Author Description

A household name in the fifties, Holliday was one of the biggest stars in the music business and enjoyed a string of hits, topping the charts twice with The Story of My Life and Starry Eyed. But his roots were more modest: born in Liverpool as Norman Milne, he traded in his life as a sailor for the bright lights of show-business. His voice made his fortune, but the accolade of "Britain's Bing Crosby" was to become a millstone around his neck. Holliday had seen his dreams come true. Bing Crosby went from being his idol to being his friend, he lived in a mansion in the Surrey hills with his beautiful wife and young son. But in the early hours of 29th October 1963, he decided he could take no more. His marriage was in tatters; his taxes unpaid and he convinced himself that he was through. "Drugs kill TV's Michael Holliday" screamed the newspaper headlines the next morning. In this fantastic biography, writer and broadcaster Ken Crossland reveals the reality behind the myth of a fifties icon.