The Real Deal: The Autobiography of Britain’s Most Controversial Media Mogul

One of Britain’s foremost media moguls – in his own words

The Real Deal is a no-holds-barred account of the highs and lows of Desmond’s long and illustrious career as a publisher and entrepreneur, from his first foray into the world of business at the age of five, helping his deaf father negotiate advertising contracts, to the meteoric rise of his media company Northern & Shell. He talks of his early life as a rock and roll drummer, his first fully fledged job as a classified ad salesman, his decision to move into magazine publishing, and his pioneering relocation to Docklands, and so on to the inexorable rise of his raft of leisure and top-shelf titles, the launch of OK! magazine, the acquisition of Express Newspapers, the purchase and sale of Channel 5, the launch of the Health Lottery, and his current plans for a massive property development and regeneration project. Along the way, Desmond imparts many of the secrets of his astounding success, as well as giving his opinion (and he always has one) on such diverse subjects as the Royal Family, how to entertain posh guests, the benefits of Reform Judaism, and the similarities between being a rock and roll drummer and running a business. Often controversial, frequently revelatory, and always entertaining, The Real Deal is a brilliantly frank account of a life spent at the sharp end of business.