Just been listening to Richard Ashcroft doing an acoustic version of the song. I love acoustic stuff … Weller is untouchable, as is Noel G (but gets a bit whiny after a while) but I can’t decide whether I could stand a full set of Wicky-boy droning on. One for the fact fans: Richard Ashcroft lived in Billinge in Wigan. I lived there for around four weeks while at art college). What a lovely place.

That’s got nowt to do with books though. I’ll have to interview someone soon so I’m not just writing the content of my new book – Adventures in Publishing – all the time on here.

I was in Waterstone’s yesterday doing a bit of research into formats for forthcoming books. Anyone seen the ‘super matt’ finish on Ian McEwan’s new novel? It didn’t feel quite as impressive as the sample I was sent recently, but still rather nice, I reckons. I’m thinking of this finish for the Zippy biography out in October … still a bit time yet anyways.

At the moment, Chateau Tonto is a busy hive of publishing activity. We lost another author at the end of last week – Sheila Quigley decided not to publish her new novel Thorn in my Side through Tonto, so we wish her the best of luck in finding a home for it. I’ll dare to say that the schedule is as close to completion as it can be now. Who knows. 

The photos for We Are Not Manslaughterers were sent in by Martin Knight and they look brill. Can’t wait to see what Elliot comes up with for this one; the signed contracts for Where’s Whitey came in today and the contracts for The Fifth Pillar are all sorted. I may even have a light ale tonight to celebrate. Of course, season 5 of 24 is still AWOL, so I may even catch up with reading some manuscript submissions tonight (yes, I was kidding. Well spotted).

Loads of exciting stuff lined up for this year and we’re now looking to the London Book Fair (or LBF as I call it) and will be looking to sign more books up after that for the New Year (or 2011, as I sometimes call it).

Here’s some info on the second book by Andrew Crofts, to be published on 28 October:

Mr Music Man

Mervyn Conn with Andrew Crofts

ISBN: 9781907183188

B Format Paperback

Non-fiction / Biography / Music / Showbiz

£9.99

World rights in all languages available

Mervyn Conn is one of Britain’s most successful and colourful music impresarios of the last century. Show business was in his blood, his grandfather working for a traveling circus in Eastern Europe, his cousins, Mike and Bernie Winters, becoming one of the biggest comedy duos of their time.

By the age of 21 Mervyn was running his own drinking club in Soho’s Gerrard Street, frequented by a young crowd of soon to be pop stars, actors, business tycoons and criminals.

After joining forces with the legendary agent, Joe Collins, (father of Joan and Jackie, partner of Lew and Lesley Grade), he staged the first Beatles Christmas shows and went on to work with virtually all the pop and rock and roll acts of the time, (he was running the tour where P.J. Proby infamously split his trousers), before spotting the potential of bringing country and western music to England and setting up the giant Country and Western Festival at Wembley.

For many years Mervyn’s festival brought all the great country names to Europe including Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, Crystal Gayle etc. He was particularly friendly with Johnny Cash.

He also staged West End shows and brought the Red Army to London during the Cold War, (along with many other Eastern European shows), and staged Marlene Dietrich’s farewell tour. 

One of the few English showmen to have dined at Ten Downing Street, The White House and the Kremlin, Mervyn, now 75 years old, recently fathered a new baby and is planning a new show for the West End with Andrew Lloyd Webber. His story spans modern show business, from the age-old traditions of Variety through the revolution caused by the arrival of television and pop.