This is Julian Clary's story, in his own words - the
tale of an awkward schoolboy who became a huge worldwide
success on stage and screen. After a sheltered suburban
upbringing, Julian was sent to St Benedict's, where
beatings from 'holy' men gave him some brutal life
lessons, and other 'unholy' boys his first awakenings of
sexuality. He had just one true friend and ally, Nick -
to his other school peers, Julian's aloof demeanour made
him an enigma or simply a figure of ridicule. In school,
he was just another pained adolescent, but inside,
Julian was a new Jean Genet or Quentin Crisp bursting to
get out. Leaving St Benedict's thankfully behind him,
Julian went on to college, where he found his true
vocation as an entertainer with a peculiar comic brand
of smut and glamour. At the same time, he was finding as
much sex as he could, sometimes with remarkably
less-than-glamorous characters. Periods in community
theatre and the singing telegram industry followed
before Julian hit the big time with cabaret co-star
Fanny, the Wonder Dog, as The Joan Collins Fan Club.
Soon, the world was his oyster.But fame came at a price,
as Julian struggled not only with the reality of being a
high-profile gay man in the 1980s, but also the pain of
losing his lover to terminal illness. Far more than just
another celebrity autobiography or 'funny book', this is
a touching, beautifully written, and wryly witty account
of a unique progression from shy child to comedy
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