No Off Switch - Hardcover

Andy Kershaw was born in Rochdale in 1959 and became (as did his big sister Liz) a Radio One DJ. He presented The Whistle Test and Live Aid for the BBC and for most of the past twenty-five years has had a weekly radio show. He is also a serious foreign journalist, having filed reports for From Our Own Correspondent and for the Observer, Telegraph and Independent. This year he returned to presenting with Radio 3's Music Planet series. He lives in the Isle of Man with his dog, Buster. You can visit his website at www.andykershaw.co.uk.

Andy Kershaw has led an extraordinary life. His unrivalled role in bringing World Music to the ears of the west is just part of the story of this man whose zest for life, music, people, experience and travel made him the finest British broadcaster bar none. That his life has had its ups and downs is to say that the Alps have snowy peaks, but throughout this dizzyingly paced and often wildly hilarious book he brings alive his matchless career, and the cultural life of a Britain that seems to be vanishing. Forget Media Studies and a life of student debt: read NO OFF SWITCH and learn what it is to be a real broadcast journalist, a real achiever. A real someone. -- Stephen Fry Without you we wouldn't know nothin'! * Joe Strummer * Andy Kershaw's memoir zooms along with the high-velocity recklessness of a TT racer. It's impossible not to cheer him on as he accelerates round the hairpin bends of his life, yelling hilarious defiance at anyone who tries to stop him. -- Francis Wheen It's his ability to convey a sense of moment-by-moment aliveness that makes Andy Kershaw, in my opinion, the greatest living English-language broadcaster... With his unerring instinct for what will bring the story to life for the listener, he's done both jobs [Radio 1 DJ and foreign correspondent] better than anyone else. -- Toby Litt * New Statesman * Fabulously well-written...the wit, the brimming enthusiasm and the outrage all come direct from the broadcasting voice, but there are wonderful turns of phrase too. -- James Medd * Word Magazine * The excellent Radio 3 series Music Planet earlier this year showed that he's still got his broadcasting chops... he's clearly a talented bloke...hilariously opinionated... There are some terrific passages... For the past 25 years he has been one of the best things on radio - partly responsible for the "birth" of world music. Without him, artists of the stature of the Bhundu Boys and Ali Farka Toure would probably never have impacted on the wider world. I hope the Music Planet gig is only the start of a triumphant second half of his career. Whatever he broadcasts in future, I'm likely to be listening. -- Chris Maume * Independent * A groundbreaking DJ... Kershaw has had one hell of a life... strange and comic -- Fiona Sturges * Independent on Sunday * This sparky autobiography captures with exuberance his pioneering career as a music broadcaster who opened our ears, and still does. * I (mini-Independent) * It's his ability to convey a sense of moment-by-moment aliveness that makes Andy Kershaw, in my opinion, the greatest living broadcaster in the English language... His radio appearances have become rare. He's an intermittent eruption, making everything before and after sound as if it were made by zombies. -- Toby Litt * New Statesman * Kershaw has had fascinating life, most of which is considerably more interesting than his troubled later years. -- Andrzej Lukowski * Metro * Infuriating, revealing, candid, funny, rough-edged and, ultimately, moving... He writes like he broadcasts, engagingly, knowledgeably, and opinionatedly... -- Alan Taylor * Herald * Confirms what a fine travel writer he is, with a particularly sharp eye for the telling detail... Andy Kershaw will always be something of a hero. -- James Walton * Daily Mail * Intrepid to the point of lunacy, Kershaw escaped ambushes, landmines and guns being pushed in his face and has lived to tell us this most admirable tale... A terrific read... The boy wonder has survived it all and this thoroughly absorbing journal bears witness to that. Kershaw's integrity and humility shines throughout. I couldn't put this down... A mesmerising read about triumph through huge adversity. -- Emrys Baird * Blues and Soul * A staggeringly good read. It takes a lot for me to laugh heartily. I'll be stealing openly from it. This book is magnificent. -- Nigel Blackwell, Half Man Half Biscuit A highly passionate, opinionated, witty, enlightening account of the broadcaster's career, personal life and world view. * Record Collector * He made me travel a little further than I usually do! He has an ability to do things first and ask questions afterwards. Not a recipe for a safe, secure life, maybe, but it makes things a lot more interesting for the rest of us! I've always enjoyed his foreign correspondent reports - and felt envious too. He is such an enthusiast. -- Michael Palin The book depicts with candour, humour and sharpness a life jammed with incident... a winning combination of levity and seriousness. -- Ian Harrison * Mojo *