The Damed United author David Peace on fame, film and Huddersfield Town beating Leeds United

Nov 26 2009 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

West Yorkshire author David Peace visits Huddersfield University

CONTROVERSIAL novelist and Huddersfield Town fan David Peace is back home.

The Ossett-born author of the acclaimed Red Riding trilogy and the film, The Damned United, is back in Yorkshire after spending the last 15 years living in Japan.

He spoke to an audience of fans and students at the University of Huddersfield about his writing and read from his novel GB84, a story about the bitter 1984 miners’ strike.

Now having written about the Yorkshire Ripper, the miners’ strike and Leeds United, he is now set to tackle another controversial local topic, the fall of Harold Wilson’s government.

Speaking to The Examiner, Peace said he was happy to be living in Dewsbury and was looking forward to writing about Huddersfield’s most famous son.

It was reported last month that MI5 had held a permanent file on Harold Wilson and had been monitoring him for his KGB links and Peace said he thought there had definitely been moves to undermine the Milnsbridge-born leader and would cover the topic in the new novel.

He said: “I’ve been researching it for years but I haven’t started the writing of it.

“I’m now finishing the third of my Tokyo books and after that it’ll be the next book.

“It’s not only about him but is largely about Harold Wilson.”

Peace also revealed GB84 could be the latest of his books to adapted for TV.

He said: “Channel 4 have commissioned a script, whether it progresses beyond a script depends on them, but there’s definitely a possibility.

“When GB84 was originally published I don’t think there was very much interest in the book, particularly in London.

“I think now there’s more interest in it because we are now in a recession and there are now strikes.

“Not only the book, but the strike itself seems more relevant.”

Twenty-five years on from the bitter dispute he said it was important that people understood what went on.