbled across his diary, it's that personal - so that's a hell of a thing right?

He reminisces about his youth, his loves and loathes and of course Bristol, which for anyone who knows that place, or grew up there too, there're so many references to people, places and locales, you'll be busy reminiscing with him too.

So claims to fame put to one side, I can assure you that there isn't any bias in what I'll say about this book - And that is it's a frank, interesting and funny log (My words) of this ordinary guys daft existence to date (his words).

So if you ever read this Justin, well done... and is there any chance you could sign my copy next time I see you at Cabot Circus bud? I'll have a perma-copy on me at all times...good times, that is!

Great read, if a little short. Pictures are decent too.
First off, the T-shirt - its a Large, which I suppose is fine for the average chappy. Although its very much an indoor item - Wouldn't wear it outside - its far too loud. Washes well also - great for a freebie I suppose.

Now to the book itself - 350 odd pages of pure humor from a great comedian. His little stories, especially one about not being able to pay for pizza, are very entertaining and keep you wanting to read more. The style the book is written is not too thought inducing, its definately an easy-read.
The pictures that appear in 2 sections of the book are worth a look, showing JLC in his childhood as well as with some famous faces.

To summarise, this is well worth a tenner, and the t-shirt to boot, makes this a steal!