PREVIEW: Spend Christmas in 1984 with radio star's time travelling novels
This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.
It would have been world changing. No Band Aid or Live Aid.
What might sound preposterous is the premise for last year’s best seller, Do They Know It’s Christmas Yet? (They Took A Trip Back To 1984 And Broke It).
And, after selling thousands of copies, Sheffield based author James Crookes – producer and co-presenter of Hallam FM's Big John @Breakfast – has delivered a riotous sequel, which picks up where the first book ends, called Did They Steal A Million Yet?
BUY NOW: Do They Know It’s Christmas Yet? and Did They Steal A Million Yet? are available to buy from Amazon - including downloadable e-book and audio versions read by the author. For a Kindle edition two book offer - CLICK HERE.
Hapless time travellers Trish and Jamie are back for another emotional adventure and the predicament this time is what lengths they will go to, to save a life? How about stealing a million pounds?
It's full of laugh out loud moments and unpredictable plot twists, is wonderful funny, detailed in its research and evokes many more eighties memories.
The books are a glorious romp and will immerse you in the Eighties where Thursday meant Top Of The Pops, Sunday meant taping The Top 40, and photos took two weeks to develop.
Think Back To The Future meets Life On Mars, The Office and The Royle Family. The work by this incredible new story teller are crying out to be made into a movie.
The books themselves offer an escapism from uncertain times to a more predicable, big hair and big shoulder pad world - a double helping of make you laugh and cry.
First released Christmas week last year, so it never really found a festive market until this year - Do They Know It’s Christmas, Yet? is full of references from the Eighties.
It features many songs and TV shows, including a visit to the Top Of The Pops studio, EastEnders being built, sweets and drinks of the time, and of course pop stars.
The book has been Number One in the Audible Holiday chart and Number One in the Amazon categories of Music, Pop Culture, TV & Entertainment and Time Travel.
Author James has been writing comedy for TV and radio for more than 20 years. He has contributed to shows on BBC One, CBBC, and CBeebies, along with producing and co-presenting the Bauer Radio breakfast show, Big John @Breakfast, since 2004.
He says of his books: "This isn’t for sci-fi fans expecting sonic screw drivers and atom splitting, this is a comedy that drops two millennials into the mid 80s!
"The synopsis for the first book is about thirty-somethings Tash and her brother Jamie who find a time machine in Grandma’s Sheffield loft and go back to the sister’s actual birth day in 1984.
"They arrive on the very day that Bob Geldof watched the BBC news report which moved him to form Band Aid and record Do They Know It’s Christmas? Except their arrival caused him to miss it. So because of them, there’ll be no Band Aid, no USA For Africa, and no Live Aid.
"Jamie wants to find Bob and put things right. Tash wants to go straight back to the 21st century - she has a five-month-old baby waiting for her.
"What would you do? Go to your baby or feed a million others?
“We get to re--visit Woolworths, Top Of The Pops, Blue Peter appeals, bacon flavour Piglets and infuriating 14-day video timers."
Audio-books are also available, read by the author. For more – CLICK HERE.