Going on the Turn: Being the Extraordinary Stories of My Life and Dodging Death’s Door

by Danny Baker

In this book my father dies. I almost die.*** My showbiz career winds down. And yet everyone keeps telling me it's the funniest book I've ever written. If I'd known that's what the public wanted, I'd have cancelled Pets Win Prizes and just got sick sooner.

Along the way this time we encounter, among others, David Bowie, Kanye West (I think), John Cleese, Peter O'Toole, and have several adventures in the Fourth Dimension. Oh, and I can reveal the Man With The Foulest Mouth In All Show Business . Plus assorted high-kicking hoopla and a whole lot of rather stark stuff about what it's like to be told you could be On The Way Out .

*** (SPOILER I don't actually die.)

Genres: Nonfiction, Autobiography, Biography, Humor

272 pages, Paperback

Published December 4, 2018

About the author

This profile is for the comedian, screenwriter and radio presenter. For the mental-health writer see Danny^^Baker and for all others see Danny^^^Baker.

Reviews

[Nigeyb · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Going On The Turn' is the third volume of Danny Baker's memoir and follows the first, 'Going to Sea in a Sieve: The Autobiography' and the second instalment 'Going Off Alarming'.

This volume continues the tradition of excellence, wit and extreme readability. His love of P.G. Wodehouse informs his style, which is obviously a very good thing. Danny Baker is a great story teller and someone with many great stories to tell. I am very biased in favour of Mr Baker. I am frequently amazed to discover that not everyone shares my enthusiasm. What's not to love?

The story of how Dan got the 45 rpm singles back, which he'd thrown into a skip in a moment of madness, is worth the price of admission alone. As is his somewhat awkward encounter with David Bowie, who rendered him mute and clueless. A very rare occurrence for our Dan.

It's not all amusing anecdotes and improbable stories this time. 'Going On The Turn' covers Danny's cancer and subsequent treatment. It's extremely harrowing. He had cancer of the neck and head which meant some of the most gruelling treatment imaginable.

Spoiler alert: he makes a full recovery. Which is incredible and needless to say he is unstinting in his praise for the NHS and the remarkable people who made it happen.

If he writes a fourth book, I'm there like a shot.

4/5

[Alan Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a friend to whom nothing ordinary has ever happened. His life seems to be full of spur of the moment, sometimes ill-advised, decisions that lead to situations which, at least as he tells them, reduce the listener to tears of laughter. His gift is that he tells these stories in great detail and, despite meandering from one situation to the next, seemingly unconnected, he eventually gets back to the original point and always with a killer punchline. Danny Baker shares this gift.

‘Going on the Turn’ is the third volume of Danny Baker’s autobiography and essentially takes his story from the mid-nineties until late 2012, with many flashbacks. Like in the previous volumes, Baker discusses the absurd and coincidental as his stories crash into each other as it hurtles along at a frantic, and extremely entertaining, pace. The book contains some of his funniest tales - throwing his records in a skip; meeting David Bowie; NOT meeting David Bowie; NOT smoking cannabis - and also the harrowing, honest description of his cancer treatment in 2012. But even the latter is full of wit and humour as is the chapter about his father’s death.

If you like Danny Baker, and I do, then the only thing better than reading his latest memoir is to listen to him read it in the audiobook version. And then go straight to his vitriolic, chaotic and triumphant final show for BBC Radio London following his sacking by homogenising pen-pushers (It’s still on youtube).

[Ross Cumming · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third instalment of Danny Baker's memoirs and it's possibly the best of the lot so far. It's told in Danny's usual inimitable style and is both extremely funny and also very poignant as Danny regales us with stories of his times on tv, most notably on TFI Friday, his radio show on BBC London and his eventual 'sacking' from said show and also of the death of his father. Notably he also details his fight against cancer of the neck and head, the treatments and procedures of which sound harrowing but which are told with stoicism and also a fair sprinkling of Danny's unique humour.
Danny's style of writing is as follows - he starts off telling a story and then digresses to include another story, in which he digresses again to interject another anecdote, to then finish off the digression before then returning to the end of the original story !!!
It's also filled with anecdotes on a host of rock stars, tv stars and celebrities, the most shocking being that Hughie Green was the most foul mouthed person that Danny had ever met. Danny also mentions the television shows ( The Flower Pot Men, Andy Pandy, Lost in Space etc.) and music (Punk Rock, Emerson Lake and Palmer and Steely Dan) that he enjoyed and I can totally relate to these being of a similar maturity.
Is there anything left in the tank for a fourth book ? I suspect that there are still plenty of tales left in the Baker memory and we also have to hear about his experiences on 'I'm a Celebrity .......'

[Stargazer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Someone had added this to my library bookpile and as it mentioned him meeting bowie i thought i'd read it for that but was surprised to be moved to tears (his dad's defence of his daughter wind-ups) and actual laughing out loud, will read the preceding 2.

[Ro · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fabulous read. Funny, emotional and joyful. I loved it.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

The third volume of Danny Baker's autobiography is as much of a rip-roaring read as the previous two, with more laugh-out-loud tales from the ludicrous world of showbiz.

This time we get the TFI years and the wild adventures (thanks to a big budget) that Danny, Chris Evans and crew got up to during the heady years of Britpop and "Cool Britannia" (what a distant age that seems to be now). From an impromptu trip to New York to track down John Cleese to finally getting to meet his hero David Bowie and, for probably the only time in his life, being tongue-tied!

Baker is a great raconteur and he intersperses things with brilliantly funny stories from his past. Baker has been bulletproof up to now, but this volume has the shadow of mortality about it, with the death of his larger-than-life father. It also has to, of course, address his battle with cancer.

Baker goes into detail about the ravages of the illness, the treatment, the utter tedium of the battle. But it is always tempered with Baker's patented outlook on life - namely the ability to step back and think "What do you look like, Baker?". It's that acknowledgement of the absurdities of life that runs through all three volumes, and yes, Baker has been lucky. Indeed he's landed on his feet more times than a cat. That he survived relatively unscathed is a minor miracle.

The final part of the book tells of his poor treatment by Radio London, who canned his show with no warning after he'd won awards and helped save local radio. He won't forgive or forget.

So, another great read, from one of the great writer/broadcasters of the modern era (even if he does admit to making it all up as he goes along!).

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third instalment in Danny's trilogy of books and it focuses on the years between 1997-2017 (approximately). It differs from the previous two books because the central arc of the book is the death of Danny's Father and Danny's battle with cancer. The previous books were light-hearted and tended to focus on funny anecdotes whereas this one has a more sombre tone. That's not to say it's not as good, it is just different to the previous two books, although there are a few funny anecdotes thrown in to this one too.

As with the other two books it is well written, it's like listening to an old friend talking about their life, it is engaging and interesting to read. I know in one of his previous books Danny chose not to write about the death of his Brother as he felt he wasn't good at writing about sombre themes, this third book proved this to be incorrect, he is an excellent comedic writer but he writes of his Father's death and his own cancer battle with sensitivity and feeling.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has read Danny's previous books, but any of the trilogy could be read independently or in any order because Danny always outlines who each person in his story is so it is easy to follow without the back story. I hope he writes another one as I have enjoyed all three of his autobiographical books.

[Andy Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

This, the third volume of Danny Baker’s memoirs, is as brilliant as the first two. Going on the Turn is also the book in which Baker describes his cancer diagnosis, illness and subsequent recovery. He does so in a way which leaves you marvelling at his way with words, his humanity, his support for the NHS and his humour.

I’ve long thought that Danny Baker was a genius as well as being a great bloke and this book confirms it. ‘On the Turn’ covers his halcyon days working on TFI Friday and he regales the reader with tales of the ‘preparation’ for the show and the amazing guests who at one time were queuing up to appear on the Chris Evans-fronted Friday evening staple.

The book also includes Baker’s father’s death and his description of it is as moving as anything you will ever read. That Baker has lead an interesting and varied life is beyond doubt, but despite all the famous people he has rubbed shoulders with, Baker always manages to retain the perspective of a fan, the ordinary Joe thrust into the spotlight. This is a brilliant and life affirming read and it certainly made me warm to the man even more than I already have.

A must-read.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have now read all of Danny's instalments of his autobiography and have enjoyed them all immensely. They have been insightful and at times, laugh out loud funny, but I must admit that this book was pretty harrowing in places, especially when Danny was relaying, with brutal honesty and in explicit detail his fight with cancer. Although the recollections were not without Dan’s usual ‘Bakerisims’ and buoyancy banter, it was a personal insight that will stay with me for a long time. There were occasions when I had to just put the book down for a few moments to catch my breath and thank whoever, that I haven’t had to suffer such as traumatic illness. We all know what a bastard cancer is, and Danny’s encounter with it, proved it. Thankfully, he fought and won and continues to entertain and I shall really miss my time with him immersed in these wonderful terrific trio of books and hope that there may be a fourth in the not too distant future . Danny will be the first to pull one up on clichés, but these three books did really make me laugh and cry. Highly recommended.

[Matzen Sen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another highly entertaining instalment in the story of Danny Baker's life. Not quite as enjoyable and humorous as the middle volume - probably due to less Spud-related material, which Danny himself admits was one of the most popular aspects of the first two volumes - but still packed full of enjoyable anecdotes, largely focusing on his time working with Chris Evans on TFI Friday and at BBC London radio. There's also an extensive discussion of his battle with cancer, which gets quite protracted and harrowing. Overall, you're left with an impression of a man who's had an extremely long and eventful career and life, but has remained utterly and impressively upbeat throughout, and has enjoyed his life to the absolute maximum. And as with the first two volumes, for me the most enjoyable and valuable aspect is the recreation of classic working-class London accents, turns of phrase and modes of speech, which are fast becoming lost as the typical London accent changes in line with its demographics.

[Nikki Copleston]

I loved Danny Baker's earlier memoirs, and this third volume didn't disappoint. Funny and honest as the first two, this instalment inevitably couldn't shy away from the more harrowing times following his cancer diagnosis. Brutally frank about the treatment, but miraculously retaining his sense of humour - at least when writing about it - Baker doesn't pull any punches in detailing the effects of first chemotherapy and then, more destructively, radiotherapy on his body.

He may be the friend of stars, the partner in crime of Danny Kelly and Chris Evans, but he's also Everyman, never far removed from his South London working class roots, with his dad, Spud, always looking over his shoulder. Thoroughly enjoyable, especially if you've read Going to Sea in a Sieve, and Going on the Turn. Recommended.

[Donald · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's strange, in person (on tv/radio), I cannot stand this man, but his three volume memoir is one of the best things I've ever read, and the first spawned a hilarious comedy series with Peter Kaye as his dad, 'Spud'.
This volume, inevitably, deals with his recent cancer diagnosis and recovery, but there are a good few comedy rambles, and asides before we get there. I love that this is dealt with briskly, no sugar coating, just the facts of his diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. There's a bare minimum of comedy quips in this bit, but neither are there clichés or mawkish, false self discovery and all God/Heaven nonsense is conspicuous by it's absence. He readily admits that once fully recovered, he's still the same guy, where a takeaway taking ages is 'the end of the world'.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent instalment of DB's autobiography. I usually can't be bothered with him on the media, but he writes in a much less frantic, more thoughtful style, editing out the drivel. This is especially true when he recounts the treatment and effects of the cancer he endured which pulls no punches until, pretty much literally, that's what he does. After another gruelling chapter of his struggles he decides he's written enough about it and that his reader has read enough. Good judgement, because it is pretty intense and graphic up until that point. It's also pretty gripping and gives the book a depth that it might otherwise miss.
In summary, this is an immersing and entertaining book, same as the previous two in the series. If he writes a fourth, I'll be reading it for sure.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny, just like the first two instalments. I love his writing style, his outlook on life and the pace of the book never flags. Just left me wanting more. He does seem quite accident prone. Spoiler alert: the incident with the comb and the stitches, that had me wincing and chortling in equal measure. Oh my, sets my teeth on edge just thinking about it. A very honest and matter of fact description of his cancer and the treatment too and a different attitude to it from what we often hear. I like his style. Somehow I know I too would be reaching for the glass of wine a bit too soon and getting a bit carried away on my first trip out after recovery. But I could never describe it like Danny. Hope he goes on in good health for many many years. And keeps writing.

[Andy Regan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories are fantastic, regardless of whether largely accurate or hugely embellished. The escape from Charleroi in the middle of the night post-England match with chum Danny Kelly is particularly entertaining, as are the "foul-mouthed Hughie Green" memories. The account of the diagnosis, treatment and overcoming of cancer is thoughtful and moving.

However the book over all lacks the wow factor of the previous volumes, perhaps as there is little sense of the ongoing journey through his career. Or maybe being at the top in the entertainment world is less striking than the climb to that particular summit.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third of Danny Baker's autobiographical books. Loved it - I'd been lucky enough to get a ticket for his tour before I started this book and it was a brilliant night (he wasn't touring this book, that's for the future).

This volume almost had me bursting out laughing on several occasions - he does say the funniest things,but then it would get darker while he was dealing with his illness. Glad he beat it.

He doesn't broadcast on any stations that I listen to, I think I'm going to have to check out the BBC Radio5 iPlayer, at least while I wait for the next TV series of the previous book

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first three-quarters of this book would easily place it in the top ten best funnybooks there have ever been – which means that when Danny pulls the rug from under us with a harrowing, unsparing in its detail, account of his cancer treatment that the effect is all the more powerful.

I'm so glad that, thanks in no small part to that venerable British institution, the NHS – now more under threat than at any time in its history (and no thanks to that other institution, the BBC, parts of which have done their best to remove him from the airwaves) – Danny is still with us to tell his story.

[Jo Weston · Rating 4 out of 5]

As crazy and sparky and outspoken as ever, you are left in doubt of DB's views on any given subject/person/organisation!

Add into his mad lifestyle a serious brush with cancer, related in eye wateringly squeamish detail, this again makes for a rollercoaster ride.

He's not modest, but he's strangely humble with it and he's also brutally honest and it shines through in spades. And he always comes back fighting.

I've loved the whole trilogy and I'm not even that big a fan of his shows, but I am now a fan of his.

[Dave Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The latest in Danny’s trilogy about life so far. Less interesting and funny than the earlier books. However it is transformed in the chapters which relate his cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment. I have never read anything which describes it with such depth. I couldn’t read it at night as I was too upset by it’s candour. After multiple close family encounters with cancer I now appreciate how absolutely shitty treatment can be. More power to Danny’s elbow in not shying away from the truth. Powerful.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I galloped through this as I so enjoy Danny's energetic writing styles, and love his entertaining stories. This third volume of autobiography contains the graphic description of the chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment he underwent to combat his head cancer. Traumatic for him and distressing to read. Best not to read this section just before lights out as I did. Some justified rage at the end too as he was sacked from his Radio London show without notice. I wish him well.

[Ipswichblade · Rating 5 out of 5]

The third in Danny Baker's autobiography and certainly the most harrowing with a full blown account of his battle and it was a battle with cancer. He describes his treatment really graphically and also the aftermath.
The rest of the book is the story of TFI Friday and his radio shows as well as further funny stories of his mum and especially Spid his dad

[Trevor Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rollicking good hellzapopin read, full of fun and tall but true tales in the third chapter of Danny’s amazing life. Not all lightness though, the death of his dad, Spud, is very poignant and moving. Danny’s battle against cancer is gruesome but riveting, you really feel your there. Can’t recommend it highly enough.

[Mat Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

You’d think a tale that includes the death of a parent and a serious cancer episode might not be the most compelling read but, again, Baker proves himself a reliable and fascinating narrator in this third of his autobiographies. Rich with anecdote, jokes and self-deprecation this is essential for anyone who likes the earlier volumes.

[Garry Middleton · Rating 5 out of 5]

E X C E L L E N T

Another brilliant read from Danny Baker. Not one single word in this book is wasted. A hard read at times as he describes his cancer treatment, but an excellent read nonetheless.
I highly recommend this, and the other books he has written. An outstanding book about an outstanding man. That is all.

[Jacqui B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danny Baker has a wonderful style… easy to read and full of laughs. Still maintaining humour whilst facing the ravages of cancer treatment makes this book quite amazing. It’s not for the faint hearted. His descriptions are graphic and traumatic, but all the more heartbreaking because of it.

Loved it.

[Mark Beech · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this might be the best of the trilogy so far. It was absolutely hilarious and horrifying in equal measures. I cannot imagine the pain that he went through having treatment for cancer of the head. Disappointed that we have now caught up to the present.

[Donna Boultwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve loved Danny’s three books. I found this one really emotional, admittedly with tough material about his health to share, it wasn’t going to be the usual jokes, but it was still an exceptional read.

[Paul Hodgson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic.

It's a long time when I've read a book where I've had to keep apologising for laughing so hard. There are emotional parts which are put in such a way you can't help but smile. Well worth it

[George · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Danny Baker, part 3 of Danny’s autobiography is as funny & engaging as the previous two. The chapter about Spud is wonderful & his illness is dealt with trademark forthrightness.

If you don’t like Danny Baker, then why read a five star review of his book?

[Ray Daley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danny's 3rd biog, the difficult one. Covers his diagnosis & treatment for cancer.

Not an easy read by any means but just as good as the previous 2 books.