Over the Moon - Couverture rigide

'You get a few - very few - moments in your life when suddenly something happens and you know
immediately that things will never be the same again. I had such an epiphany. I was thirteen on an undercover schoolboy mission to explore Soho, when we heard some killer music coming out of a club. What I found in there altered everything I felt and knew about myself, and about my future. It rearranged my very DNA.

The band playing on stage completely blew me away. The atmosphere and energy were just incredible. I would never have thought it possible, but suddenly I couldn't care less about the West Ham youth team or becoming a footballer.

This was rhythm blues as it should be played: rich and strong and loud and powerful. It seemed to touch my very soul. I wanted to be a part of it. Yes - the drums. They were the foundation, the rock for this thrilling, explosive racket. That was my future settled, then: I was going to be a blues drummer...'

Well, that's how it all started. But the future held crazy, unimaginable fame and undreamt of adventure for David Essex. From Godspell to EastEnders, it's been an amazing life. And here is the full, incredible story - in his own words.

As a young schoolboy, David Essex dreamed of becoming a professional footballer, and was signed up by his beloved West Ham United, but as a teenager he developed a passion for music which set him on a very different path, and ultimately led to superstardom.

It wasn't, however, an easy start. Scraping a living on the edges of show business was a hard slog, and he endured many disappointments. Then aged 23, he went along to an audition for a new musical called Godspell and won the role of Jesus that was to shoot him to fame. Within a year he was starring in the smash hit film, That'll Be the Day, and had written and recorded his first number one single 'Rock On'.

It was the start of Essex Mania, and a long journey of undreamt of adventure. From Godspell to EastEnders it's been an amazing life. And here is David's full incredible story – in his own words.