Tim Quinn was born in Liverpool in 1953, the very same year Beryl the Peril first appeared in The Topper. Coincidence? We think not! It was little wonder Tim chose a life in entertainment. This is his story.
"ARGH!!" was the first word Tim Quinn uttered on arrival on this planet back in 1953. The way things are going he believes it is likely to be the last word he utters too. He certainly manages to cram a lot in between birth and death. As he explains, "Life is all downhill after the age of....two." While still in his crib, the world of comic books enters his life as his elder brother's copy of the 'Beano' causes a house fire leaving tiny Tim trapped in a smoke-filled room. Even earlier than that we hear how he was born striped due to his mother's wartime diet of powdered eggs causing her to nickname him 'Tiger Tim' after her favourite comic book character. Education under the iron fist of the Irish Christian Brothers leaves Quinn with a diploma for playing truant. They insist on him entering either the banking or holy clerical professions. Instead, at age sixteen, he runs away to become a clown in Blackpool Tower Circus. And so begins a life in what he describes as the world of synchronicity. "I always seemed to meet the right people at exactly the right time." One job leads to another as we follow Tim's hilarious life of ups and downs across the multiverse of circus, theatre, BBC television, comic books, newspapers, magazines, books, documentaries and music. Celebrities abound round every corner from Beatles to Stan Lee, and the Pope to Hugh Hefner. Fully illustrated with Tim's own personal behind-the-scenes photos and memorabilia.
“Titanic Tim!...Stan Lee Tim Quinn is good for vibes!...Brian May Genius!...Gyles Brandreth I'll work with them again one day: fabulous people with an enviably generous outlook on life. Steve Harley of Cockney Rebel on MQM In twenty years as a teacher (nearly eight as a Head) I can't recall a visiting artist (musical, dramatic or anything) who has had such a positive impact on the children and the school as a whole. Daniel Hains - Headteacher - St. John's CE Primary School, Southport”
Gyles Brandreth: "Genius!";Stan Lee: "Titanic Tim!"; Brian May: "Tim Quinn is good for vibes!"; Evelyn Cowie: "This guy is the berries!"
Tim Quinn was born in Liverpool in 1953, the very same year Beryl the Peril first appeared in The Topper. Coincidence? We think not! Educated by Irish Christian Brothers whose prospectus boasted, 'We will instill a fear of God into your child', it was little wonder Tim chose a life in entertainment.Starting his career as a clown at Blackpool Tower Circus he then leapt back in time to work on BBC TV's Good Old Days music hall series where he started writing scripts for top comedians. It was a small jump into the world of comic books where he spent many happy years as scriptwriter, illustrator and editor on such noted titles as The Beano, The Dandy, Sparky, The Topper, Buster, Whoopee!, Bunty, Jackie, Dr Who Magazine, and Whizzer & Chips before heading Stateside to work for the mighty Marvel Comics Group on the world famous Spider-Man, X-Men and the Incredible Hulk.Tim has also worked as a writer for the Guardian newspaper, editor for America's oldest publication The Saturday Evening Post and producer for LWT's The South Bank Show (amongst others producing a show on the history of Marvel Comics!).Today he is on a lecture tour of the UK discussing the humour and nostalgia of comics, runs a management company for recording artists, conducts workshops on cartooning and literacy, creates way too many charitable projects, and dreams of the day he will be bitten by a radioactive giraffe so that he can finally take over the universe.
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