Bless Me Father

'I have never read a music autobiography like it. Or any other come to that. You want to say, ""Kev, don't be saying that."" But he does, repeatedly. Buyer beware. But it is absolutely stone cold hard truth BRILLIANT.' -- Danny Baker * X * ‘Blazingly honest ... a confessional book — at times almost recklessly candid — but it’s also a profoundly sad family memoir that grapples with Rowland’s lifelong desire for approval from his Irish parents, especially his laceratingly critical father, a man who would frequently take his belt to his son’s legs.’ -- Victoria Segal * The Sunday Times * 'remarkably candid, gripping ... the book is confessional, contrite to an extraordinary degree, and packed with granular detail' -- Shaun Curran * The i Paper * ‘A picaresque story, and Rowland tells it with an impressive lack of self-pity... powerful and oddly persuasive. Even as he seems to despair of himself, you wind up rooting for Rowland. ' -- Alexis Petridis * the Guardian * ‘The first half is so out there, if you didn’t know it was about a young man who went on to form a band and enjoy several Top 20 hits and a global No 1 with 'Come On Eileen' you’d think, wow, these are the formative years of a future jailbird. Or someone now dead ... It's unflinching, insightful and sometimes hilarious.’ -- Michael Odell * The Times * 'Rowland has gone through the mill and produced a powerful account of his life… [he] has raised the game for autobiographies by musicians at a time when they are in danger of becoming a predictable late career exercise ... a thrilling tale … He deserves to savour his terrific career and this marvellous book about a life less ordinary.' -- Eamon Sweeney * Irish Times *