Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #429086 in Books
• Published on: 2001-07-16
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Synopsis
The rags-to-riches story of singing sensation Jane McDonald, who rose to fame as the headline singer aboard "The Galaxy" which featured in the hugely popular BBC TV series "The Cruise". Jane has since taken the UK by storm. She was the success story of 1998 and her list of achievements and her popularity has escalated since then. Born in the north of England, Jane spent 12 years performing in working men's clubs and singing in the chorus on various cruise ships. She was spotted by a BBC TV documentary team and became the star of "The Cruise" series (which was screened in 1998 and ended its 12 week run with an audience of 12 million viewers per episode). Jane became an overnight sensation. Jane takes the reader back to her childhood, the hard slog round the Northern club and pub circuit, the six years she spent on cruise liners, meeting her husband Henrik, giving up the singing career to be a stay-at-home wife, and finally her big break on "The Galaxy" and the filming of the fly-on-the-wall documentary "The Cruise" which catapulted Jane to stardom.

Customer Reviews

great stuff
This book is a lovely read. Warm, funny and emotionally satisfying, it tells what it's like to struggle for years - and how when you think that fame has eluded you it can come out of nowhere - as it did for Jane Mcdonald. There's a lot of spooky psychic stuff too - wish there was more (the last page sent shivers up my spine...).

If you're looking for a good read I can thoroughly recommend it - and if you're looking for a decent book as a Christmas present, you won't go wrong if you buy a couple of copies.

Entertaining, emotional and revealing
Described my The Daily Mail as a 'superb rags to riches story', in Follow Your Dreams Jane McDonald opens her soul to the fans she adores and shares the wealth of experiences and memories that have formed the star we know today. Strikingly honest, this autobiography portays the reality of Jane's life, from childhood, through her early singing career incorporating hard work, long hours travelling, low pay and distracted audiences. She shares the death of her father, the moments she almost gave up and the overwhelming reality of stardom after 'The Cruise' including the sometimes, maybe surprisingly, rockly relationship with her husband Henrik Brixen.

Jabe McDonald has succeeded in sharing with her literary audience the emotional roller coaster which has been, and probably still is, her life so far. I say 'still is' because I am sure the fun loving, caring, self critical and extremely amusing person that shines through the words of this book is still the same today.

The main thing I liked about this book was its honesty. Ironically, it was also the thing I became most annoyed about, specifically Jane's attitude towards southerners. This was the only reason I rated the book with four stars and not five! Obviously, and quite rightly, proud of her Yorkshire routes, I did feel some of Jane's comments about southerners were not only unnecessary but also ignorant and could only serve to widen the north/south divide. So, if you're reading this Jane, please note that Southern England does only consist of London - there are many other counties, all with their own unique people, countryside, traditions, histories and communities with as much pride in their southern routes and northerners have in theirs. Additionally, I felt that Jane's honesty was sometimes far more apparent than intended, and to me at least she sometimes came across as rather selfish and ruthless. This is in no way a criticism - after all a sickly sweet, perfect character would never have got to where Jane is today. In certain areas, though, I did feel Jane's attempts at hiding her imperfections only served to highlight them - the phrase 'the lady doth protest too much' comes to mind!

Despite my critisisms, I still feel that Follow Your Dreams is an excellent insight into both the entertainment business and the mind of an ordinary Yorkshire lass made good. Keep up the good work Jane, and remember: worse things happen at sea!!

A real page turner
This book reads like Cinderella, with Jane as Cinders and Henrik as her Prince Charming. The scene is set with us getting to know Jane's warm and funny working class Yorkshire family, her famed psychic grandmother and Jane's early life as a club singer from the age of sixteen. Then Jane runs off to sea to seek her fortune (in fairy tales she'd have the spotted handkerchief on a stick) with many adventures along the way in the manic, romantic life aboard luxury cruise liners.

It's love at first sight when Jane meets Henrik, who turns out to be the man of her dreams - but does he love her back? Shades of As You Like It as the story rollercoasts along in an almost Shakespearian way - with Jane wondering if he loves her and he wondering if she loves him..Wonderful, deeply satisfying stuff. Why read Mills & Boon when you can read poignant TRUE stories like this? I loved it and can see the shelves emptying fast with that Word of Mouth factor.