"Much more than the story of one of the greatest, most chaotic scoops of them all - a glorious, unabashed evocation of a world that is gone"
- Brough Scott.
Colin Mackenzie
Just 31 when he delivered the finest scoop of his career, Colin Mackenzie had already interviewed some of the world's most important and fascinating figures.
Pressing My Luck by Colin Mackenzie
About the book
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Just 31 when he delivered the finest scoop of his career, Colin Mackenzie had already interviewed some of the world's most important and fascinating figures. He had grilled Margaret Thatcher, Richard Nixon, President Nicoleau Ceausescu, actors Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor, The Led Zeppelin band and many more.
His location of Ronnie Biggs and his lotus eating existence in far off Rio de Janeiro was recently nominated as one of the ten best scoops of the 20th century by the UK Press Gazette, Fleet Street's trade magazine. This one story elevated the Daily Express circulation above the critical four million mark in 1974. In the pre digital world described in detail in this fascinating account, this was no easy accomplishment.
Mackenzie lovingly recreates a clubbable Fleet Street which, sadly, no longer exists as newspapers, battling for survival in a computerised world, have moved offices to the outer boroughs of London. "The Street of Shame" as Private Eye characterised the newspaper world of the Sixties and Seventies, is no more. Today politicians, top sports stars and celebrities employ teams of public relations and protection employees to ward off the attention of journalists. In 1964 Mackenzie got through to former Prime Minister Harold MacMillan with one phone call.
Throughout his career Mackenzie entertained a love of the Sport of Kings, owning small shares in racehorses that challenged his financial resources and yet provided adrenalin pumping excitement. In 1985 he was invited to be founder reporter on the Racing Post, a new racing daily. From there he rejoined the Daily Mail to become, after 20 years, the doyen of racing correspondents. In this role he rubbed shoulders with the Queen, the Queen Mother, Princess Anne, The Aga Khan and Sir Alex Ferguson.
This riveting memoir uncovers the many other great stories that Mackenzie delivered to his employers and to his readers. Some are hilarious, some are shocking and some just amazing.
Colin Mackenzie on BBC’s The One show.
MEDIA REVIEWS
"Mackenzie's memoirs are up there with the best, not least because they are well written in an easy style and well edited (not always a given) and, always a bonus, the book is not just about racing.Sub-titled The Memoir of a Fleet Street veteran, if nothing else Mackenzie's book should be part of a syllabus for would-be journalists, sport or otherwise." Marcus Armytage, The Daily Telegraph.
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"Colin is a fantastic journalist who got fantastic stories. His book is a real page turner. His Fallon story (following the Old Bailey trial in 2007) was an amazing piece of work which Colin is very modest about." David Yates, The Daily Mirror.
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"Fleet Street legend Colin Mackenzie, the reporter who found Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs, has written a very entertaining memoir about his life in journalism. Fascinating and funny, with some great stories. Highly Recommend." Piers Morgan, Good Morning Britain.
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"As a former inky-fingered hack, I'm greatly enjoying Pressing My Luck, Memoir of a Fleet Street veteran. The book, out now, is by legendary journlist Colin Mackenzie, who tracked down Ronnie Biggs in a story voted one of the top ten of all time. It is jam-packed with colourful anecdotes conjuring up an exciting, sweaty Fleet Street that sadly no longer exists. For years, Colin, a lover of horse racing, rubbed shoulders with the Queen and the Queen Mother and got to know them in a way most never could, and it's a fascinating insight." Lorraine Kelly, The Sun.
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"Colin Mackenzie used Lockdown very productively to pen his entertaining memoir Pressing My Luck. Colin's recall of events is quite extraordinary even when unearthing a titbit about Prince Charle's O-level results. There are plenty of juicy tales from the turf from a well-conncted man. Well worth considering as a gift for the racing man," Mike Cattermole, sportinglife.com.
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"Looks like it's going to be a long, dfark Covid winter so plenty of time for reading. Just finished Colin Mackenzie's terrific memoir Pressing My Luck, a great read about life and exclusives in the glory days of Fleet Street, both racing and non-racing," Cornelius Lysaght, BBC Radio Five Live racing correspondent.
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"Fleet Street veteran Colin Mackenzie has written a riveting memoir of his 44 years in journalism, covering everything from interviewing Margaret Thatcher, Elizabeth Taylor and former US President Richard Nixon, to when he was a racing correspondent, rubbing shoulders with The Queen and the Queen Mother" Emily Horan, Hello Magazine.
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"I warmly recommend this book to you all!" Olly Smith, TV presenter and host of the Media Lunch Club.
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"All things considered, it was one hell of a scoop, voted one of the ten greatest Fleet Street exclusives ever - as Colin Mackenzie shyly reminds us a couple of times in this rollicking, rumbunctious memoir. The whole saga - and many like it - is joyously told in this engaging portrait of a pre-digital, now vanished, Fleet Street. Journalists' memoirs are rarely War and Peace, but this is a tremendous story of a life enjoyed, a race well run, often hilarious, always engaging" Roger Alton, Daily Mail.