Fast Living : Remembering the Real Gary Holton

"Be proud of everything that you do, or have a fucking damn good reason for doing something which you're not proud of." (Gary Holton to Danny Baker, NME, November 1984, a year before his death) A true rock 'n' roll casualty, Gary Holton packed a lot into his thirty-three years, including fronting proto-punk legends, Heavy Metal Kids, and playing a leading role in one of the most revered TV dramas of its day.

Drawing on her own recollections and first-hand accounts of others who knew him, Teddie Dahlin completes the picture of a man who never outran his demons but who, in the process, gave a lot of pleasure and some little anguish to those who surrounded him.

Born in East End London, Holton became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company at an early age before joining a touring production of Hair, prior to pursuing long-harboured musical ambitions.

While Heavy Metal Kids never did reach the heights predicted for them, there was a number one solo single in Europe and an invitation to front AC/DC that was declined. He would, however, become a fixture of British TV as the first actor cast in the hugely successful 'Auf Wiedersehen, Pet', his portrayal of the flamboyant, womanising Cockney carpenter Wayne Norris drawing heavily on his own experiences and outlook.

Before he succumbed, in murky circumstances, to a cocktail of alcohol and morphine, brought low by unpaid tax bills and bankruptcy proceedings, he would be a key part of an incestuous and hedonistic social circle in London, his propensity for alcohol and drug consumption sadly unchecked by wiser counsel.

This is an unflinching account of a life lived in haste, without hesitation, and of those he touched, both personally and professionally.

Alex Ogg Writer and journalist and the author of more than a dozen books, including The Art of Punk, The Hip Hop Years, Independence Days, No More Heroes, and many more.