Pat Roach's Birmingham

The true-life story of wrestler-turned-film-and-television actor, Pat Roach, focuses on the crucial role that Birmingham has played in his life. This entertaining and informative book includes the Jewellery Quarter, Ladywood, Balsall Heath, Winson Green, Sparkhill, Sparkbrook, Lozells, Aston and Newtown. In this well-illustrated biography, that is so much more than simply a nostalgic trip around Birmingham, Pat reveals the high and low points of his life. Readers are taken on a roller-coaster of a journey, from the shady world of 'duckers-and-divers' and illegal drinking clubs, to the dizzy heights of Pat's success, in the international world of sport, films and television. A penultimate chapter describes hilarious trips abroad.

The diverse range of contributors includes The Reverend Tom Pyke, Vicar of St Paul's Church in the Jewellery Quarter, two professors, (Carl Chinn and Norman Cherry), author Marie Haddleton, craftsmen, jewellers, antique dealers, broadcasters, artists and entrepreneurs. Celebrity wrestlers, such as Wayne Bridges, Jackie Pallo and Killer Kowalski, make an important contribution, together with Pat's immediate family, relatives, and friends.