Interview: Salford Author Yo Mullen on his first book

On Saturday 16th June 2012 SalfordOnline paid a visit to Eccles Community Art Gallery to meet local author Yo Mullen for a book signing of his first novel: A
Proper Story.
The book tells the story of Yo growing up in Gray Street, Weaste, just
behind the Grey Mare public house. It tells of his memories of school days,
bonfire nghts and the rituals of stealing wood from other gangs whilst
jealously guarding your own; the shops, the characters both young and old ,
adventures in Weaste Cemetery; abandoned houses and the general mischief
that kids of his age got up to.
I knew a lot of the people Yo talks about and what I find amazing is that
his descriptive prose really brings to life what it was like growing up in
Salford in the 1960's and 1970's: fishing
in Winterbottom's reservoir off Liverpool Street in search of the legendary
giant pike that was supposed to lurk there, Derby Road swimming baths,
Armstrong's toy shop where the owner an elderly chap was a keen artist,
Mama's cafe facing the bus depot (a popular haunt of young lads attracted by
the table football, pinball machines and the owner's very attractive young
daughter), his grandfather who taught himself fluent Russian, the asbestos
prefab houses on Gray Street and much, much more.
Yo isn't afraid to call a spade a spade as they say, and this makes for a
very interesting read. It has been called gritty, abrasive and brutally
honest and I will gladly go along with that.
Yo tells me that he wrote the book after he suffered a personal tragedy four
years ago when his son Remi Thomas died in September 2007, instead of going
into a depressive state he channelled all his energy into writing the book in
Remi's memory and he deserves full credit for bringing that area of
Salford to life in such a vibrant and colourful style, making it one of the
funniest and best books about Salford that I have read in a long time.
The book is available from Salford Museum and Art Gallery bookshop on The
Crescent, Salford also the Eccles Community Art Gallery, Boothsway, Eccles,
priced at just £7.99 it is well worth every penny, so there you are, buy
this book and settle down for a rattling good read!

[@derealovesurvival7549]

R.I.P Remy . God bless you Yo Mullen from Costa in London