Book Review: Paul Howard, I Read the News Today Oh Boy

Best known as the author of the celebrated Ross O’Carroll-Kelly columns, Paul Howard has now turned his attention to writing the biography of the late Guinness heir Tara Browne, who grew up in the same county – Wicklow – where Howard himself now resides.

Having enjoyed a supremely privileged upbringing, in his adolescence and young adulthood Browne became a fixture amongst high society in London and Ireland, before dying tragically young in a car accident – an event which famously inspired the opening lines of The Beatles’ classic ‘A Day In The Life’.

Opening with a lavish birthday party for Browne held on the family’s enormous Luggala estate in Wicklow, where the Rolling Stones listen to the musical entertainment provided by the Lovin’ Spoonful, Howard goes on to paint a fascinating picture of a young man whose whirlwind life was dominated by excess, and who had his fair share of relationship trouble and emotional turmoil.

Overall, a compelling look at one of the more unusual Irish rock and roll stories.