visit our website thisisnorthdevon.co.uk NDJ-E01-S3 The Journal Thursday January 17, 2013 3

FridayJournal2 Weekend Guide

Temptedby an Acefrontman APPLEDORE Book Festival is

running a series of filmsthroughout the year, startingon Friday (January 18), 8pmwith The Best Exotic MarigoldHotel at St Mary’s Hall, Apple-dore. Entry: £4.50. Tickets:Docton Gallery on 01237 424949and on the door. Drinks will beserved at the bar from 7pm.

Festival getsexotic

GIGS

LEGENDARY Sheffield-bornsinger, songwriter and formerfrontman of Ace, Squeeze andMike and The Mechanics, PaulCarrack returns to Plymouth

Pavilions on Friday (January18).

With a back catalogue of hitsincluding How Long, Temptedand The Living Years, Paul’smarvellously soulful voice isknown to millions around theworld and he is undoubtedly akey figure in British poph i s t o r y.

Tickets: £37.50 or £27.50(subject to a booking fee). Boxoffice: 0845 1461460 or visitw w w. p ly m o u t h p av i l i o n s. c o mfor print at home.

F

Why a visit toDevon canterrify aformer drugsmuggler

OR those who arenot already fa-miliar with hisstory, HowardMarks came fromsur prisingly

Charlotte Gay chats to the mandescribed by The Daily Mail as“the most sophisticated drugsbaron of all time”.

humble beginnings in thesmall Welsh mining town ofKenfig Hill. After moving toOxford to study nuclearphysics it seemed as if he hadhis life set out for him as asuccessful teacher. And,although he may have dabbledin some teaching since, hisillustrious career definitelytook a turn for the less noble.He is heading to Exeter onFriday to tell you all about it.

On Friday Marks presentsAn Audience With Mr Nice atthe Corn Exchange where hewill divulge how he was onceselling more than 30 tons ofmarijuana in single consign-ments before being sentencedto a 25 year sentence in

prison. After serving sevenyears, Marks was released andbegan to tour and tell his storyafter the success of his 1997bestselling book Mr Nice – thename of one of his 43 differenta l i a s e s.

Despite being infamouslyB r i t a i n’s most famous drugsmuggler, ever so modestMarks describes the show: “Itbegins with a short introduct-ory video about my life becauseI am not arrogant enough tothink that everyone thereknows who the hell I am andthen it is just me talking sh**for a couple of hours.”

Unsurprisingly, Marks wasone of the most wanted men inthe United Kingdom, so there isstill a watchful eye on him.

“I don’t even bother lookingfor them anymore because itd o e s n’t really matter.

“Sometimes they are at thegigs; there are sometimes all

sorts of odd members liket h at . ”

Despite appearing nonchal-ant, Marks admits that gettingon stage to perform in front ofhundreds of people actuallyterrifies him, even though hehas now been on stages acrossthe country hundreds of time.

“I still seriously suffer fromstage fright every time I go on,even though it doesn’t sound asserious, I’m just risking look-ing like a t*** in front of a hallof people instead of a life inprison.

“But I still get frightened andthat automatically kicks in theadrenalin, that’s where I getmy adrenalin these days.”

It’s not the first time Howardhas visited the Corn Exchange,back by popular demand, in2010 he took to the stage priorto his biopic film Mr Nicewhere actor and friend RhysIfans portrays the role of

Howard Marks depicting hislife on screen.

It was a privilege to have agood friend representing himon the big screen: “It was veryunusual from that point ofview. I mean there is no rulebook about how to playsomeone in a film when it issomeone you know very well. Ithink if they ever made a filmabout Rhys then I would be the

best person to play him.”Now, as he also writes crime

fiction, one wonders whetherhe is living out his previous lifein his trilogy of stories ondrugs and police corruption.Yet Howard insists he tried todistance himself.

“I was trying to avoid that, sot h at ’s why I wrote it from thepoint of view of the exact op-posite of me – a female un-

“I am not arrogantenough to think that

everyone there knowswho the hell I am”

dercover cop. It’s a bit of a chessgame between the author andthe reader really and if thereader guesses before the endthe author has lost.”● Howard Marks presents AnAudience With Mr Nice at theCorn Exchange in Exeter onFriday, January 18, 7.15pm.Tickets: £15. Box office: 01392665938 or visit www.seetickets.com

FOR free listing call 01271347428 by noon on Monday.

FRIDAY 18Roughnecks, The Palladium,Bideford.Iguana Sunset, The Clinton Arms,Frithelstock, 9pm, 01805 623279.Mojo Rex, The Devilstone Inn,Shebbear, 8pm, 01409 281655.Sarah Devonshire, The RoyalHotel, Woolacombe, 8.30pm.Sons of Gods, The Olive Branch,

Barnstaple, sonsofgods.co.ukRockers WiFi, Marisco,Woolacombe, 01271 870960.Open Mic Night, The Grampus,Lee, nr Ilfracombe, 01271 862906.DJ JK, Quigleys Custom House,Fat Freddy’s Bar, Bideford, 9pm.Free Style Friday, Marisco,Woolacombe, 11pm, 01271870960.Karaoke, First In Last Out,Bideford, 8pm, 01237 474863.Live Music, Royal George,Appledore, 01237 474335.