LITTLE DID YOU KNOW: THE CONFESSIONS OF DAVID MCGILLIVRAY / AUTHOR: DAVID MCGILLIVRAY / PUBLISHER: FAB PRESS / RELEASE DATE: JULY 17TH

David McGillivray (McG to his friends – if, as he says himself, he has any left after they read this book!) has been in the business for decades. From writing reviews for various publications, screenwriting several classic cult horror movies as well as acting, to stage acting/directing, McG has almost done it all. What we find out in his autobiography is he’s done so much more that we didn’t know and perhaps we shouldn’t have found out about.

Thanks to being a meticulous diarist, we have an account of a life that is, in turns, funny, outrageous, and at times deeply moving. By the time we get to revelations of what went on when he moved into a side-line of dealing Class A drugs to his friends, we feel like we already know the man all too intimately.

It doesn’t come as a complete surprise, as the opening few chapters provide an overview of what’s to come. His story is split into sections: Overture, Overawed, Overworked, Overexcited, and Over; something which McG is far from since he writes for comedian Julian Clary. This will also tell you a lot about where his humour lays. However, far from being a bitchy old queen, McG is a fabulous raconteur who is completely self-depreciating; a trait that wears a little thin when you consider his achievements.

The time he spent writing films for exploitation giants Pete Walker and Norman J. Warren is covered, but as most fans know, he has little love for them. A famous falling out with Walker is also mentioned but McG still manages to write very highly of him.

The declaration of his side career as a drug dealer is dealt with in a matter of fact manner and no matter how repugnant what he was doing was, you can’t help but root for him. However shocking the revelations are, it’s admirable that at 71, McG has decided to ‘come clean’ on his lifestyle and exploits and leaves no stone unturned no matter what nastiness may be there. Some names are left out for legal reasons and sadly the legal struggle over the short film Trouser Bar isn’t covered, but it’s a riveting page turner about an unapologetic character who has lived by his own rules.