Peter Mann

Hi Peter, so it is time to turn the tables, instead of you interviewing people to appear in NE, it’s now your turn to be interviewed, so can you introduce yourself to our readers? Now then Wayne, firstly, thank you for this, greatly appreciated mate and I’m looking forward to catching up again properly, soon. So, we’re playing a game of musical tables now are we, and it’s my turn to take the spotlight, a rarity I know. Basically, I’m a forty-something, freelance journalist and author from County Durham, a pit mining village called Esh Winning to be precise, and I’ve been writing for this fine publication for some five years now – believe me, it feels like longer….

For the last several years you have been responsible for some of the content featured in this very magazine, as well as magazines, press and websites all over the UK (and even further afield), so what is it that you do? I write, and, honestly, it’s something I’ve been doing for most of my life really, and from a rather young age, but now, for the past decade really, I’ve been building myself up, running PR campaigns for individuals, groups, collectives, on both a regional, and national level, occasionally even further afield. I work primarily in the sports, music and entertainment sectors, but I’ll always look at anything really, and if I can do it, I will do it.

So who do you help and how do they get it? I guess in recent times, pre-covid anyway, I’ve been primarily working with musicians, on both a local and national level (although working with Jade Byrne on her Pricks tours has been a massive highlight), but, as I’ve mentioned, anything will be considered. You’d be surprised as to how much work goes on behind the scenes, it can be very time consuming, and it’s far from an easy ‘gig’ – however, say you’ve a local musician going on tour around our fair

country, then they obviously need to sell tickets for shows. It’s all well and good having a decent sized fan-base on social media, but you also need to tap into the local audience for each gig, and that’s where I’ll come in; providing press releases, interviews, features for differing newspapers, magazines, blogs, radio stations. I’ll always say when opening communication with artists in regards the amount of time afforded me, a couple of weeks will be very difficult to drum up any kind of interest, but three months or more, then let’s go!

As well as your Media and PR work, you are also an author, how did that all come about? I ‘blame’ my brother, Michael, for it all really; the year after he passed away (from a heroin overdose) I started writing to aid in staving off any depressive tendencies, and to occupy my mind. I may have three books published, and my first international one due in the late spring, but, prior to all that, I’ve two, unpublished, footballing history books, which, for one reason or another, have not seen the light of day (I’ve been tempted to upload snippets onto my website).

That year after my brother departed I began researching and writing the history of my hometown club entitled, ‘A Passion for Home,’ then, whilst I was at Teesside University (BSc Hons Sport & Exercise Psychology) I began working on my second, about a specific period in the history of a Tyneside club, that is called ‘Rising from the Ashes.’ So, in theory, this is really my sixth book.

The reason you are being interviewed is because you are just finishing off your latest book, what can you tell us about this project? Anything you want now that the official announcement was finally made back in January. For the past three years plus, everyone has known that I’ve been writing a book, but I’ve just been using the hashtag #jackiesstory throughout. What is #jackiesstory? Well, it is the official biography of an American music-turned-boxing journalist, turned boxing manager, Jackie Kallen (The First Lady of Boxing) and it covers her 75 plus years, the future of the Kallen name, and her ancestral past, which in itself is So how did a local lad from Durham become friends with an American legend like Jackie? I was just lucky I guess, the same as I was with legendary music manager, Vicky Hamilton; there was a lot of chance involved, perseverance, patience…. I’d messaged Jackie though, initially, back in 2014, about a television show she’d been involved with (The Contender) which, at the time, was heading towards an anniversary. Since then, and although minimal, over the next few years, we kept in touch, and then, midway through 2018, we began chatting and I opened up the possibility of my writing her ‘ultimate biography’ as she put it, and it’s just gone from there really.

What has it been like writing her biography? It has been intense, insane, wonderful, tiring, inspirational, heart-

breaking – I’ve probably been through a multitude of emotions. When you start, to how you eventually finish, it can be two, completely different scenarios and that is how it’s proved to be with this. Yes, it’s taken a little longer than I’d expected, hoped it would, but it has most definitely been worth it, and I’ve loved every second of it.

How do you go about writing someone’s life story, give us a quick rundown of the process you take? You need a lot of patience, from the off, and it will test your mind, your abilities, but everyone is different as well, in how they’d approach such a project. My previous release was a local biography which I guess, in a way, set me up nicely for penning Jackie’s. Fortunately I had a template if you will, in which to work from as she’d penned her own memoirs, ‘Between the Ropes’ that was released a decade ago, but I still had plenty in which to do myself. There’s been a lot of research, all the way through, from start to finish, lots of interviewing, both with Jackie, and in getting the thoughts of others, then there was the ancestral research I embarked upon, something which is very timeconsuming and also requires a lot of luck more than anything – just be wary of the many pitfalls you’ll encounter, and be sure to check, double-check, and check again.

So what can you tell us about the book, why should people buy a copy? What can I say about ‘Against the Odds,’ because that’s what Jackie’s life has been, with a mixture of success, and heartache, along the way. Jackie, basically, is a Jewish lady born in Detroit, Michigan, to a family of Eastern European origin; as a music journalist she interviewed everyone from the Beatles to the Stones, Presley to Sinatra, and so, so many more. From there she’d become a sports journalist, and with it, for a decade, the publicist of the world famous Kronk Gym, alongside the legendary duo of Emanuel Steward, and Thomas ‘The Hit Man’ Hearns (Hearns has even provided the foreword to the biography). That work, with the Kronk, gave her the ‘boxing bug’ and she would soon become a manager herself, famed for, in 1991, leading James ‘Lights Out’ Toney, to world championship glory; even now, in the 2020s, Jackie is showing no signs of slowing down, is forever trying something new, and is still managing fighters. If that alone doesn’t tempt you into purchasing a copy, then it’s just because I did it, and you should always help the little people – go on, I’ll be forever grateful!

You did a book launch for previous books, will this be any different? I’m hoping, although it’ll take some doing, that the book launch for ‘Against the Odds’ will actually be book launches, and I’m going to be shouting from the rooftops for as much support as possible. With my previous releases, the

launch themselves were held at the Nine Bar, at St. James’ Park, in Newcastle; with this however, Jackie is hoping to be able to come to England for the very first time so, in theory, I’d love to be able to push for two, north-east dates (Durham and Newcastle), one in say Liverpool, and another in London. Jackie will also be looking at doing a few other things around her time in the country including gym visits, and giving motivational talks. So we’ll just have to see what transpires really.

Has writing this been harder or easier because of lockdown? To be honest, the writing has been really mixed what with everything going on covid-wise, and my own health issues, but it has also afforded me time to do more with it than I expected. When I began this project the date in mind for publication was supposed to be last spring, around the time of Jackie’s 75th birthday, and what would have been her beloved mother, Marjorie’s, hundredth, however, you have to make do with whatever hand you’re dealt, and you just get on with it.

Lockdown has been tough on everyone, yours has definitely been a game of two halves. You started it on such a positive with your Couch to 5k, but injury hampered it and it has been a struggle since. Are things finally starting to pick up for you again? In a word, and I have to be honest with myself more than anything, the answer is a firm, flat, no. There’s times I think, sometimes feel, that it is, but it really isn’t, again though, I just get on with it.

Work wise you were flying before lockdown, are things getting back to normal for you now or is it a new kind of normal with things changed forever? It is whatever you make it to be when moving forward, the past couple of years have been tough, for everyone, and, although things are starting to pick up again, it’s slow. Personally though, I’ve not been to a gig for around two years now and, although I’ve had many an opportunity to, in myself, I’ve just got things going on.

Over the years you have interviewed a fair few people, includ-

ing some well-known names, but who has been the worst person to interview and why? I can’t name names but there was an actor, literally the year before covid and lockdowns, a six-decade veteran of film, television, and stage, who, when we finally spoke, cut the interview to ten minutes at best, gave the shortest possible answers, and, when I asked about photographs for the feature, he told me to “write to my agent and they’ll send a signed one” –it’s safe to say, the three page feature he was promised, never happened.

If you could interview anyone, who would it be and why? That’s the easiest answer, Sheridan Smith. Why, because she’s an amazing actor, fantastic musician, and has a back-story to boot. Sheridan is somebody I’ve admired for a number of years, whose career I’ve followed with interest from early on, and, to be honest, it’s true what they’re saying about her, and I’ve said for some time – she is, very much, a national treasure.

When you are not hard at work, what do you like to do with your free time? I enjoy reading and have a varied collection of books and magazines, I also enjoy watching films, documentaries, and comedy shows, especially Michael McIntyre and Russell Howard. I also like art; I used to draw a lot when I was younger and I’ve been thinking about going back there, moving forward, that and learning some foreign languages.

You will know this one is coming, tell us three random facts about yourself? Just the three, is that it, hahaha…. Okay then, a) I have an increasing collection of specific magazines – World Soccer (every issue since the summer of ’93), Commando comics, and, in recent years, every issue of Fantasy Figures International; b) although I’ve a varied taste in music, with rock music featuring heavily, I’ve been a fan of rap/hip-hop music since the nineties and followed the legendary Wu-Tang Clan since their formative years; and c) although it took a number of years to pick up from what my grandfather started (Peter Newman, (passed away in 2010), I am, slowly, researching my family history.

So what can people expect from you in 2022? I’m striving to get back to somewhere near where I was before all this chaos began a couple of years ago; the year prior to that saw signs of a great future, stars aligning in my favour for once. Moving forward, you could say I’m talking to people about the next book (and open to offers and ideas), that and I’m heavily involved with ‘the Nottingham Sport’ website so, alongside editor Danny Peacock, I’d like to help

push that to be the best that it can be. Other than that, get my health back on track, continue doing what I do best, and just see what happens.

How can people order your books? There’s a specific section on my website (https://insidemannmedia. wordpress.com/books-by-petermann/), contacting my publisher Britain’s Next Bestseller/Live It Publishing (https://www.bnbsbooks.co.uk/) , or just send me a message/email for a chat.

And of course how can they follow you and keep up to date with everything? Well, of course I’m in all of the usual place – website (https://insidemannmedia.wordpress.com/), Facebook pages (Media https:// www.facebook.com/petermannmedia and Author https://www. facebook.com/petermannauthor), Twitter (https://twitter.com/petermannwriter) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/petermannwriter/). Both my website and my media page have actually been running for over a decade now – mad that, isn’t it!! In addition, if anyone wants to talk journalism, book ideas, then feel free to email me via petermann78@hotmail.com.

Is there anything you would like to add? Just a few thankyou’s really; primarily to Jackie Kallen for trusting me, and allowing me to write her ‘ultimate biography;’ to those who’ve been there and supported me, and the journey; and to ‘Rambo,’ not only for this feature, but for your loyal support and friendship. To those who doubted, sneered, frowned, held me back, here’s ‘Against the Odds’ – I told you so!! Book images are of those already available, Jackie Kallen’s memoirs, ‘Between the Ropes,’ and the three offerings by author, Peter Mann, ‘The Interviews: Volume One,’ ‘The Trip of a Lifetime,’ and ‘Cruising to Glory.’

Jackie Kallen is photographed with Sylvester Stallone and Sugar Ray Leonard, Frank Sinatra, and Kiss; Peter Mann is photographed with publisher David McCaffrey (first book launch), and with Stephen & Anne Lambert (EGH Radio)