Book Review: Right Place… Wrong Time – Mark Ritchie

RIGHT PLACE… WRONG TIME – Mark Ritchie (Desert Hearts – ISBN: 978-1-908755-43-8)

Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩

Mark Ritchie brands himself, in his words “A fat old comic who sings a bit” but he is much more than that. He’s been immersed in the entertainment scene since the 1970s when he first became involved in Clubland while working for the legendary Owen Hammond, having given up working down the Yorkshire mines.

At the age of 61 Mark has decided to put down on paper his career, starting down the mines and eventually making it on to the northern cabaret scene and to becoming a producer. His life has been a serious of events some good some not so good and he relives them here warts and all. Nothing appears to have been left out and, although he has had a life full of adventures, you can tell he now looks back on them using the experiences in order to move forward.

The book itself, once it gets on to the showbusiness period of his career, does tend to jump back and forth a bit and can get a bit confusing to the reader and, at times you do have to go back and re-read just to remind yourself where you are in his life. Also, some of the anecdotes leave you wanting to know more – they seem to start and then just end abruptly, leaving you a bit disappointed that more information is not forthcoming. For ten years of my life I was employed as a proofreader and there is nothing worse than reading a book that has either not been proof read or has been badly proof read and I am afraid this falls into that category – so many little mistakes that jar when reading.

However, anyone with any interest in the club scene during the 70s, 80s and 90s will devour this book like a Michelin meal. I, myself, was part of the northern club scene in the 70s and many things mentioned in this book brought back floods of memories and, just like Ritchie’s, some good and some not so good! But that was what it was like and I fear it is now a thing of the past and that is why this book is a tonic and a reminder of those days long gone.

Nick Wakeham