Laois musician to release autobiography
This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.
The book brings readers back to 1970's Laois through hilarious and moving storytelling
A second generation Irish musician is to release a much-anticipated hilarious autobiography this month.
PJ McKeown, with roots in Abbeyleix and Mountrath, grew up as the youngest of six in a working-class Irish family in
inner-city north Manchester.
"My father was Seamus Johnson from Rathmoyle, Abbeyleix," explained Mr McKeown.
"My relatives in Laois are The McKeowns, Mahers, Carrolls, Horans, Beales, Dunnes and Hetheringtons. I spent many a happy holiday in Abbeyleix and Ballyroan," he said.
Pictured: PJ McKeown.
When bedridden with a broken shoulder, the musician passed the time by reading celebrity autobiographies. Mr McKeown was struck by how 'underwhelming and miserable' these books were.
The rocker-turned-writer decided to pick up a pen and write his own memoirs: 'the memoirs of a person of no importance or authority'.
This hilarious and deeply moving story brings readers from red-hot summers in 1970's Laois and Galway, to an emerging punk rock scene in an overcrowded urban Manchester.
"When I was young, I was able to ride the slipstream of my much older siblings," Mr McKeown explained.
"I became engrossed in their music, friendships, phrases and fashion. By the age of 8, I was convinced that I was Cheetham’s answer to Mick Jagger, and would perform my 'soon-to-be legendary' dance routines at the annual family weddings," Mr McKeown laughed.
The coming-of-age autobiography reminds readers of memories gone by: the Troubles, The Eurovision Song Contest, the exploits of British football teams, and Top of The Pops on the family’s black and white TV set.
Pictured: PJ McKeon in the 1970's.
"I have held roles as a cloakroom attendant (in the Hacienda), a car valeter, a furniture salesman, in construction, as a carer, as a manufacturer of women’s stockings, as a painter and decorator, as a storeman and as a clerical assistant," he said.
"I have plenty of lively tales to tell, and yet to be told, from each section of my varied CV," he said.
The book is a true reflection of life, in portraying the lows along with the highs. Mr McKeown discusses corporal punishment in Catholic secondary school, rampant poverty in the 1970's, and abuse at the hands of his mother.
Mr McKeown paints a truly colourful picture of a life full of laughter, anguish, comradeship and betrayal in equal measures.
We follow the writer's musical journey, as he becomes 'a human jukebox' inspired by The Dubliners and emerging British punk-rock bands.
"Like millions of other people worldwide, I grew up being Irish descent and supporting Manchester United," he said.
Pictured: The highly anticipated autobiography from author PJ McKeown
Along the way, Mr McKeown has performed as an alternative stand-up comedian and MC, a radio DJ, a writer and performer of one-man plays, an organiser of alternative comedy clubs and an author of articles for newspapers, magazines and journals.
He has appeared on numerous radio and TV shows, and in documentaries, discussing both comedy and social issues.
Mr McKeown will release his autobiography in two volumes: Volume One ‘My Generation – the memoirs of a wimpy second-generation Irish kid’, and Volume Two: “Shatter Resistant - Made in England”.
Mr McKeown's book will be released on January 30 2025, and is available for purchase on Amazon here.