Top of the Pops! (Cheryl Cole: Her Story - The Unauthorized Biography - Gerard Sanderson)

Member Name: mummy2harry

Product:	Cheryl Cole: Her Story - The Unauthorized Biography - Gerard Sanderson
Date:	28/02/09 (492 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interesting read, good if you're a Cheryl fan

Disadvantages: Not good if you don't like Cheryl, a bit embellished

Being a bit of a Girls Aloud fan, I tend to listen to all their music, watch their DVDs and recently read their autobiography 'Dreams That Glitter' (see review!). So when I was at work in the library and I noticed this book, Cheryl Cole's Unauthorized Biography, come into the workroom, I nabbed it for myself as I was interested to see how the author would go about writing a biography of Britain's most prominent girl band star of the moment. It was also going to be interesting to compare it to their official book as well - would this one be a good read or just making money from Cheryl's popularity and fame?

The book is written by Gerard Sanderson, who is apparently a journalist and pop music fan. This is the first celebrity biography he has written, so I didn't at all know what to expect from his writing style or how the book would progress. The book tells the story of the life of Cheryl Cole, from her 'humble beginnings' in Newcastle to her massive rise to fame through Popstars: The Rivals up until her new judging position on talent show The X Factor. So it does aim to cover Cheryl's 25 years in just 272 pages, rather ambitious.

The cover of the book features a large picture of Cheryl Cole which is a nice publicity shot of her alone in a white outfit. The back also features an image of Cheryl but this one seems quite old and out of date to be honest. As well as these images, the book contains 16 glossy pages of photographs of Cheryl, her family and her bandmates from Girls Aloud. As this is an unauthorized biography, the pictures are taken from photo agencies, newspapers and other publicity shots Cheryl has done so fans of Cheryl have probably seen them all before. Still, they are interesting addition to the book and it's quite remarkable to see how young Mrs Cole has changed even in just the 6 years of her girl band being about.

Sanderson begins detailing Cheryl's life in Newcastle and her desperation for fame and recognition at a young age. It is quite obvious from a reader's point of view that a lot of what he says is subjective because he is clearly building a story on quotes he has obtained from previous interviews Cheryl has given, and things that he has gotten people who "knew" her to tell him. He tells us how she attended a prestigious ballet school in London only to leave because the other girls thought she was too "rough" to be there, then how she went on to perform weekly at the Metrocentre in Newcastle in front of large crowds. Unsurprisingly, the early parts of Cheryl's life pass by quickly in the book, covering just 55 pages until we reach the Popstars: The Rivals stuff. I found this disappointing because this is what I most was looking forward to reading - the side of Cheryl we don't know so much about but clearly neither does Gerard Sanderson!

The rest of the book then tells us more about the Cheryl most of us already about. It's not suprising her early life is a small portion of the book simply because the author can't find out as much about her as a girl than he can of when she reached the public eye where everything is photographed and written about in magazines and newspapers. As well as Cheryl, he does discuss the other girls who eventually made the band, as well as some of the other finalists although they are generally glossed over in favour of our subject matter. He went into quite good detail about Cheryl's behind-the-scenes relationships with a male contestant, her nerves when performing and her feelings when getting into the band, but again I sat there questioning how much he made up from what he's read or just decided to put in to make it sound a bit snazzier for the reader.

After getting into the band, Cheryl been quite infamous for her court case for GBH with the toilet attendant. Sanderson goes into how Cheryl was feeling at the time, and how the support of her bandmates and her mum were vital - again nothing ground breaking here but it was an interesting enough read. For example, it told us what Cheryl had to do for her community service, something I didn't know before reading this book. It then goes on about their early career and how Cheryl met her husband-to-be Ashley Cole. Their romance is detailed, as well as their proposal in Dubai but again much of what is written must be hearsay. The book then carries on to the present day when Cheryl becomes a judge of talent show X Factor. Most of what's written, especially the more modern material such as the 2006 World Cup and her friendship with Victoria Beckham definitely isn't anything new - I've read it all before in magazines and it just seems like it's all been put together in this book.

Don't get me wrong - for Cheryl fans its an interesting read and I enjoyed picking it up every now and then for a short time. It's a very easy read, mainly because the narrative is very simple to read and flows quite well. Sanderson clearly has a knack for good writing - he is a little over-the-top throughout the book about Cheryl, over-complimenting her a lot but I guess that's what you'd expect from a biography of someone. Personally, I felt that I knew all of the stuff in this book from all other sources. For example, he used quotes from the 2006 TV Show Girls Aloud: Off the Record, a show I've watched recently on DVD so that was a bit disappointing. Still, for what it is it's an okay read, moreso if you're a die-hard Cheryl Cole fan. However, I certainly wouldn't pay for a copy - check out your library like I did!

ISBN: 978-1843173472. Published by Michael O'Mara Books in October 2008. Hardback contains 272 pages and has an RRP of £18.99. Amazon is currently selling it for £9.01 with free postage (Jan. 09).

Thank you for reading.

Summary: A good enough read