For most of the 1980s, Parsons struggled to make a living as a freelance writer. His career started to recover in 1990 when he wrote "Bare", an authorised biography of pop star George Michael. Despite the absence of a written contract with the singer, proceeds from the book were split equally between the two men. However, they fell out in 1999 after an interview Michael had given to Parsons was published in the "Daily Mirror". In the 1990s, Parsons became a regular on the live BBC panel show "Late Review". He also made a series of authored documentaries for Channel 4. When Piers Morgan became editor of the "Daily Mirror", Parsons was poached from "The Daily Telegraph" as a columnist.