A Young Man's Passage Book

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 icon.