Joe Allan

On the morning of 9 February 2014, when Sam Smith woke up and saw the four statuettes he’d taken home from the previous night’s Grammy Awards Ceremony, it must have felt like a dream come true. At only twenty-two years old and coming just eight months after the US release of his debut album, In the Lonely Hour, calling Sam Smith’s victory an ‘overnight success story’ seemed wholly appropriate.In fact, Sam had been working towards releasing his own music for over a decade and training his voice for even longer. After falling under the spell of Whitney Houston and Chaka Khan as a child, straining his voice to imitate them and match their incredible vocal ranges, tuition from a local jazz singer and time spent in a local theatre group and youth choir encouraged Sam to pursue singing as a career.But Sam’s first attempts to become a professional singer floundered and left him disillusioned and jaded. By the time he turned eighteen, Sam had seen six different managers come and go, he’d recorded a whole album’s worth of songs which were never released and he was beginning to think he’d never get his big break.Then in 2010, giving himself one more year to make it, Sam moved to London. After spending a year working full-time in a bar, a chance encounter with Elvin Smith, a fellow musician turned artist manager, changed Sam’s life forever. In just over eighteen months, Sam’s voice had featured on a number-one song and he was about to sign his own major label deal.The songs Sam wrote for his debut album would go on to capture the hearts of a massive international audience. Along the way there were celebrity friendships, number-one records, world tours and the inevitable press speculation about his personal life. In this revealing biography, Joe Allen charts the meteoric rise of Britain’s singing sensation. With his multi-platinum debut barely scratching the surface of what we can expect from Sam in the future, the next decade is sure to be as eventful as the last.

Sam Smith - The Biography

Danny Dyer is one of the most recognizable names in British film and television. Best known for hard-man roles in Mean Machine and The Football Factory, Danny is now making headlines as Mick Carter, the landlord of the iconic Queen Victoria pub in EastEnders. Yet, as his new soap role shows, there is a softer side to the stereotype many have of him. These days a committed family man and hard-working chairman of Greenwich Borough Football Club, Danny had to overcome a lot of obstacles on his way - some provided by growing up in the tough environment of East London in the eighties, some he put in his own way as early successes went to his head. Drink, drugs and scandal were never far away, but such fast-living had its price. With his career flagging and his relationships with his family in jeopardy, it was time for him to turn himself around. Danny Dyer: The Unauthorized Biography tells the full up-to-date story of TV's tough guy. From his early years in London's Canning Town to his first breaks as a teen actor to his fascinating new role on EastEnders, this book will examine the real man under the hard-man mask, going behind the scenes of his film, television and theatre work, not to mention the bar of the Queen Vic.

The Unauthorized Biography

Danny Dyer: East End Boy

The biography of the hottest new Australian band taking the pop world by storm. Luke, Michael, Calum and Ashton have become an overnight sensation, topping the charts in fifty-one countries and selling out their first US solo tour in just five minutes. From their humble beginnings posting videos of their songs on YouTube to supporting One Direction on tour and releasing their first album, the past year has been a roller-coaster journey for the boys. 5 Seconds of Summer: The Unauthorized Biography explores the early lives and backgrounds of the boys, their determination to gain recognition, touring with One Direction and coping with sudden international fame. This is the story of four talented, fun and down-to-earth boys who refuse to be known as just another boy band, and is a must-have for any 5SOS fan.

5 Seconds of Summer

A fan's guide that presents the unofficial biography of the two main stars of the March 2014 film based on the best-selling novel by Veronica Roth describes the personal backgrounds, prior achievements and awards of Shailene Woodley and Theo James. Movie tie-in. Simultaneous.

An Unofficial Biography of Shailene Woodley and Theo James

Becoming Divergent

Shailene Woodley and Theo James are two stars on the rise. Playing Tris Prior and Tobias 'Four' Eaton respectively, they are set to take Hollywood by storm on the release of Divergent, the fantasy film based on the internationally best-selling novel by Veronica Roth which is set in a futuristic dystopia, produced by the makers of the Twilight Saga. Shailene, best known as Amy Juergens in The Secret Life of the American Teenager and for starring in a Golden Globe-nominated performance alongside George Clooney in The Descendants, has come a long way in a short time. Born to parents employed in education, she worked in an American clothes store while pursuing acting in New York aged 18. Now 21, her television stints, fitted in with schoolwork and paid work over the years, have paid off as she has made the jump to big-budget movie actress. Theo James is a well-educated English actor who has seen increasing success since his appearance as Jed Harper in Bedlam, featuring in The Inbetweeners Movie and Underworld: Awakening, as well as being cast as the lead role in the American crime drama Golden Boy. Both are young actors about to hit the big time, and are sure to gain legions of fans keen to read their stories.

Joe Allan

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