A stunning new book by a retired print journalist lifts the lid on half a century of close encounters with so-called celebrities.
The Man’s a Tart and Other Stories by multi award winning journalist Nic Outterside details his 50 year journey through life, meeting the famous and infamous, celebs and non celebs, lovable and poisonous, beautiful and ugly.
All the while peppered with unexpected communication breakdowns, weird reactions and audacious name-dropping along the way.
From England cricketer Tony Greig coyly asking for a packet of condoms to American TV actor Kirstie Alley struggling to pronounce the name of a Scottish island, the world of celebrity is fully exposed in all its mundane and sometimes hilarious glory.
Among other notable encounters are: the day Nic poured a large glass of whisky down former Prime Minister Edward Heath’s Savile Row suit, his “bite my tongue” interview with fellow PM Tony Blair, meeting musical hero Lou Reed in a London hotel lift, a fireside chat with his Olympic hero Steve Ovett and sharing sleeping arrangements with David Bowie’s former cohort Dana Gillespie.
The title of the book comes from Nic attending the wedding of a famous sporting star and mishearing another journalist’s description of the groom.
After 28 years in UK newspaper and magazine journalism Nic Outterside took early retirement in 2013.
During those years he scooped more than a dozen major press awards, including Scottish Daily Journalist of the Year, Scottish Weekly Journalist of the Year, North of England Daily Journalist of the Year, and in 1994 was given a Judges’ Special Award for Investigative Journalism.
In 2015, Nic set up his own publishing house – Time is an Ocean – and his new book The Man’s a Tart and Other Stories is his 13th paperback publication. Two earlier books – Death in Grimsby and Bones both became Amazon best-sellers.
Wolverhampton-based Nic said: “The idea for this book came to me earlier this year while piecing together material for my previous publication Contacts, which was a collection of 18 investigations I undertook as an investigative reporter.
“It was a true labour of love, but also bloody hard work and at times the tome is quite heavy on detail.
“Then while proofing the manuscript I realised how privileged I was to also enjoy so many light-hearted moments meeting and interviewing famous people during my life.
“In some ways The Man’s a Tart is a companion piece to Contacts, but it also a stand-alone romp through the funny and ridiculous,” he added.
The Man’s a Tart and Other Stories is now available worldwide both as large format paperback book and as a Kindle e-book.
The Man’s a Tart and Other Stories is available as a (6”x9”) paperback priced at £8.99 from Amazon.
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08KH2JJL7/
It is also available as Kindle e-book priced at £4.99.
www.amazon.co.uk/Mans-Tart-Nic-Outterside-ebook/dp/B08K9CL5RD/
No Time to Think 