The Champ & The Chump
- Author James McNicholas
- Narrator James McNicholas
- Publisher Headline
- Publish Date 5 August 2021
- Run Time 9 hours and 9 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Boxing, Comedy and stand-up, Family history, tracing ancestors, History of sport, Humour, Memoirs.
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What to expect
The Champ
Terry Downes - known as 'The Paddington Express' - was a world champion boxer, US Marine, gangsters' favourite and latter-day film star and businessman.
The Chump
James McNicholas's PE teacher once told him he was so unfit he'd be dead by the time he was 23. James has spent his life pursuing a career in acting and comedy. In reality, that has meant spells working as a painter-decorator and river cruise salesperson.
After Terry's death, James finds himself in reflective mood, comparing how he's doing in life to how his grandad was at that age. What follows is an increasingly colourful journey that takes James from post-war Paddington to the blood-soaked canvases of Baltimore and Whitechapel, via Mayfair parties with the Krays and betting shop bust-ups, as he discovers the truth about his grandfather's extraordinary life.
Along the way he begins to dig into his own story, confronting the family addictions that blighted his early years, describing his often-hilarious efforts to make it in the world of showbiz, and attempts to recreate Terry's trials by enlisting in a brutal army boot camp and boxing gym. When James is diagnosed with a frightening and mysterious neurological condition, the two stories of the fighter and the writer suddenly collide, and what began as a nostalgic journey takes on a far more important significance.
(P)2021 Headline Publishing Group Limited
User Reviews
| Author | James McNicholas |
|---|---|
| Narrator | James McNicholas |
| Duration | 9 hours and 9 minutes |
| Release Date | |
| ISBN | 9781472280398 |
| Format | Audiobook |
| Publisher | Headline |
| Genre | Boxing, Comedy and stand-up, Family history, tracing ancestors, History of sport, Humour, Memoirs |
| Availability | AU, GB, IE, US |
| Rating |
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| Narration |
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