- New Kindle Publication on David English. By Stephanie Lynne Thorburn.

The overall appeal of this personal memoir on the career of David English is that of a nostalgic almanac or collector´s special edition biography. The material has been assimilated by the author as a labour of love and is a gift to the Bunbury Cricket Club. Content includes detailed interviews with David on his career and the legacy of RSO Records, (re-archived from Marc Roberty´s Voodoo music magazine) and there is also a collection of illustrative features on both RSO and the Bunburys.

The book title pays homage to David English and illustrator Jan Brychta´s enchanting children´s book series, ´The Bunbury Tails´. The text provides plenty of substance for lovers of David´s quintessentially English, eccentric Bunbury C.C. and is equally informative for those curious in respect to the under documented biographical aspects of Robert Stigwood´s archetypal RSO Records.

 

*This Christmas, a bonus extra chapter has been added into the text, comprising a fictional winter's tale on the famous Bunbury philanthropists, in an alternative genre to 'Watership Down'.

Amazon Link:
Amazon UK:  New David English Kindle Book UK

Amazon US:  New David English Book US

Kindle Complementary Promo Dates.

The Kindle edition eBook is economically priced, containing 15 Chapters with an annotated introduction and Foreword by David English.

As a special initiative during the Christmas period, the Bunbury book will be available via Amazon as a complimentary copy on 24th, 25th and 26th December. During this time the ebook can be downloaded free of charge. The author has chosen to dedicate her work to Leukaemia Research and the Crossroads Centre, Antigua, as a constructive personal gesture. During this time, readers will be encouraged to instead, offer a direct donation to these selected charities at Xmas. This initiative is orientated towards utilising the Amazon KDP complementary period beneficially and to further raise the profile of  these valuable, pioneering charities, (more free dates may be scheduled).

The text is exclusive to Kindle and has also been added to Amazon´s Prime members library, who offer a free lending service.

Photos are included as links for economy in delivering this Kindle edition. Links are to albums by Bunbury cricket official photographers David Betteridge and Keith Curtis.

´David English:
The RSO Legacy & Bunbury Cricket Club Tails'.

Excerpt from chapter 1: -
Chapter 1.

David English Interview: ´The Celebrity Impresario'.
By Stephanie Lynne Thorburn.
First Printed: Voodoo Music Magazine. (Editor- Marc Roberty).

When David English finally resolved to put pen to paper and script in written form a version of his life history, the content somewhat defied the reader's expectations of natural law. Originally the active force behind RSO Records, as President he was a godfather to Robert Stigwood's enterprise, executing from scratch the process of nurturing Eric Clapton and the Bee Gees during the heyday of their careers in the 1970's, towards RSO's ultimate climax as the world´s most successful independent record company.

His diversity and tenacity undoubtedly existed in parallel to that of Stigwood, in turn also seeing English engage with the world of film, mixing with the likes of Robert Redford and Anthony Hopkins, achieving a memorable role in A Bridge Too Far! Finally, he set about revolutionising the quintessentially British sport of cricket as organiser of the illustrious Bunbury Cricket Club, a charity project founded in 1986 with the ´Eric Clapton X1' comprising a cross section of music, media and sport stars from Viv Richards to Bill Wyman.
Originally residing as Press Officer at Decca Records, David English inherited a degree of intimate knowledge of The Stones repertoire, becoming familiar with soul artists Dionne Warwick and Al Green. Having studied the nuances of the industry inside out, he graduated into the vibrancy of Robert Stigwood's office as President of RSO Records in his mid-twenties. Inevitably there were some initial teething problems, with his first albums releases, The Bee Gees 'Life In A Tin Can', 'Derek and The Dominos In Concert' and live 'Joseph', being pre-recorded material. From this foundation of plausible success, he went on to actualise and coordinate a catalogue of releases that have simply defined the parameters of contemporary music.

David English reminisces on the Robert Stigwood Organisation:

"The miracle was working for Robert Stigwood in the first place. I was press officer at Decca Records in Great Marlborough Street and got a 'phone call to say that Mr. Stigwood would like to see you. So I got in there and he said, "You're the one for me" and I thought he was taking about someone else in the room...
Stigwood did 'Evita' and 'Jesus Christ Superstar' with Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Now 'Saturday Night Fever' is a theatre show. He was twenty-four hours a day a prolific, he has enjoyed his life. What was great about Stigwood was his giving young people a chance, all those shows 'Joseph', 'Jesus Christ Superstar', 'Hair', he was very good at that and worked with some very young people. He had great intuition and was not that often let down- he was also good at picking singles with the Bee Gees, he was well loved, just like The Beatles loved Brian Epstein. The Bee Gees were his boys and Eric Clapton respected him; Robert was ´Mr Showbiz' great at parties and very generous. He was day to day marvellous at management.

 

 

My experiences at RSO were indeed quite animated. I always think that life is like a blank page, you have twenty-four hours to fill it, and you can't get it back again. So when you do start a record company from day one and start to get some successes, it's great to see it happen. It was huge hard work and full of fear, which is a great aphrodisiac. It was great fun and live music then was without computers." David English, November 2003.

Bunbury Cricket Club 2012.

David has transposed many of his contacts and sentiments from RSO Records onto the field of English cricket in more recent years, with the 25th anniversary of the Bunburys taking place last season. Every player in his team learns the value of sharing, team play, sport and social skills, humour and humility to raise awareness and essential funds for major charities. David English has also contributed enormously to youth cricket via the English Schools Cricket Association and has earned an OSCA for outstanding contribution to the sport. Both Dr. English´s CBE and MBE are indicative of a potent, mercurial combination of skills in the domains of show business and sport.

Pictured: above  David English, Eric Clapton & the

´David English: The RSO Legacy & Bunbury Cricket Club Tails'.

Amazon Kindle link:

Amazon US:
New David English Book US

Amazon UK: 

Preview Feature.

Further excerpts from the special edition publication on David English by Stephanie Thorburn have been archived to her blog at Rock.com. The chapters are accompanied by photos and a Bunbury pictorial Christmas calendar. See:

Stephanie Thorburn Rock.com Blog

 

Information on Leukaemia Research and the Crossroads Centre, Antigua:

Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research is the only UK charity solely dedicated to research into blood cancers, including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. The organisation´s life-saving research is focused on finding causes, improving diagnosis and treatments, and running ground-breaking clinical trials for all blood cancer patients.

Fifty years of life saving research.
Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research first started research into blood cancers in 1960.
The organisation is now a leader in the field and patients are benefiting from their ground-breaking research today - and in the future.

Supporting Leukaemia Research ensures the continuation of their life-saving research. Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research have a diverse range of fundraising activities.
For more information on Leukaemia Research and President, Sir Ian Botham's fund-raising initiatives, see:
http://leukaemialymphomaresearch.org.uk

The Crossroads Centre, Antigua.

An international centre for healing.

Founded in 1998, Crossroads Centre, Antigua was created to provide treatment and education to chemically dependent persons, those with other compulsive addictive behaviours, their families and their significant others. Treatment is provided through residential care, family and aftercare programs. The pathway to recovery is founded on the movement toward a change in lifestyle. Crossroads Centre, Antigua also operates a 16-bed halfway house in Antigua called the Bevon House, for Antigua residents and facilitates a school-based education series, ´Breaking the Cycle in all Antiguan schools.

Eric Clapton's 2013 Crossroads Guitar Festival will take place on April 12-13 in New York, Madison Square Garden and is presented by Chase.

http://crossroadsantigua.org

Bunbury cricket homepage:
http://www.bunburycricket.com

 

About the Author.

Stephanie Lynne Thorburn is a freelance writer, artist and Reiki master. She holds an MA in Sociology: Qualitative Research from Goldsmiths College, London UK and a combined degree with honours in Sociology/ Psychology. Stephanie has undertaken a range of vocational diplomas, including Transformative Social Studies, Graphic Arts (UKCHT) and Parapsychology, with distinctions. She is a fellow of the Institute for Meridian Psychotherapy & Associated Complementary Therapies.

Stephanie has freelanced extensively for press, especially Los Angeles Chronicle and PR-Inside.com. She contributes to a selection of official music sites and journals including Blues Matters, Record Collector and Marc Roberty´s ´Voodoo´ music magazine. Stephanie has a keen interest in snooker and cricket.

Over time, Stephanie Lynne has authored a series of music related eBooks, notably 'Incendiary Soul' and 'Blues Scholars', a compendium Kindle book of biographical features on blues greats including Eric Clapton, Robert Johnson and John Lee Hooker, (Foreword by David English). Ongoing works include the 'Consciousness, Human Enigma and Parapsychology' series, (recently top ranked on Kindle´s KDP promo platform). She edits her own avant-garde webzine 'Nuance'.

See author´s homepage for updates and her Amazon Kindle news:

Homepage: Stephanie Thorburn Homepage