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⇱ Getting Over the X: Amazon.co.uk: Brookstein, Steve: 9781784621544: Books

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Getting Over the X Hardcover – 28 Jan. 2015

by Steve Brookstein (Author)
It was the stuff dreams were made of. It became the ultimate nightmare. Being the first winner of the X Factor in 2004, Steve Brookstein should have had it all. Instead, he tells a story of a man sold down the river by his own record label as they championed the runner-up, G4, and forced him into an album of cover songs.

This is the story of what really happened, from vicious personal attacks by Sharon Osborne and Louis Walsh to threats from Max Clifford about going public. A decade on, and Max Clifford is inside and severely discredited. Andy Coulson, a man who ran many of the stories about Steve for News International has now been discredited. He has been dubbed a pub singer, a fake, a flop and bitter as the narrative that begun on the show became adopted by journalists who thought he was fair game, frequently reviewing gigs that they hadn't been to or inventing quotes he hadn't said, and always regulated by a toothless Press Complaints Commission.

Ten years on, Steve is now able to lift the lid on the show itself and analyse for the first time exactly what Max Clifford said when he rang to say, 'Talk to the press and we'll bury you.'

  1. Print length
    320 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Matador
  4. Publication date
    28 Jan. 2015
  5. Dimensions
    14 x 1.91 x 21.6 cm
  6. ISBN-10
    1784621544
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1784621544
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Product description

Review

'If you're thinking of going on The X Factor you need two things. An application form and a copy of this book. The hardback version of this book has a spine. Unlike some of the people in it.' --Ian Hyland, The Mirror

'It's got the snappiest title of any autobiography out this year and Steve's X Factor revelations are truly eye-opening. No fan of Steve's or the shows should be without a copy!' --Matthew Wright, The Wright Stuff

'Highly recommend Getting Over The X! Brilliant read, couldn't put it down! About time he got to have his say!' --Joanna Page Actress, star of Gavin & Stacey and much more

About the Author

In 2004 Steve Brookstein became the first ever winner of the X Factor. He was promised a million pound record deal. By the summer of 2005, it was all over and Max Clifford was threatening him. Despite a successful career before the show, including 2nd place on a previous TV talent show, the industry and the press turned their back on him. This is his story.

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About the authors

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    Tony Horne was born in Chessington, Surrey, England in 1971 attending Tiffin School For Boys in Kingston-upon-Thames and later graduating from the University of Exeter with a degree in French and Italian. He also attended Rome and Padua universities in Italy.

    In 1990 he was runner-up in the Radio Academy's "Young Broadcaster of the 90s" competition, and went onto become one of the UK's most successful morning radio personalities.

    In August 2018, he quit professional radio full-time.

    He is now one of the world's most in demand ghostwriters. For his subjects and his speed, he is highly recommended, penning around 1000 words an hour. In 2020, he launched the Secrets Of A Ghostwriter online tutorial course.

    His written work falls mostly into the categories of crime or celebrity.

    2021 saw the release of 'Baring My Soul' for Kenny Thomas - the first publication from his own company Horney Media and Publishing, closely followed by Healers Ain't Holy for Kevin Morris.

    His most recent works include 'Taylor Made' for Liz Taylor (Manchester party planner and entrepreneur) 'Everybody Gets Fifteen Quid' for Shayne Burgess (darts) 'Save One Child' for Ian James MBE (undercover cop working against paedophiles) 'Wildcard' for Christopher Maloney (X Factor and Big Brother) and 'If Only' for Terry West (Moors Murders)

    In 2015 he has updated the X-Factor exposé (see below), written 'The Man and The Mask' for Paul Dadge (a 10th anniversary 7/7 memoir) and has published 'The Red Lioness: One Woman. Four Years. 90,000 miles. 650 Plus Pubs' for Cathy Price.

    He came to attention penning 'Tango 190' for the late PC David Rathband in 2011 and the book the BBC tried to ban 'Bodyguard - My Life On The Front Line' for Craig Summers (2012) and has also consulted on a book with Jimmy Savile's nephew.

    He ended 2014 with 'Getting Over The X' for the first X Factor winner Steve Brookstein reaching Number 14 on the kindle charts.

    His first fiction 'Rio' was also published in 2014. This is the story of a fictional news crew wandering into real-time events in the run-up to the soccer World Cup of 2014.

    Before that he has written on Australia and extensively for the Evening Chronicle newspaper in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

    If you have a story that needs writing, he is good and he is quick.

    See more and why on the website!

    You can follow Tony on twitter at @horneymedia, become friends on facebook or email him on hello@secretsofaghostwriter.com

    Full details are at www.secretsofaghostwriter.com

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    Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Customer reviews

4.1 out of 5 stars
1,013 global ratings
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5 out of 5 stars
Touching, suprising and quite brutal in parts!
So we finally get to find out, what the finalists of the phenomenom that IS .... "X Factor" can expect, from winning the high-profile and popular tv show! With a promise of a £1000,000 contract, Steve Brookstein the very first and deserved winner back in 2004, gives us his account of participating in the talent competition - from beginning to end! I found his book very touching, suprising and quite brutal in parts! Knowing now what Steve Brookstein has been through during the last 10yrs, and with the knowledge that he had been threatened not to reveal anything of his experiences, (and is now only able to do so with the temporary elimination a certain character within his book) I feel and hope for Steve's sake, that he can now close that horrible and disturbing chapter in his life, and begin to believe in himself again.........just like his thousands of fans across the world! It's a great book and just like dozens of other readers, I felt myself compelled to read it from cover to cover without putting it down!
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Top reviews from United Kingdom

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  • Anji Rippon
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 November 2014
    I love pop music. I love reality tv. I hate the press. This was a book I was dying to read for all of those reasons since reading the tag line "Talk to the press and we will bury you", Max Clifford. 

    Ask me and anyone else their opinion on Steve Brookstein and you'll probably get the same response "oh he got nowhere with the X factor, he's the one that's really bitter about it".. Ask yourself why? Ask yourself what led you to think that. This book will explain that to you: the British scum press and their clever osmosis of exaggerated micro-truths and outright lies. I was kind of indifferent to Steve. I do remember thinking the Sharon Osbourne "treatment" was a bit harsh, and Dannii Minogues book explained the effect that can have beautifully. For several years I've thought of X Factor as scripted but harmless chill out telly. This book shows the darker side to Cowell and his team and proves to be an un-put-down able read, so much so that I read it in one day. 
    Beautifully written by "ghost" Tony Horne who I felt used his other books to get to this point: his best work. What I liked about Getting Over The X was that it got straight on to the point. The book opens without Steve's journey through life to reality tv and starts instead with the final of the X factor where his life changed forever. Getting Over The X has dark moments, cringe moments and quite a few "what the hell?" moments too (dressing room incident anyone?!) and describes no holds barred the effect the press can have on your life if you are made it only to be beaten back down. What drove Steve to tell his story now seems to be an accumulation of The Savile Effect, the fact Max Clifford and friends ended up in jail and the snowballing of celebrities speaking out against the "headlines at whatever cost" culture. Sure Steve is bitter but one cannot imagine the effect this has all had on his confidence. I worked briefly on the Michael Jackson trial in 2005, I had my email hacked, and most importantly through that I saw how the press can manipulate public opinion. Think about it: they hacked my email and I'm nobody!

    So like me if you like pop music, reality tv, scandal and loathe the press in equal amounts; read this now. Then tell everyone else to read it. This is quite simply a story that I'm very glad was told.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Suze
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 January 2015
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    This is a well written book.
    A nice flowing writing style that was easy to stay with. I didn't lose interest or get bogged down with stodgy words.
    It is ghost written, but even some ghost writers aren't very good - but this one IS good.

    It tells the story of how Steve Brookstein, a jobbing singer who had just started to get some nice support work decided to enter a new TV talent show that allowed 'older' contestants to take part.
    He entered a contest that offered a million pound recording deal and the chance to fulfil a dream of getting his compositions heard. He ended up being trapped and crushed inside a huge machine.
    It makes for good reading.
    It isn't a sob story and he doesn't come over as a 'reality tv type' person like the ones these kind of shows have since become crammed with. He got the wrong idea and was punished and ridiculed for his mistake in thinking the prize was what we were all told it was.

    In hindsight this guy should never have gone on the X Factor. He should have waited until The Voice came on telly.
    That show might have been better for getting him more contacts in the business and a step in the direction he wanted to go in. But I suppose by that time he was too old?

    Some call him bitter.
    Some call him naive.
    Maybe he is both, but what we have to remember is that we all know how Simon Cowell shows work NOW.

    We didn't know then. Neither did Steve Brookstein.
    Maybe he just handled things wrong. Are his people skills at fault? Was he just someone the Cowell machine couldn't market?
    The book allows us to make up our own minds.
    He gives us [what I believe are] the facts about what happened.

    He was the winner of the first X Factor and he truly believed the prize would allow him to record and release some of his own compositions.
    He didn't handle situations in the best way, but that's easy for us to judge. The Cowell machine turned very heavy and got nasty. So maybe they didn't handle situations the best way either.

    He was humiliated in the Press, and we have to remember that he is a real person with feelings and having the mickey taken out of him constantly must have been hard to take.

    He was constantly ridiculed when all he wanted to do was sing his own songs and to get some better gigs.
    He didn't murder anybody.
    He saw his prize disappear before his eyes as G4 were given what was supposed to go to the winner.
    That has to make a person feel a bit sick.
    And why shouldn't he try to let the people who voted for him know that he was being sabotaged at every turn? He kept trying to do just that but was cold shouldered and shut out at every turn.
    Maybe he should have just let it go instead of constantly trying to make his own truth heard.

    But he didn't seem to be given a chance to speak out about his side of things because the sheer power of the Simon Cowell machine just crushed him.
    And when he did try to speak out, his words were twisted. He never gave in though. So maybe not bitter, maybe tenacious and determined for the truth to be heard.

    There is a saying that "every dog has it's day"
    His day has come now that all those Press & PR people who mercilessly hammered him into the ground have been under the microscope of the Law and we have all seen their true colours for ourselves.
    He has been able to get this book released to give his side of the story.

    I just don't understand why he was 'buried' as he puts it. They should have let him have his say in the Press at the time and let things lie.
    I'm sure he would have been dropped by the record label even if he had recorded the stuff Simon Cowell wanted him to do - because we have seen that's how it works with X Factor. Use them for publicity for the show and to make money from phone votes, exploit them, and then drop them when the next new show is coming.

    But WHY was the campaign against him so cruel and unrelenting?
    Why was this little guy such a threat to the big machine that he had to be destroyed in such a way? I just don't get it.
    Why couldn't they just ignore him and let him go from his contract gracefully like they did with subsequent winners/contestants.
    I guess they were learning how X Factor works as they went along, and the mistakes they made with him were corrected in future seasons?
    It's just the nastiness of it all. Did it really have to be that way? Really?

    Anyway, it makes an interesting read - and really just confirms what many of us think about these X Factor type shows and how they operate.

    I have never bought any of his music or seen any of his live shows but I did watch the first X Factor, and I did see how the Press went mercilessly after him so I was interested to finally hear him speak for himself.
    I do think he was often his own worst enemy because he didn't handle situations in the best way, but that just makes him seem like a nice guy swimming with sharks - which I guess it what he was.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Miss June Smith
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 March 2015
    I'm sure when the press heard, that Steve, was finally writing a book about behind the scenes of being on & winning the first Xfactor, they must of rubbed their hands with glee..... Assuming it would be full of self pitying why me's & full of venom at Simon Cowell.... (They probably had already, half written their reviews, saying that Steve was ungrateful, self pitying & blaming everyone else, but himself, for his downfall) How gutted they probably were, when they'd read it & realised, they'd have to go back to the drawing board!! No self pitying in this book, just facts, told in an amusing, manor of fact, humble way.... No Simon bashing, just a resigned, hindsight, realisation of how some parts of the industry work. While putting it straight that he was not "A Pub Singer" in fact he was more of an artist BEFORE the Xfactor than he was during it & while under Sico he was just happy to sing in pubs too!! Also him telling the true story, that he actually resigned & was not fired.... which the press had not allowed to get out. But that fact will no doubt, still not silence the Trolls, who seem to have an opinion, on Steve''s singing talent even though most were toddlers when he sang on TV. But I wouldn't imagine Steve will worry too much... Half of that online generation, thinks Kanye has discovered an old boy & given him a chance on his latest record.... They predict a bit of fame for the old boy.... So expect big things to happen, for new boy on the block Paul McCartney..... (I rest my case on troll intellect)..... In short, a well written, humorous, interesting & at times enlightening (My, My, Sinita!!!) story of the pro's & cons of being in the media, I highly recommend you buy it..... & Steve's next album when it out....
    3 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • 3.0 out of 5 stars Too "British"
    Reviewed in Canada on 17 January 2015
    I'll start this review by saying I'm not British, so I found myself a little lost at times - the author assumes we've watched the British show and know the characters. I've watched the American show. but not the British one, so I didn't know some of them. There were a few awkward "Britishisms" that I didn't quite get and had to google. Overall, a good story Steve, but unfortunately written for a British audience, not a world audience, which is a shame.
  • Tony Clifton
    5.0 out of 5 stars It will annoy Simon Cowell 110% if you buy this book
    Reviewed in the United States on 26 November 2015
    Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
    Steve Brookstein is the ginger foster child of the X Factor. No one wants him, he is deemed fair game for a kicking but for some reason he demands your attention.

    Put simply, this is an excellent book. Whether you are a fan of the X Factor or not, this book will keep you gripped until the end.

    I always find it strange that even after the best part of a decade, the UK press still pump out vacuous stories on Brookstein’s fall from grace. No one seemed bothered to actually present Brookstein’s side of the story so when I stumbled upon his book on Amazon I bought it immediately.

    As we all know, the X Factor is fixed. Not in the sense of vote-rigging but in how the X Factor presents its contestants, ie. the ones that the X Factor want to succeed are given the best songs to sing, a “compelling narrative” is created and they are given more air time. Its sort of like wrestling, they pretend to fight each other and we pretend to believe it.

    Every year, we are all baffled at how some fantastic singers are rejected in the early phases of the show whilst other mediocre singers make it to the live shows.

    Quite simply, the “best” contestants for the X Factor are the ones who attract viewers and most commonly these contestants have a narrative constructed around them to help sell the show.

    Take this year for example; we have the dental receptionist, the transvestite, the backing singer, and the “bad boy”. We also had a girl who every time she spoke to the camera, a different family member had died and the X Factor was quick to exploit this. If I were a family member of hers I would barricade myself in an underground bunker until the show has finished just to be on the safe side.

    Brookstein was labelled the “pub singer” fighting for his final chance at success, when in fact he was already an established singer. Just like this year, most of the contestants are established singers, some have already won TV talent shows and some have had record contracts.

    Yet the X Factor exploits all this in order to get people to vote and to watch the show. Getting Over the X gives us the first hand account of this process. We see how every aspect of the show is managed and manipulated by the production team.

    Brookstein takes us on his journey from contestant, to winner, to being unprepared for the aftermath and finally to the point where he could release this book due to Max Clifford being imprisoned for sexually assaulting young girls.

    Brookstein also finally opens up on the verbal abuse he suffered on a weekly basis from Louis Walsh and Sharon Osborne, the latter being famous for marrying a heroin addicted musician from Birmingham several decades ago.

    Louis Walsh, who as reported in the Irish press, has a low IQ. Brookstein gives us a first hand account of how just how hypocritical and self-contradictory Louis is as a judge. I always found it a bit sad that Simon Cowell exploited Louis Walsh for so many years by getting him to sit as a judge just so the public could laugh at the ridiculous things that Louis would say (“The McDonald Brothers will be stars”). Louis was the judge equivalent of the contestant who didn't know he was utterly hopeless and it is a good thing that Louis has now retired. It was painful to watch him in the later years.

    The X Factor has done so much harm to quality music as the charts are now polluted with manufactured tripe and cover songs sung by contestants having their 15 minutes. It is not a singing competition, it is a vacuous manipulation led by moronic judges and contestants who prefer to choose money and quick fame over substance. No great music has or ever will be created by this show and the sooner its demise comes along the better.

    Basically, it will annoy Simon Cowell 110% if you buy this book. What better reason is there not to buy it?!

    Just a final message to Steve – Stay true to yourself. You won.
  • Jerome Corby
    4.0 out of 5 stars Very interetsing story indeed. This man has a lot ...
    Reviewed in the United States on 23 April 2015
    Very interesting story indeed. This man has a lot to tell, and it's especially meaningful if you have experienced the X-Factor TV show. An interesting read, which allows you to make up your own mind about it and about Steve Brookstein.
  • Joe Leonard
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Triumph!
    Reviewed in the United States on 28 December 2014
    To read of the injustices that Steve has endured, and meanwhile maintain his integrity, his musicality and his deep sense of family is indeed a major triumph. I have known Steve's wife Eileen, her late Father, Alastair and Mum since the late 80's, and I've had the pleasure of meeting Steve, too. I found this book to be a confirmation that "Good really does triumph over evil". A truly inspirational read.
  • 5.0 out of 5 stars His Story Needed To Be Told.
    Reviewed in the United States on 25 February 2015
    Steve's book is reflective and interesting. The behind-the-scenes activities for reality TV and the personas which dominate the production will amaze you.
👁 Getting Over the X