{"product_id":"romany-tom","title":"Romany \u0026 Tom","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e______________________\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA moving, funny and beautifully written memoir by musician, DJ and writer Ben Watt which carefully chronicles his parents'' lives, their marriage and their decline into old age\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLonglisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction, 2014\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e______________________\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''Wise, moving and entertaining... \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ea major achievement to rival any of Watt''s recordings''\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003e- \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''A poignant, life-affirming work'' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e- \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e______________________\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBen Watt''s father, Tommy, was a working-class Glaswegian jazz musician, a politicised left-wing bandleader and a composer. His heyday in the late fifties took him into the glittering heart of London’s West End, where he broadcast live with his own orchestra from the Paris Theatre and played nightly with his quintet at the the glamorous Quaglino''s. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBen''s mother, Romany, the daughter of a Methodist parson, schooled at Cheltenham Ladies'' College, was a RADA-trained Shakespearian actress, who had triplets in her  first marriage before becoming a leading showbiz columnist in the.sixties and seventies. They were both divorcees from very different backgrounds who came together like  colliding trains in 1957.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e  Both a personal journey and a  portrait of his parents, \u003ci\u003eRomany and Tom\u003c\/i\u003e is a vivid story  of the post-war years, ambition and stardom, family roots and secrets,  life in clubs and in care homes. It is also about who we are, where we  come from, and how we love and live with each other for a long time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e______________________\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e''You know when everyone last month was going ''Ben Watt''s \u003ci\u003eRomany \u0026amp; Tom\u003c\/i\u003e is amazing?'' I''ve just read it. It really is'' \u003c\/b\u003e- Caitlin Moran\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MediaPlace","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57321268347262,"sku":"NW9781408845103","price":12.94,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1379\/1261\/files\/9781408845103.jpg?v=1778242008","url":"https:\/\/mediaplace.com\/products\/romany-tom","provider":"MediaPlace","version":"1.0","type":"link"}