You all know that I like to champion local writers and creatives here on the Brownhills Blog – well there’s a great new book available that I’m eagerly waiting to read that’s getting rave reviews – and people of a certain age – like me – will love it.

70s Glam, Grime and Petty Crime is a new book by local lad Steve Grainger, telling the story of his youth around Brownhills, Aldridge and Walsall, and many of the places he talks about you’ll recall – probably with fondness but others with a grim nod. The Cedar Tree, The Elms, Castlefort, the Fox Covey and lots of other local places get mentions – it really does seem to be a trip down memory lane.

Steve lived in Bayley House, Brownhills for a time:

So a few weeks after sending in my application form, the council offered me a three-bedroom flat in a tower block in Brownhills, 66 Bayley House.

When I moved into my flat in Brownhills one thing that remained the same ‘Friday night was lads night’. After visiting our usual haunts and getting dropped back in Brownhills I would I would visit the ‘Old’ Anchor Pub… The Anchor was a good old-fashioned Banks’s pub and from the first time I went in the place, the old locals really made me feel welcome.

This looks like a remarkable book documenting the youth of a man who can clearly write ate tell a story. I’m really looking forward to reading it – and you can get your copy on Amazon at this link here – it’s just £11.99. People whose opinion I really value like Linda Mason and David Hodginson are raving about it, so what’s not to love?

Steve Grainger said:

If you remember Bailey House – The Old Anchor Pub – Harpers Buses – Brownhills Market being packed every Saturday, then 70’s GLAM, GRIME & PETTY CRIME is a must read and is now available from Amazon Books.

Step into a decade where many a fashion crime was committed – 18″ Oxford Bags and 6″ platform shoes where considered the height of fashion ‘for the boys’ political correctness was frowned upon, when parental guidance was almost non-existent and where Social Media only existed in the mind of an incarcerated lunatic.

Welcome to the 1970’s.

Join Steve on his fascinating journey during a time where his taste for adventure and mischief were allowed to flourish – and very often, allowed to grow totally out of control.

From working on a fairground at the age of 11, to following his beloved Man United around the country by the age of 14 – this is an eye-opening exposé of a young man who stumbled in and out of court during his teenage years.

Set amidst the backdrop of the miner’s strike and eating tea by candlelight, the fall of a government,dubious glamour, charming innocence and a touch of brutality – take a step back into a time when colour TV, with all of 3 channels, was considered new technology and a 65″ curved LED screen, was the fancy of a mad man.

With Forwords by Man United Legend Norman Whiteside & star of stage & screen actress Shobna Gulati

Don’t forget, you can get your copy on Amazon at this link here.