Born in 1957 in Deptford, south London, Danny's first job after dropping out of school at the age of 15 was in One Stop Records, a small record shop in London's West End, frequented by Elton John and Mick Jagger, a store rather like the one in High Fidelity. His career in print journalism began in 1976 when he co-founded the fanzine Sniffin' Glue leading to an offer from the New Musical Express, where his first job was as a receptionist. Soon after, Baker was contributing regular astute articles, reviews and later interviews to the publication. Danny then began making 30-minute documentaries at LWT for the cult series 20th Century Box, and appeared in two television commercials: Daz washing powder and Mars bar chocolate.

This book charts Danny's showbiz career, the highs and lows, and everything in between, including the accusation that he killed Bob Marley...

To be released at the York monthly Bookcrossing meetup.

Since no-one seems to want to read this, I thought I'd take it home with the intention of giving it a go myself sometime...

This was very entertaining! Not the most profound read perhaps, but it was engaging and fairly zipped along. It took a little while to adapt to the fact that Danny Baker's words appear on the page very much in Danny Baker's speaking voice - but, after a while, I adjusted and it was like having him jabbering away in my ear, just as he does on the radio.

It was, I feel, a book of two halves - the first half very much full of vivid stories from his early years, the second half rather more full of celebrity encounters. Now, whilst I realise this is what his life became in his early twenties (and whilst many of the encounters make for very interesting reading), it does rather succumb to an overdose of name-dropping - and I found myself yearning for rather more 'life content' (as we had in the first half).

Despite all this, I can still heartily recommend it to anyone who likes Danny Baker. It's a very easy read - and repays you generously in entertainment value. I'm not sure what those unfamiliar with Danny Baker would make of it though!

Finally, I would recommending reading this BEFORE watching the TV adaptation 'Cradle To The Grave'. That show only really scrapes the surface of what appeals so much about the 'growing up' section of this book - and, whilst it is a fun 'add-on' to this book, it is not a substitute for it. In fact, its tone is not really the same at all (it's more like a retro-Inbetweeners) and it would be a shame for some of the strong characterisation in the book (esp. , say, of Baker's father) to be overwritten, in the reader's mind, by the lack of subtlety (almost caricature) of the TV series. Watch the TV series *after* the book - and you'll be fine.

Enjoy!

I'm planning to release it again at next Tuesday evening's BC Meetup - being held at The Brigantes in York from 7pm onwards...

releasing, as promised...