Getting Over the X
Steve Brookstein
Language: English
Pages: 320
ISBN: 1784621544
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
It was the stuff dreams were made of. It became the ultimate nightmare. Being the first winner of the X Factor in 2004, Steve Brookstein should have it all. Instead, he tells a story of a man sold down the river by his own record label as they championed the runner-up G4 and forced him into an album of cover songs. This is the story of what really happened from vicious personal attacks by Sharon Osborne and Louis Walsh to threats from Max Clifford about going public. A decade on, and Max Clifford is inside and severely discredited. So, is Andy Coulson, an Editor who ran many of the untrue stories about Steve. He has been dubbed a pub singer, a fake, a flop and bitter as the narrative that begun on the show became adopted by journalists who thought he was fair game, frequently reviewing gigs that they hadn't been too or inventing quotes he hadn't said, and always regulated by a toothless Press Complaints Commission. Ten years on Steve is now able to lift the lid on the show itself and analyse for the first time exactly what Max Clifford said when he rang to say, "Talk to the press and we'll bury you."
Sharon off mumbling something off-mic about looking for sympathy. Once again I felt forced to defend myself and specifically pointed out my good friend Alan Glass who was sitting next to Lloyd in the audience. We had often written songs together over the years and he knew how hard I had been working. He got the real me. And I let everybody know. I think this was the point where enough was enough with those two. In seconds, I had gone from standing there nodding at Louis and Sharon’s pretty
when asked if he had anything else to add, he simply replied ‘This was OK – that’s all’ and stared straight ahead smiling. So it was either a pretty good performance or just OK? That contradiction was nothing compared to what followed. Kate asked for Sharon’s thoughts and I heard my sister shout out ‘Fabulous!’ I shook my head. ‘No, not fabulous,’ Sharon began. ‘For me, he’s not a superstar.’ She was still brewing from earlier. ‘I just have to say this...I am so fed up of Mr Humble…
Of Us”. But anyway... I knew why I was there in that meeting and it was to tell Max everything or to convince him there was nothing. Max had said many times over the years that so much of his work was keeping stories out of the news, rather than putting them in there. And he was telling me he could look after things. My mind was now racing. I was reliving my entire life from shoplifting as a nine-year-old to the things I had buried so deep that digging them up just sent me down into the hole
was on his A game. Working out his harmonies, he knew the songs well and I thought we sounded great together. Regardless of who went through I was going to enjoy this. With John gone I had a new room-mate. I can’t remember his name but he had been out and I don’t think he had practised much that night. He had a few drinks and kept me awake. I didn’t complain. I just couldn’t sleep. That night I slept from 5 am until 7 am. That was all. I didn’t think it was fair that we shared rooms, especially
and tabloid press, so I can understand any reluctance. However, I like to consider us to be slightly different from the News of the Worlds. We are not looking for gossip, just some nostalgia!’ Alex may have been the loveliest person on the planet but I was no fool, and still today I am aware of the often acidic tone of that website. In the unpoliced world of the Internet, it actually placed them as more untrustworthy than the publication cited, through no fault of their own. You can see in my