The Adventures of the Crumpsall Kid: A Memoir

by Mike Harding

Born in the shadow of a dark, satanic cream cracker factory, Mike Harding struggled against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and the catapults and half-bricks of the Black Hand Gang to find himself launched into stardom when he won the egg-and-spoon race at St Anne’s Crumpsall Junior School.

For a while he was the leader of the Crumpsall Father Christmas and Tooth Fairy Cult but he gave that all up when he discovered that Dan Dare and girls were more interesting. After growing up in an Irish Catholic household, he was sent to a grammar school run by priests, from which he eventually emerged unscathed. A combination of O Levels and rock ’n’ roll led him into the bowels of Manchester’s club land, where he worked alongside strippers and Chinese strongman acts while revising the War of Jenkin’s Ear.

Testosterone and guilt struggled for mastery in his lapsing Catholic chest and trousers until testosterone won and, with guilt still on his back like Quasimodo’s hump, he toured the dancehalls of Northern England in a VW panel van, taking rock ’n’ roll to one-horse towns where the horse had bolted.

Warm, nostalgic and very funny, Mike Harding’s memoir of his early life in post-war Manchester is as idiosyncratic and engaging as the man himself.

Genres: Autobiography, Nonfiction, Humor

330 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 24, 2015

Reviews

[Emma Peel · Rating 2 out of 5]

of interest if you lived through the same years; otherwise a bit stilted and very sexist to the modern eye. Calling young women "tugs" was especially awful.

[Nick Hazlewood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detail and laughs

Suddenly "our heroes " are from a different planet called the past !

Really well paced and crafted proper autobiography. There's plenty of humour but also truth and adventure going on. With amazing detailed descriptions that mean you can practically taste smell and feel the places and scenes he's describing the book captures a life that wwasnt so long ago yet the places have been "erased" or sterilised by "progress ".
You can see where Mike's influences come from but also how he used opportunities to "get a job" and build up his path to well maybe independence and er happiness?
Hopefully they'll be at least volume 2 one day soon.

[Jason Cotton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always liked Mike Harding and this book gives a real insight not just into his childhood but also life in Manchester in the years that followed the second world war. Reading this made me laugh at the real life incidents but also made me ashamed and embarassed about what was happening under the publics nose. I look forward to the next book as this only covers up until he left school and started working for the road department. A good read and well worth the time :)

[Simon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fans of Mike Harding will not be disappointed. I wouldn't go so far as to count myself a fan but I've enjoyed his songs and radio shows over the years. The book is very good in short bursts when he forgets being a wordsmith and simply tells it as it was. It's good on children's love of singing and chanting, and moving on the fate of a little boy who never met his dad (who died in the war), and accurate on just how awful grammar schools were to the vast majority of pupils who attended them. A truth conveniently forgotten by the bring-em-back brigade. The purple prose interferes with what the book is good at; telling a plain tale bluntly. The narrator is unreliable (as autobiographies tend towards) on truth and stuck in a pre-political correct world. (Reading books like this tells us just how much we have to thank the so-called liberal elite for improving everyday discourse). He performed in Bernard Manning's club and shares some common ground with that outdated comic. There are long gaps between the good bits and I agree with the female reviewer who found aspects of it rather awkward.

[Mr. G COLVILLE · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Manchester childhood

I really enjoyed reading the author's account of his early years in Manchester. He writes very well and honestly and several of the escapades he describes are real laugh out loud moments. I heartily recommend this book as well worth reading and very entertaining.

[C G Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best, well almost, of times.

I'm almost Mike Harding's age.This lovely book brought back so many things from my teenage years. Beautifully written with never a dull moment.Written with affection and great northern humour.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting

Good book not just about Mike but also an excellent insight into Manchester culture.l let's have the next instalment please.

[Trevor · Rating 4 out of 5]

funny funny man. Warm feel good book and being a Mancunian set in familiar surroundings. Loved it.