The Bluster Boy

An incredible selection from 30 years of writing paired with archive photographs give an insight into Davey’s life and career.

The Bluster Boy is a patchwork of tales, told by a legend in the indie music scene.  Davey weaves images, poems and anecdotes together with commentary, to bring you the story of his life so far.  Filled with tragedy, addiction, loss and ultimately, hope; his is a life lived at the extremes.  From life on the edge of fame with bands The Crocketts and the The Crimea; working as a nurse, volunteering in one of the most dangerous places in the world; to poetry and a return to music - all the while coping with devastating mental health issue, eating disorders and drug addiction. Take the journey through Davey's life, as he tells it - be prepared for heartbreak, and life-altering lows; but also see the beauty of recovery, hope and an unfaltering spirit.

About the author:

Former singer in The Crocketts & The Crimea and writer (as Kernel Krok) of Unamazing Disgraces (2000, Shiny Beast). Davey MacManus writes songs and poems which touch the grittier parts of your soul.  Raucously bursting into prominence from 1996 to 2001 with energetic indie rockers The Crocketts, Davey’s lyrics drove the band’s off-mainstream, attitude charged, unconventional spirited demeanor. Rising from the ashes, The Crimea were born out of the demise of The Crocketts with Davey still leading the charge. More mature and more thoughtful, but never more conventional.  The Crimea went on to supporting shows with; Snow Patrol, Modest Mouse, Regina Spektor, Billy Corgan, Kings of Leon, Travis, Primal Scream, Stereophonics and Ash.

Davey left the world of professional music in 2013 to train as a nurse and threw himself into working with victims of abuse in Diepsloot, South Africa, working in an orphanage for victims in an area dubbed by Louis Theroux as “the most dangerous place in the world”. Davey worked despite serious and imminent threats, to help some of the most neglected people in the world.