An Uncut Book of the Year 2021’Wild, exhilarating and very funny’ Sunday Times’A must-read for pop culture fans’ Evening Standard Best Non-fiction 2021’Beautifully deadpan’ The Times, Books of the Year 2021Methods of parenting and education have progressed in recent years, especially compared to some of the more casually experimental routes inflicted on children of artistic professionals in the 70s and 80s. One experience that would take some beating is that endured by Baxter Dury. When punk rock star Ian Dury disappeared to make films in the late 80s, he left his teenage son in the care of his roadie, in a rundown flat in Hammersmith.

But this was no ordinary roadie; this was the Sulphate Strangler. The Strangler, having taken a lot of LSD in the 60s, was prone to depression, anger and hallucinations. He was also, as the name suggests, a drug dealer.

What could possibl