Disco Days Trilogy
3 primary works Complete
Book 1
Bobby and Joey's new mobile disco business seems like the answer to everything, until they lock horns with the local gangster ... First in the critically acclaimed, hilarious and heartbreaking Disco Days Trilogy, by one of Scotland's finest writers.
***Longlisted for the Authors' Club First Novel Award***
'This is a book that might just make you cry like nobody's watching' Iain MacLeod, Sunday Mail
'Ross creates beautifully rounded characters full of humanity and perhaps most of all, hope. It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It s rude, keenly observed and candidly down to earth' Liam Rudden, Scotsman
'Warm, funny and evocative' Chris Brookmyre
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Early in the decade that taste forgot, Fat Franny Duncan is on top of the world. He is the undoubted King of the Ayrshire Mobile Disco scene, controlling and ruling the competition with an iron fist. But the future is uncertain. A new partnership is coming and is threatening to destroy the big man's empire...
Bobby Cassidy and Joey Miller have been best mates since primary school. Joey is an idealist; Bobby just wants to get laid and avoid following his brother Gary to the Falklands. A partnership in their new mobile disco venture seems like the answer to everything.
The Last Days of Disco is about family, music, small-time gangsters ... and the fear of being sent to the Falklands by the biggest gangster of them all. Witty, energetic and entirely authentic, it's also heartbreakingly honest, weaving together tragedy and comedy with an uncanny and unsettling elegance. A simply stunning debut.
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'Crucially Ross's novel succeeds in balancing light and dark, in that it can leap smoothly from brutal social realism to laugh-out-loud humour within a few sentences' Press & Journal
'More than just a nostalgic recreation of the author's youth, it's a compassionate, affecting story of a family in crisis at a time of upheaval and transformation, when disco wasn't the only thing whose days were numbered' Herald Scotland
'There's a bittersweet poignancy to David F. Ross's debut novel, The Last Days of Disco' Edinburgh Evening News
'Full of comedy, pathos and great tunes' Hardeep Singh Kohli
'Dark, hilarious and heartbreaking' Muriel Gray
'Captures the time, the spirit ... I loved it' John Niven
'If I saw that in a store I would buy it without even looking at what was inside' Irvine Welsh
'Like the vinyl that crackles off every page, The Last Days of Disco is as warm and authentic as Roddy Doyle at his very best' Nick Quantrill
***Longlisted for the Authors' Club First Novel Award***
'This is a book that might just make you cry like nobody's watching' Iain MacLeod, Sunday Mail
'Ross creates beautifully rounded characters full of humanity and perhaps most of all, hope. It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It s rude, keenly observed and candidly down to earth' Liam Rudden, Scotsman
'Warm, funny and evocative' Chris Brookmyre
------------------------
Early in the decade that taste forgot, Fat Franny Duncan is on top of the world. He is the undoubted King of the Ayrshire Mobile Disco scene, controlling and ruling the competition with an iron fist. But the future is uncertain. A new partnership is coming and is threatening to destroy the big man's empire...
Bobby Cassidy and Joey Miller have been best mates since primary school. Joey is an idealist; Bobby just wants to get laid and avoid following his brother Gary to the Falklands. A partnership in their new mobile disco venture seems like the answer to everything.
The Last Days of Disco is about family, music, small-time gangsters ... and the fear of being sent to the Falklands by the biggest gangster of them all. Witty, energetic and entirely authentic, it's also heartbreakingly honest, weaving together tragedy and comedy with an uncanny and unsettling elegance. A simply stunning debut.
------------------------
'Crucially Ross's novel succeeds in balancing light and dark, in that it can leap smoothly from brutal social realism to laugh-out-loud humour within a few sentences' Press & Journal
'More than just a nostalgic recreation of the author's youth, it's a compassionate, affecting story of a family in crisis at a time of upheaval and transformation, when disco wasn't the only thing whose days were numbered' Herald Scotland
'There's a bittersweet poignancy to David F. Ross's debut novel, The Last Days of Disco' Edinburgh Evening News
'Full of comedy, pathos and great tunes' Hardeep Singh Kohli
'Dark, hilarious and heartbreaking' Muriel Gray
'Captures the time, the spirit ... I loved it' John Niven
'If I saw that in a store I would buy it without even looking at what was inside' Irvine Welsh
'Like the vinyl that crackles off every page, The Last Days of Disco is as warm and authentic as Roddy Doyle at his very best' Nick Quantrill
Book 2
When a young Ayrshire band unexpectedly hits the big time with the smash hit record of 1984, everything looks rosy, despite their delusional young manager and a thwarted plot to kidnap Boy George. What could possibly go wrong? The riotously funny, heartwarming, and deeply poignant second book in the bestselling Disco Days Trilogy.
***Now adapted for the stage by Scotland’s Borderline Theatre Co. and the Ayr Gaiety theatre***
'This band would definitely bring on Stockholm Syndrome' Boy George
’An astonishing tour de force’ John Niven
‘A great white-knuckle read set in the world of hope, dreams and DIY pop’ Stuart Cosgrove
––––––––––––––––––––––––
The Rise and Fall of the Miraculous Vespas is the timeless story of the quest for pop immortality. When a young Ayrshire band miraculously hits the big time with the smash hit record of 1984, international stardom beckons. That’s despite having a delusional teenage manager propelled by a dark, malign voice in his head…
Can Max Mojo’s band of talented social misfits repeat the success and pay back the mounting debts accrued from an increasingly agitated cartel of local gangsters? Or will they have to kidnap Boy George and hope for the best?
Featuring much-loved characters from the international bestseller, The Last Days of Disco, this is an absurdly funny, riotously ambitious and deeply human story of small-town rivalries, music, confused adolescence and, above all, hope, from one of Scotland’s finest new voices.
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Praise for David F. Ross
’This is a book that might just make you cry like nobody’s watching’ Iain MacLeod, Sunday Mail
‘Warm, funny and evocative’ Chris Brookmyre
‘Crucially Ross's novel succeeds in balancing light and dark, in that it can leap smoothly from brutal social realism to laugh-out-loud humour within a few sentences’ Press & Journal
’More than just a nostalgic recreation of the author's youth, it's a compassionate, affecting story of a family in crisis at a time of upheaval and transformation, when disco wasn't the only thing whose days were numbered' Herald Scotland
’Ross creates beautifully rounded characters full of humanity and perhaps most of all, hope. It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It s rude, keenly observed and candidly down to earth’ Liam Rudden, Scotsman
‘There’s a bittersweet poignancy to David F. Ross’s debut novel, The Last Days of Disco’ Edinburgh Evening News
‘Full of comedy, pathos and great tunes’ Hardeep Singh Kohli
‘Dark, hilarious and heartbreaking’ Muriel Gray
‘If I saw that in a store I would buy it without even looking at what was inside’ Irvine Welsh
‘Like the vinyl that crackles off every page … as warm and authentic as Roddy Doyle at his very best’ Nick Quantrill
‘A solid-gold hit of a book! The closest you’ll ever get to being on Top of the Pops’ Colin McCredie
***Now adapted for the stage by Scotland’s Borderline Theatre Co. and the Ayr Gaiety theatre***
'This band would definitely bring on Stockholm Syndrome' Boy George
’An astonishing tour de force’ John Niven
‘A great white-knuckle read set in the world of hope, dreams and DIY pop’ Stuart Cosgrove
––––––––––––––––––––––––
The Rise and Fall of the Miraculous Vespas is the timeless story of the quest for pop immortality. When a young Ayrshire band miraculously hits the big time with the smash hit record of 1984, international stardom beckons. That’s despite having a delusional teenage manager propelled by a dark, malign voice in his head…
Can Max Mojo’s band of talented social misfits repeat the success and pay back the mounting debts accrued from an increasingly agitated cartel of local gangsters? Or will they have to kidnap Boy George and hope for the best?
Featuring much-loved characters from the international bestseller, The Last Days of Disco, this is an absurdly funny, riotously ambitious and deeply human story of small-town rivalries, music, confused adolescence and, above all, hope, from one of Scotland’s finest new voices.
––––––––––––––––––––––––
Praise for David F. Ross
’This is a book that might just make you cry like nobody’s watching’ Iain MacLeod, Sunday Mail
‘Warm, funny and evocative’ Chris Brookmyre
‘Crucially Ross's novel succeeds in balancing light and dark, in that it can leap smoothly from brutal social realism to laugh-out-loud humour within a few sentences’ Press & Journal
’More than just a nostalgic recreation of the author's youth, it's a compassionate, affecting story of a family in crisis at a time of upheaval and transformation, when disco wasn't the only thing whose days were numbered' Herald Scotland
’Ross creates beautifully rounded characters full of humanity and perhaps most of all, hope. It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It s rude, keenly observed and candidly down to earth’ Liam Rudden, Scotsman
‘There’s a bittersweet poignancy to David F. Ross’s debut novel, The Last Days of Disco’ Edinburgh Evening News
‘Full of comedy, pathos and great tunes’ Hardeep Singh Kohli
‘Dark, hilarious and heartbreaking’ Muriel Gray
‘If I saw that in a store I would buy it without even looking at what was inside’ Irvine Welsh
‘Like the vinyl that crackles off every page … as warm and authentic as Roddy Doyle at his very best’ Nick Quantrill
‘A solid-gold hit of a book! The closest you’ll ever get to being on Top of the Pops’ Colin McCredie
Book 3
The unforgettable finale to the international, bestselling Disco Days Trilogy ... Bobby, Joey and Max Mojo return in an attempt to reclaim the elusive stardom of their youth, reuniting a legendary band that didn't quite live up to expectations, with predictable results...
'A real new talent on the Scottish literary scene' Press & Journal
'By turn hilarious and heart-breaking, more than anything Ross creates beautifully rounded characters full of humanity and perhaps most of all, hope' Liam Rudden, Scotsman
'David Ross carved out an enduring place for himself among contemporary Scottish novelists' Alastair Mabb, Herald Scotland
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The Disco Boys and The Band are back...
In the early 80s, Bobby Cassidy and Joey Miller were inseparable; childhood friends and fledgling business associates. Now, both are depressed and lonely, and they haven't spoken to each other in more than ten years. A bizarre opportunity to honour the memory of someone close to both of them presents itself, if only they can forgive ... and forget.
With the help of the deluded Max Mojo and the faithful Hamish May, can they pull off the impossible, and reunite the legendary Ayrshire band, The Miraculous Vespas, for a one-off Music Festival - The Big Bang - on a remote, uninhabited Scottish island?
Absurdly funny, deeply moving and utterly human, The Man Who Loves Islands is an unforgettable finale to the Disco Days trilogy - a modern classic pumped full of music and middle-aged madness, written from the heart and pen of one of Scotland's finest new voices.
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Praise for David F. Ross
'A warm, funny consideration of reconciliation between middle-aged friends and a celebration of music's healing powers. Suggest to fans of Nick Hornby' Library Journal
'Warm, funny and evocative. If you grew up in the eighties, you're going to love this' Chris Brookmyre
'Dark, hilarious, funny and heart-breaking all at the same time, a book that sums up the spirit of an era and a country in a way that will make you wince and laugh at the same time' Muriel Gray
'An astonishing tour de force' John Niven
'This is a book that might just make you cry like nobody's watching' Iain MacLeod, Sunday Mail
'Crucially Ross's novel succeeds in balancing light and dark, in that it can leap smoothly from brutal social realism to laugh-out-loud humour within a few sentences' Press & Journal
'Full of comedy, pathos and great tunes' Hardeep Singh Kohli
'If I saw that in a store I would buy it without even looking at what was inside' Irvine Welsh
'Like the vinyl that crackles off every page ... as warm and authentic as Roddy Doyle at his very best' Nick Quantrill
'A solid-gold hit of a book! The closest you'll ever get to being on Top of the Pops' Colin McCredie
'A real new talent on the Scottish literary scene' Press & Journal
'By turn hilarious and heart-breaking, more than anything Ross creates beautifully rounded characters full of humanity and perhaps most of all, hope' Liam Rudden, Scotsman
'David Ross carved out an enduring place for himself among contemporary Scottish novelists' Alastair Mabb, Herald Scotland
------------------------
The Disco Boys and The Band are back...
In the early 80s, Bobby Cassidy and Joey Miller were inseparable; childhood friends and fledgling business associates. Now, both are depressed and lonely, and they haven't spoken to each other in more than ten years. A bizarre opportunity to honour the memory of someone close to both of them presents itself, if only they can forgive ... and forget.
With the help of the deluded Max Mojo and the faithful Hamish May, can they pull off the impossible, and reunite the legendary Ayrshire band, The Miraculous Vespas, for a one-off Music Festival - The Big Bang - on a remote, uninhabited Scottish island?
Absurdly funny, deeply moving and utterly human, The Man Who Loves Islands is an unforgettable finale to the Disco Days trilogy - a modern classic pumped full of music and middle-aged madness, written from the heart and pen of one of Scotland's finest new voices.
------------------------
Praise for David F. Ross
'A warm, funny consideration of reconciliation between middle-aged friends and a celebration of music's healing powers. Suggest to fans of Nick Hornby' Library Journal
'Warm, funny and evocative. If you grew up in the eighties, you're going to love this' Chris Brookmyre
'Dark, hilarious, funny and heart-breaking all at the same time, a book that sums up the spirit of an era and a country in a way that will make you wince and laugh at the same time' Muriel Gray
'An astonishing tour de force' John Niven
'This is a book that might just make you cry like nobody's watching' Iain MacLeod, Sunday Mail
'Crucially Ross's novel succeeds in balancing light and dark, in that it can leap smoothly from brutal social realism to laugh-out-loud humour within a few sentences' Press & Journal
'Full of comedy, pathos and great tunes' Hardeep Singh Kohli
'If I saw that in a store I would buy it without even looking at what was inside' Irvine Welsh
'Like the vinyl that crackles off every page ... as warm and authentic as Roddy Doyle at his very best' Nick Quantrill
'A solid-gold hit of a book! The closest you'll ever get to being on Top of the Pops' Colin McCredie