…from the
mind of a fictional character
by
Jimmy Rowland
Jimmy Rowland
(a character from Liam Hurley's You, Me and Us)
I did something terrible the other night. I watched The X Factor. Maybe terrible is an overstatement. But it was definitely bad. Very bad. Not for the reasons you’d expect though, yes, the singing wasn’t fantastic, but the main reason I hated it was the audience. Half of them were there to see the judges. They cheered the compliments and boo’d the criticism. Like a pantomime. All whilst some poor sod is stood on stage being judged like some sort of freak show. I feel nothing but empathy for the people who go on that stage to chase their dreams. I applaud it. Well done to them, they’re at least having a go.
However, some of them are absolutely awful. Really really
bad. And the producers throw them on stage, full of dreams to be crushed in
front of the entire country. Some of these people are severely deluded, to the
point where you wonder how no-one has ever stopped them from doing this, and
they are about to get embarrassed in front of a nation. It is gut-wrenching.
People are boo’ing, chanting ‘off, off, off’, laughing at the judges’ snarky
comments and all I feel is pain for the people up there. They are shit though.
This isn’t sore grapes, trust me, I am in a band myself. The X Factor has never appealed to us,
although it does seem to be one of the many suggestions we get from family and
friends. “You should go on! You’d be great!”. It just isn’t our bag. Like I
said, fair play to the people for having a go, but it really isn’t for us. Plus
we probably wouldn’t get through considering half our act is me telling crap
jokes to the audience whilst my two band mates argue about what key to play Faith in. And I’m not 100% sure Simon
would like that.
The only time I’d want an audience to chant ‘off, off, off’
at me is if I joined the cast of Magic
Mike. Even then I’d be laughed at but at least I’d understand why! There
are no illusions of grandeur when it comes to what’s underneath my many layers
of clothing.
Even if you’re good and you get through to the live shows,
being on The X Factor isn’t always
the step to fame and glory it pretends to be. Look at the many winners of past
seasons, half of them are now long forgotten about. Singing in pubs or hosting
VIP nights are their local nightclub. Tosh. Utter tosh. The problem is that the
vast majority go on the show for all the wrong reasons. When they get asked
what their dream is they respond with words such as ‘superstar, famous,
celebrity’ they hardly ever say ‘singer, artist, band’. And this is the crux of
it. Being on one of these shows is advertised as being a route to fame rather
than success. The two do not always go hand-in-hand.
I am not blind to the fact that my band may not end up being
a worldwide success. However, if I could do well enough with music to do it
full-time that would be the goal. Anything at all beyond that would be extra.
If I could earn minimum wage from singing full time that would be amazing. I’d
be living the dream.
So, if you’re out there reading this, future contestants,
try and think about what your dream really is. Is it to sing? Come down to an
open mic. Is it to be famous? Make a fake viral video and become a YouTube
star. Trust me your local nightclub will always need someone to drink apple
sours and pose for pictures with drunk seventeen-year olds. Or you could get
embarrassed in front of millions whilst singing I Believe I Can Fly. It’s up to you.
Introducing...
You, Me and Us
“F*** you for breaking
my f***ing heart…”
This is the heart-breaking yet hilarious story of Jimmy
Rowland and Erin Poppet.
Jimmy Rowland has the perfect life. He works in his
favourite bar by day, and by night he lives his dream with his two best friends
in his band.
 |
| Amazon.UK | Amazon.com |
Erin Poppet crashes into Jimmy’s life like a beautiful
storm. He falls in love with her as quickly and as deeply as possible. The
intensity of their relationship leaves Jimmy with a broken heart, a useless
vacuum and a demon inside him.
Jimmy’s dream life quickly becomes a nightmare when he loses
his dream job and destroys his musical career live on stage.
When he hits rock bottom, he decides he only has one choice,
to rebuild his life from scratch. He has to get back the life he had before
Erin.
This is her story. This is his story. This is their story.
Or as Jimmy would say…
“… this is the story
of You, Me and Us.”
About Liam Hurley in his own words:
My name is Liam; I am an author from Manchester, UK. I love three things in this world, writing, reading and the viral video of the Irish family trying to catch a bat. (My girlfriend, family, friends and cats may be unhappy with this).
My name is Liam; I am an author from Manchester, UK. I love three things in this world, writing, reading and the viral video of the Irish family trying to catch a bat. (My girlfriend, family, friends and cats may be unhappy with this).
My hobbies include listening to podcasts, watching grown men fight and trying every possible type of ground coffee in the world. My hobbies include listening to podcasts, watching grown men fight and trying every possible type of ground coffee in the world.
Here are my Top Ten reasons to read my book or spend the night with me…
2. It will be over relatively quickly.
3. I will be very grateful.
4. You can tell other people about it if you enjoyed it.
5. If not, don’t bother.
6. It’s always fun to have something in your hands to flick through.
7. You can review it online.
8. It will leave a mark on you.
9. You won’t want to put it down.
10. It’ll make you laugh.
3. I will be very grateful.
4. You can tell other people about it if you enjoyed it.
5. If not, don’t bother.
6. It’s always fun to have something in your hands to flick through.
7. You can review it online.
8. It will leave a mark on you.
9. You won’t want to put it down.
10. It’ll make you laugh.
Giveaway – Win a
signed copy of You, Me and Us (Open to UK only)
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