When it comes to dream jobs, Top Gear presenter James May's takes some beating. From a man's perspective, at least.
 When he's not testing out the latest Ferraris, BMWs and Porsches on Top Gear, May can be found touring vineyards with wine expert Oz Clarke, reminiscing about the toys of yesteryear or, most recently, examining the inexorable advance of technology in James May's 20th Century, a BBC2 series he made in conjunction with the Open University.
As with any 21st century TV show worth its salt, there's an accompanying book, which has brought May to Waterstone's in Birmingham for a lunchtime signing. "I've always been quite happy in Birmingham, you get good curry," says May. "Jeremy [Clarkson] does have a bit of a thing about Birmingham, though; the thing about Brummies is, compared to say Mancunians and Glaswegians, they don't tend to travel as much; Brummies tend to be in Birmingham, whereas if you're down in London and you walk into the pub you can quite easily find a load of Scots or a load of Mancunians telling you how brilliant Manchester is - but Brummies don't do that, they
don't go around going on about how wonderful Birmingham is, they're quite happy to be Brummie, which is nice."
Despite the phenomenal popularity of Top Gear (a recent show pulled in eight million viewers), May seems genuinely puzzled why there's such a huge queue outside Waterstone's waiting to meet him - a good hour before he's due to appear. "Why are they are all here now?" he asks. "Why don't they just turn up at 12.30?"
May is every bit as pleasant and unassuming as he appears on TV; while we prepare for the interview, he sips at his tea and idly flicks through the pages of burlesque artist Dita Von Teese's latest tome, the subject of another recent signing at the store. "Madonna did [a book like this] with pictures of herself - but I don't think anyone wants to look at a book with pictures of me abusing myself," he says dryly. "I'm better off with old aeroplanes..."
Planes, trains, automobiles, biology, space travel - it's all covered (and more) in the book - the latest from the Top Gear team, following Richard Hammond's autobiography and Jeremy Clarkson's continual stream of writings: "Hammond's and Clarkson's are both bestsellers, mine isn't really is it... it's a 'good seller'," he says modestly. "I've written a book that I would like to read - Hammond's book is very personable and it's a good yarn, I can imagine that would have a bigger audience. "I've read his book; I don't think he's read mine yet, so you're right, I will give him a copy." When CityLiving interviewed Richard Hammond a few years ago, he described Top Gear's ideas meetings as 'three men sitting in a portakabin eating pork pies'. May doesn't disagree: "Yeah, it is a bit like that, though Jeremy doesn't eat pork pies because he likes to pretend he doesn't eat," James reveals. "He's a bit like a girl in that respect: 'oh, I don't eat'... but he's such a fat git he must be eating at some point, he's just pretending he doesn't. Have you seen the size of his gut recently? Bloody disgusting." May - or Captain Slow to give him his Top Gear nickname - is the self-confessed geek of the trio; as interested in the workings and science of a car as what it actually feels like to drive. "I'm quite anal, if that's what you mean; the other two are always having a go at me about being pedantic, but I just like things being done thoroughly and they don't," he observes. "Jeremy just hits everything with a hammer and Hammond crashes - so comparatively yes, I am pretty pedantic." May's own TV series - which examined 'the big ideas' of the last century - took the 44-year-old across the globe on a Boy's Own research trip, experiencing everything from having his brain photographed to experiencing take-off from the co-pilot seat of the RAF's latest supersonic fighter, the Typhoon - and driving Jamiroquai singer Jay Kay's own replica Lunar Rover. And he gets paid for it: "Yeah, I tend to forget it's supposed to be work - usually when I'm with Oz, drinking quite a bit," he laughs. "I don't have any complaints, it's a good way to make a living... I'm now going to say, as of course I have to, that it can be quite hard and very gruelling and there's a lot of work in a book like that - but I'm still pretty happy, considering I thought I'd end up working in a bank. "As a child I couldn't imagine what else you did - either working in a bank or a factory; I quite like factories though, but I don't like banks, I find them extremely boring. "Some bits [of 20th Century], like cars, motorcycles and aeroplanes I know tons about anyway because I'm a bore so I could recite that pretty much off my head, I just had to double check all my dates and things," says James. "Other bits like the biology stuff and the history of radio I had to do a lot of learning but I'd done quite a lot for the show and Phil (Dolling, co-author of the book) did a lot of research in the background and he'd say 'did you know this, that and the other' and sometimes I could say 'yes of course I knew that Phil', but then sometimes I'd have to say 'well no, actually I didn't.' "The idea of the series was to get people interested so that they then might go and do a more specific Open University course - it's very broad and very fast paced," James adds. "I think they're pretty keen to shake off the idea of the OU being this thing that did programmes about aluminium ore at five o'clock in the morning; it's not like that any more." When he's not getting excited about engines, gear ratios and torques, James's other new passion is wine - thanks to the two series of Oz and James's Big Wine Adventure, in which May has teamed up with Oz Clarke to tour the vineyards of France and California, hopefully learning the finer points of the beauty and complexities of the grape. "Yeah, I'm a bit worried what Oz has done to me," May smiles. "I always set out thinking being a wine connoisseur is all very well and it's perfectly harmless - but what most people are confused about like me is what you simply buy that is reliable and doesn't cost the earth, and doesn't involve going to a specialist or knowing the vintage. "The sad fact is the expensive wines are more exciting than the cheap ones - Oz has subtly revealed that to me," says James. "He's like an old bloke who hangs round outside schools, handing out sweets out to kids; before you know it you're hooked - and then it's crack."
TOP GEAR'S TOP TEN
James May's finest motoring moments... so far
* US fly-drive special The trio set off across the Southern States heading for New Orleans - angry rednecks and dead cows along the way
* Polar special May and Clarkson become the first ever people to reach the North Pole by car... and beat Hammond and his dogsled team in the process * London race Another classic TG challenge; the team - Clarkson (boat), Hammond (bicycle), May (car) and The Stig (public transport) race across the capital to see which form of transport is the quickest. Hammond wins - and May comes last - effectively promoting the bike and, as Clarkson comments, ruining the programme... * Reliant Robin into space Yes, you read it correctly; James and Richard (with a little help from some boffins) attempt to launch a rocket-powered Robin (complete with detachable boosters)... and it almost works * Rally car v bobsleigh Hammond (bobsleigh run) races May and Henning Solberg (rally car on icy road) along routes of the same length... bobsleigh wins * Renault Clio v mountain bike James takes to the windy streets of Lisbon and attempts to beat mountain biker Gee Atherton on the descent... the bike wins * Mini ski jump Another from the TG classic Winter Olympic Special, which involved various stunts and challenges - the highlight of which was taking a rocket-powered Mini down the Olympic ski jump at Lillehammer. * Bugatti Veyron race One of the best ever Top Gear challenges; Clarkson (in the Veyron) races from Italy to England, while May and Hammond take to the skies * Taxi driver To test out the Ford Focus C-Max and Renault Scenic, Hammond and May spend the night as minicab drivers in South London * Channel crossing The intrepid team take their amphibious vehicles to sea - but it's only Clarkson's that (somehow) makes it to France...
James May's 20th Century by James May and Phil Dolling is published by Hodder and Stoughton.
| 
