Sums Up State Of Speedway Today

[JoeW]

I'm an avid collector of Speedway literature and/or books that discuss the sport in the past. One of the best recent books I purchased was Reg Fearman's which gave an interesting insight of the the sport during his tenure. Anything that's slightly controversial in content (John Berry's books were first class). including Malcolm Simmons' and Michael Lee's efforts...all great reads!

 

I also purchased the story of Garry Middleton (Author Tony Webb) which again made for an interesting read. One prized book (when I eventually sourced it) was the 'Complete History of the British League' which covered the years between 1965 - 1990 (would be nice to have it updated) edited by Peter Oakes.

There are two books compiled by Alan Robertson - History of British Speedway Leagues 1991-2014 and The History of British League Speedway 1946-64 - which cover the periods before and after Peter Oakes book.

[Tsunami]

I thought that Johnnie Hoskins' Speedway Walkabout was a fabulous read. Should be re-printed in my opinion!

 

Dave Morton's book was also an interesting insight of the sport.

 

How about one form Frank Ebden? Always sought controversy!

Reading his would only take about an hour.

[StevePark]

I'm not convinced that younger people are particularly great readers nowadays, and if they do it would be electronically.

 

Having said this, how many books are there on the likes of Hans Nielsen?

 

I was a bit surprised to hear the John Berry and other books 'only' sold around 2.5K copies though. No criticism intended of the publisher as I think your books are generally excellent, but I think it does show where the sport is nowadays.

 

It might be a poor example, but David Walliams's book "Grandpa's Great Escape" sold over half a million copies in 2015. The Top 15 of 2015 was (out of interest):

1, Grey: Fifty Shades of Grey as Told by Christian, EL James, 1,075,206

2, Grandpa’s Great Escape, David Walliams, ,532,513

3, The Girl on the Train, Paula Hawkins, 477,887

4, Millie Marotta’s Animal Kingdom, Millie Marotta, 409,858

5 Mog’s Christmas Calamity, Judith Kerr, 382,014

6 Elizabeth Is Missing, Emma Healey, 368,786

7, Go Set a Watchman, Harper Lee, 342,146

8, The Miniaturist, Jessie Burton, 320,648

9, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School, Jeff Kinney, 313,640

10, Guinness World Records 2016, Guinness World Records, 309,900

11, Everyday Super Food, Jamie Oliver, 299,202

12, Personal: A Jack Reacher novel, Lee Child, 289,003

13, To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee, 288,566

14, Us, David Nicholls, 284,105

15, Enchanted Forest: An Inky Quest and Colouring Book, Johanna Basford, 275,182

[dontforgetthefueltapsbruv]

Reading his would only take about an hour.

and if you didnt read a page in 2 mins you would be fined and excluded from reading the next page.

[arthur cross]

You want a very modern but simple reason why publishers aren't queuing up to produce books galore about Tai Woffinden, Chris Holder etc ?

 

So much of the material (probably enough for 2 or 3 books) that they would have included in autobiographies or rivalry-reviews had they ridden in the 1960's or 1970's is out there in the public domain already thanks to their own daily tweets and website blogs !! ... these days, such material is far more lucrative to them for keeping sponsors happy and keeping their fanbase ticking along day-by-day by being put out immediately rather than storing up 250-pages of it for a book ready for publishing between the end of the season and Christmas.

 

I'm sure Ivan Mauger with his tremendously sharp business skills would have played 2016's world of social media just as profitably as he did the bookshops and souvenir stalls during his actual career plus the worldwide travelling years of his retirement ... but he would have had to adapt those skills for this digital age.

 

Much harder these days compared to a couple of generations ago to save enough gobsmacking stories to fill a book with new and exciting material because even if you hold back your side of the story, other sides will still be tweeting and blogging their versions to dilute the impact of your version once it's finally published.

 

Take the infamous Nicki Pedersen and Greg Hancock crash and fight in Sweden in June 2015 but compare if it had actually taken place in 1975 ... today, just by tapping "pedersen hancock fight" into a google-search, you get immediately 4 different chunks of youtube coverage ... 40 years ago, it might well have been shown live on Swedish-tv but the public's ability at home to make video-recordings of that tv-coverage was in its infancy and the chance to copy such recordings for their friends was virtually non-existent.

 

So while that crash and punch-up might well have had as much fuss surrounding it 40 years ago (probably a lot more given speedway's higher media profile then), its 1975 version would have had a different type of fuss, full of mystique and curiosity because it was so much harder a few months later for the general public to watch what really happened ... it's that mystique and curiosity that would have created much of the demand not just for lengthy versions in a book by both Pedersen and Hancock but also the inclusion of plenty of pages of "I was there" eyewitness accounts from teammates, mechanics, fans and promoters because all of that material would be filling-up the readers' imagination of what happened instead of today's instant computer access to the actual footage.

 

It isn't so much a speedway phenomenon that its current riders aren't publishing as many books as their predecessors ... it's actually a general sporting phenomenon for the twitter/blogging/youtube reasons I've explained above that far fewer sports books are being published ... what's more, the ones that are being published are often using elements of the digital age in book form, notably the Fedegrafica book that combines a biography, photo-album and deep statistical analysis of tennis superstar Roger Federer's career into just one extraordinary volume.

 

And if you're still wondering how tough it is to sell books or even get potential books published, how about a general mood this autumn within the comedy circuit that dvd-sales of their top stars' tour performances have crashed through the floor because it's now so easy to either copy illegally those dvd's or watch box-sets of other tv-shows for a much cheaper price than buying the comedy dvd's for a good home-entertainment night ... if as modern a concept as a dvd is in a business nosedive, what hope is there for something as ancient as a book ? !!

[keepturningleft]

The smell of the paper, the feel of the book, the design of the book - no electronic twaddle can beat the physical experience of a proper book, but I'm on the wrong side of 60 and therefore old fashioned.

[pugwash]

I'm part way thro' reading Norbold's book.

Please don't let on how it ends. I hope the prefab doesn't finish up in Norbold's Hole.

[moxey63]

Love the winter.... and the weekly pages of nostalgia in the Speedway Star. The only thing I tend to read in them, as much of the modern day news seems so boring, lacking characters, wide handlebars, 13 heats, proper bikes.

 

If the modern day had as much interest as the olden times, we'd have the crowds of 40 years ago... and 13 heats.

 

I, too, would rather a book on Dean Felton than Greg Hancock. There has to be a certain amount of character and rawness.. less plastic and more metal.

Edited December 1, 2016 by moxey63

[The White Knight]

I'm an avid collector of Speedway literature and/or books that discuss the sport in the past. One of the best recent books I purchased was Reg Fearman's which gave an interesting insight of the the sport during his tenure. Anything that's slightly controversial in content (John Berry's books were first class). including Malcolm Simmons' and Michael Lee's efforts...all great reads!

 

I also purchased the story of Garry Middleton (Author Tony Webb) which again made for an interesting read. One prized book (when I eventually sourced it) was the 'Complete History of the British League' which covered the years between 1965 - 1990 (would be nice to have it updated) edited by Peter Oakes.

I have read, and own those Books I have highlighted and I also own Michael Lee's Book but haven't read it yet. Len Silver, Booey, Peter Craven and British Speedway Memories are all great reads too. I can recommend all of them.

 

Most are available from Retro Speedway.

 

Books are a bit old fashioned and new media such as DVDs and computer games are limited by the ambitions (our lack thereof) of the respective rights holders.

Book, Old Fashioned. Crumbs!! - give me a proper Book any day.

 

I have a Kindle and have a number of Books on that - I can never seem to be bothered to read them though. I never have that problem with 'proper' Books.

 

Reading is one of my favourite pastimes - I spend a lot of time with my Books.

[steve roberts]

I have read, and own those Books I have highlighted and I also own Michael Lee's Book but haven't read it yet. Len Silver, Booey, Peter Craven and British Speedway Memories are all great reads too. I can recommend all of them.

 

Most are available from Retro Speedway.

 

Book, Old Fashioned. Crumbs!! - give me a proper Book any day.

 

I have a Kindle and have a number of Books on that - I can never seem to be bothered to read them though. I never have that problem with 'proper' Books.

 

Reading is one of my favourite pastimes - I spend a lot of time with my Books.

Yes I have Booey's and Len Silver's also. Great reads!

 

Love my books and dream of the day when I can sit in my comfy leather chair sipping my favourite tipple in front of the fire in my purpose built library...that's when I can stop playing with my model railway!

[The White Knight]

One of my biggest regrets, when I kick off this mortal coil, is the number of Books I would love to have read but couldn't because of lack of time.

[Ray Stadia]

Yes I have Booey's and Len Silver's also. Great reads!

 

Love my books and dream of the day when I can sit in my comfy leather chair sipping my favourite tipple in front of the fire in my purpose built library...that's when I can stop playing with my model railway!

I am currently reading Simon Wigg's book, which is an eyeopener. By the way Steve, is the highlighted sentence above a euphemism?

[moxey63]

There are two books compiled by Alan Robertson - History of British Speedway Leagues 1991-2014 and The History of British League Speedway 1946-64 - which cover the periods before and after Peter Oakes book.

 

Very good they are too!!!

[steve roberts]

I am currently reading Simon Wigg's book, which is an eyeopener. By the way Steve, is the highlighted sentence above a euphemism?

Yes the Wiggy book is very good! Read the Carter book some time ago and was both enlightening and somewhat traumatic at the same time.

 

Very good they are too!!!

Are they still available?

[moxey63]

Yes the Wiggy book is very good! Read the Carter book some time ago and was both enlightening and somewhat traumatic at the same time.

Are they still available?

 

"Are they still available?"

 

Is Santa coming down your chimney in 25 sleeps' time?

 

Yes, they are available...

I admired Jason Crump, but never bought his book. Did not appeal to me. Ditto Leigh Adams' book. I doubt I'd read Nicki Pedersen or Greg Hancock's, if they did one. Perhaps their respective off-track lives correspond with everything that is speedway 2016... perhaps too sanitised. That's why the Kenny Carter, Kelly Moran, Michael Lee books were so popular... as they had stories in them, raw, when life was more daring than the hairbrushed version we now live. You can't say it is time that makes the stars of yesteryear so appealing.... because I flicked right passed Billy Hamill's write-up in the recent mag.

[TonyMac]

You want a very modern but simple reason why publishers aren't queuing up to produce books galore about Tai Woffinden, Chris Holder etc ?

 

So much of the material (probably enough for 2 or 3 books) that they would have included in autobiographies or rivalry-reviews had they ridden in the 1960's or 1970's is out there in the public domain already thanks to their own daily tweets and website blogs !! ... these days, such material is far more lucrative to them for keeping sponsors happy and keeping their fanbase ticking along day-by-day by being put out immediately rather than storing up 250-pages of it for a book ready for publishing between the end of the season and Christmas.

 

I'm sure Ivan Mauger with his tremendously sharp business skills would have played 2016's world of social media just as profitably as he did the bookshops and souvenir stalls during his actual career plus the worldwide travelling years of his retirement ... but he would have had to adapt those skills for this digital age.

 

Much harder these days compared to a couple of generations ago to save enough gobsmacking stories to fill a book with new and exciting material because even if you hold back your side of the story, other sides will still be tweeting and blogging their versions to dilute the impact of your version once it's finally published.

 

Take the infamous Nicki Pedersen and Greg Hancock crash and fight in Sweden in June 2015 but compare if it had actually taken place in 1975 ... today, just by tapping "pedersen hancock fight" into a google-search, you get immediately 4 different chunks of youtube coverage ... 40 years ago, it might well have been shown live on Swedish-tv but the public's ability at home to make video-recordings of that tv-coverage was in its infancy and the chance to copy such recordings for their friends was virtually non-existent.

 

So while that crash and punch-up might well have had as much fuss surrounding it 40 years ago (probably a lot more given speedway's higher media profile then), its 1975 version would have had a different type of fuss, full of mystique and curiosity because it was so much harder a few months later for the general public to watch what really happened ... it's that mystique and curiosity that would have created much of the demand not just for lengthy versions in a book by both Pedersen and Hancock but also the inclusion of plenty of pages of "I was there" eyewitness accounts from teammates, mechanics, fans and promoters because all of that material would be filling-up the readers' imagination of what happened instead of today's instant computer access to the actual footage.

 

It isn't so much a speedway phenomenon that its current riders aren't publishing as many books as their predecessors ... it's actually a general sporting phenomenon for the twitter/blogging/youtube reasons I've explained above that far fewer sports books are being published ... what's more, the ones that are being published are often using elements of the digital age in book form, notably the Fedegrafica book that combines a biography, photo-album and deep statistical analysis of tennis superstar Roger Federer's career into just one extraordinary volume.

 

And if you're still wondering how tough it is to sell books or even get potential books published, how about a general mood this autumn within the comedy circuit that dvd-sales of their top stars' tour performances have crashed through the floor because it's now so easy to either copy illegally those dvd's or watch box-sets of other tv-shows for a much cheaper price than buying the comedy dvd's for a good home-entertainment night ... if as modern a concept as a dvd is in a business nosedive, what hope is there for something as ancient as a book ? !!

 

You've made some valid points, but there is far simpler reason why there are no books published on modern speedway riders: they are just not commercially viable.

 

By the time the rider took his cut in royalties (albeit a very small one), the 'ghost' writer received a few quid and the bills for print, paper, distribution, delivery are met, there's very little left in the pot unless you are a well-known 'celebrity' or 'famous' sportsperson.

 

And when the book is finished and ready to be sold in bookshops, the retailer (WHS, Waterstones, or Amazon online) swallows up around another 50% of the cover price.

 

Tempus (or whatever they are now called) churned out quite a few historical-type speedway books but I very much doubt that any sold more than 1,000 copies, and in many cases nowhere near it.

 

Apart from ourselves at Retro Speedway, no other publisher will touch speedway books with a bargepole (and we have rebuffed quite a few approaches, including one or two books mentioned on this thread).

 

I guess that is the point I was trying to make in the original post. Yes, I'm blowing our trumpet in a biased way and I'm very grateful for what business we do generate, but it's a sorry indictment of the sport that we now stand alone in speedway book publishing.

 

There is very little profit in it, because current riders are not even known, let alone well-known or famous, in a general sporting context, so obviously books about them won't sell in sufficient numbers to warrant the investment from a publisher. Woffinden has won two world titles, but he has yet to put out a book in his name.

 

Twitter? Nothing to do with it. I've no doubt Woffy has a good, interesting story to tell (if the right ghost writer can prise it out of him) but I very seriously doubt if sales would measure up to his and the publisher's expectations.

 

For the same reason, this is why there is only Pinegen (Speedway Star) and ourselves producing quality, value-for-money magazines on the sport.

 

It is what it is.

Edited December 1, 2016 by tmc

[waiheke1]

I'm probably at the young end of the target market for speedway books (late 30s ).

I have a plethora of books on the stars of when I was a kid (Carter, Lee, mort, Moran, Simmons etc). But I can think of only 3 modern stars whose books I'd buy: nicki, tai and I'd read a bio on Darcy along the lines of the Kelly moran one.

Not sure it is an indictment on the state of speedway, but more that we know so much about the stars today there isn't the same mystique. And nothing compares to your childhood heroes.

Tmc- is it likely the dave Morton and John louis books will come out on Kindle?

[steve roberts]

I also enjoy statistical related books (the sport is dictated to by statistics after all!) and am looking forward in receiving my 'History Of the British League' volumes. One of my treasured books is Peter Oakes' 'The Who's Who of World Speedway' but which unfortunately only covers up until the year 1975. However it's a great source of information.

 

Also enjoyed the Tommy Jansson book which was translated into english some years ago. Tragic insight to a potentially great, but much missed, rider and personality.

Edited December 2, 2016 by steve roberts

[Trees]

Books are a bit old fashioned and new media such as DVDs and computer games are limited by the ambitions (our lack thereof) of the respective rights holders.

Bit old fashioned, if all young people think that ..... I hope they don't. I have my doubts because young parents still read their little kids books so giving them good habits from an early age ...

[steve roberts]

Bit old fashioned, if all young people think that ..... I hope they don't. I have my doubts because young parents still read their little kids books so giving them good habits from an early age ...

Trouble is there's a culture whereby society tends to over generalise today and tarnish everybody of a certain generation with the same brush.