Exit Stage Left

Nick Duerden is a writer and freelance broadsheet journalist. He has written widely on the arts, family and health, and is the author of two novels, a memoir on fatherhood, and other non-fiction works.

GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE DAYBBC RADIO 2 NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE DAYINDEPENDENT BOOK OF THE MONTH'Most books about pop stars focus on the way we turn average human beings into demi-gods. In writing a book about how they have to turn back into humans Nick Duerden has done both us and them a service' David HepworthThe desire for adulation is a light that never goes out. We live in a culture obsessed by the notion of fame - the heedless pursuit of it; the almost obligatory subsequent fallout. This is the world the pop star is required to inhabit. But what happens when fame abruptly passes, and shifts, as it does, onto someone else?We know all about pop stars when they're at the top of their game, but they tend to reveal far more of their true selves once they've peaked, and are on their way down. This is the point at which they are at their most heroic, because they don't give up. They keep on striving, keep making music, and refuse simply to ebb away. Exit Stage Left features tales of drug addiction, bankruptcy, depression and divorce, but also of optimism, a genuine love of the craft, humility and hope. This is a candid, laugh-out-loud and occasionally shocking look at what happens when the brightest stars fall back down to earth.'Funny, poignant and often inspirational' Mat Osman'Fascinating layers of humanity, pathos, humour and wisdom' Frank Turner