The Prettiest Star

Whatever happened to Brett Smiley?

Nina Antonia

Autobiography/memoir

“What could be an inconsequential tale of glam aspiration is redeemed by Antonia’s excellent prose and shrewd grasp of the substance of ephemeral pop illusion.” The Guardian

Fourteen and forlorn, Nina Antonia escaped the torment of her teens with dreams of Marc Bolan and the New York Dolls. They ruled supreme in her glam rock universe - until the night she saw Brett Smiley on the Russell Harty TV Show.

Appearing to reside in very different worlds, Nina and Brett shared the same wish - some kind of transformation through music. The youngest child ever to play 'Oliver' on Broadway, Brett seemed poised for stardom, and as the Seventies went into orbit, he found himself the protégée of Rolling Stones' Svengali Andrew Loog Oldham.

Coming to terms with her damaged childhood, Nina began writing about the lives of her teen idols, resulting in a friendship with former New York Doll, Johnny Thunders. Eventually she learned of Brett's fall from the high life and his crash landing on the boulevard of broken dreams.

“A spectacular tale of broken dreams and redemption.” Observer Music Monthly

“A cleverly written tale of two parallel lives, Nina Antonia is warm, compelling and extraordinarily candid…” Classic Rock 8/10