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Welbeck has landed Ready Steady Go: My Unstoppable Journey in Dance, the autobiography from DJ and dance music pioneer Paul Oakenfold.
Joe Cottington, associate publisher, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights, excluding Canada, from Tim Bates at PFD. It will be a lead hardback title for Welbeck, publishing in August 2022.
Ready Steady Go follows Oakenfold’s journey from his “musical baptism” in 1980s New York and seminal club nights in London to starting one of the longest-running dance record labels and a “legendary” trip to Ibiza which introduced him to trance and “changed the face of dance music forever”, said the publisher. Oakenfold also delves into the details of living with dyslexia and how this has shaped his choices as a DJ and producer.
Cottington said: “Paul was instrumental in making dance culture what it is today and it’s a special thrill to be bringing his memoir to his fans. He talks so openly, not just about the music that’s been his lifelong passion, but also his struggles with dyslexia and the role it’s played in his long career. It’s been a privilege to help Paul put his story on the page.”
Oakenfold added: “In a career like mine, you don’t get many chances to stop and reflect on what you’ve achieved. Writing this book has given me the opportunity to reminisce on the many wild moments in my career, from DJ-ing at Stonehenge and the base camp of Mount Everest, to working with legends like Madonna, U2 and many more, to running my own record label. It’s also made me think more about the crucial personal moments in my life that had more of an impact on me than I first thought, like growing up with dyslexia. That’s something that set me on a creative path that I owe a lot of my career to. I feel privileged to share my life stories with you, and there’s many more already in the making for the next memoir.”