With a foreword by Carl Fogarty
Joey Dunlop's story is one of towering triumphs and desperate tragedies in almost equal measure.
Born poor - dirt poor - with no running water, no electricity, he was the definition of the everyman hero, earning the title 'King of the Roads' in what must be considered one of the world's most extreme sports - motorcycle road racing. And as well as being voted Northern Ireland's greatest ever sportsman, he remains the most loved and most successful road racer of all time.
Joey Dunlop won the hearts and minds of millions during his thirty-one-year career, culminating in his greatest triumph in the year 2000 at the Isle of Man TT when, grey-haired, bespectacled, and approaching fifty years of age, he reclaimed his reputation as the greatest TT rider in history by defeating a whole new generation of talent and regaining the F1 crown for the first time in twelve years.
But in road racing, tragedy is never very far away. Joey lost his life in a racing accident in July of 2000. It was just weeks after his final TT victory. More than 60,000 people attended Joey's funeral. Over twenty years after his untimely death, the sport has never truly recovered from his loss.
Everyone with an interest in motorcycling knows the legend of Joey Dunlop but now, for the first time, they can get to know the man himself. This definitive new biography is the most comprehensive ever written on the man. In turns hilarious, triumphant and tragic, this is Dunlop's story as it has never been told before - by those who were part of it. Stuart Barker, born in Galloway, Scotland, graduated from Strathclyde University in 1996 and began working as a motorcycle journalist for Motor Cycle News. Freelance since 2001, he has written for most of the major motorcycling titles and was editor of the Isle of Man TT programme for eight years. He has written eight books including a bestselling biography of Barry Sheene and a biography of Evel Knievel which is set to be made into a major Hollywood movie. Other works include biographies of Valentino Rossi, Niall Mackenzie, Steve Hislop and David Jefferies and a history of the TT races. He lives in Kettering, Northamptonshire. A new, definitive biography of road racing's most iconic figure, with new contributions from friends, family, team mates and never before told stories. There has been no book on Dunlop since the rushed and badly-drawn biographies published shortly after his death in 2000. Hard to overstate his legendary status within the sport, and Irish sporting folklore. 50,000 mourners followed his funeral procession in Ulster after he died, and you're hard-pushed to find a pub without his photo above the bar somewhere. The edition of Motor Cycle News following his death was the only time MCN have ever had to reprint an edition. 45,000 people descend on the Isle of Man each year for the TT. It is an event with a dedicated, passionate and financially committed base who live and breathe bikes, road racing and the TT legends. We will publish a TPB in Ireland next Christmas to coincide with our hardback, and the paperback edition will follow on for Father's Day and the Isle of Man TT in 2022 - which will be even more eagerly anticipated since the 2021 TT has just been cancelled. There is a rich field of comps for TT/road racing titles, including That Near Death Thing (2012; 30k copies HB/PB), Road Racer by Michael Dunlop (2017; 18k HB), and Just Joey (2001; 23k HB/PB) Comes with a foreword by bestselling author and racer Carl Fogarty, who was a major part of the Joey Dunlop story.
