The Tracks of My Years

Book excerpt: From his childhood in 1950s Glasgow, when he was affectionately known to his older brothers as ‘the wee bastard’, to his wildnerness years as an accountant when he longed to achieve his dream and join the BBC, Tracks of My Years tells the story of Ken Bruce's remarkable career. Starting work for Radio Scotland in 1977, he was soon interviewing legends like Sean Connery, Billy Connolly and Peter Ustinov, and in the eighties was lured to Radio 2 to take over Terry Wogan’s spot. He has been with the station ever since. Ken writes with insight into the world of radio and delivers lots of brilliant anecdotes from his interviews with celebrities as diverse as Rod Stewart, Keane and Burt Bacharach, who came out with the immortal line (edited out of the final version) “Phil Spector never put a foot wrong,” before adding thoughtfully, “until he shot that girl, of course.” He also writes about bringing up his autistic son and – unusually – the happiness it brings him and his wife and the many positives of what is so often portrayed as a heartbreaking situation.