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Going to Sea in a Sieve
Danny Baker was born in Deptford, South East London in June 1957, and from an early age was involved in magazine journalism, with the founding of fanzine Sniffin' Glue alongside friend Mark Perry. From there he moved to documentary series for LWT and over the years worked on a variety of quiz shows (Win, Lose or Draw, Pets Win Prizes, TV Heroes), as well two television commercials which made him a household name—Daz and Mars Bars. With a number of guest appearences on comedy shows such as Have I Got News For You, Shooting Stars, and Room 101, Danny has also presented on BBC Radio since 1989. Most recently he presents a weekday show on BBC London 94.9 and a weekly show on BBC Radio 5 Live. This book charts Danny's showbiz career, the highs and lows, and everything in between, including the accusation that he killed Bob Marley.
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First published October 1, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 230 reviews
July 5, 2017
Danny Baker is a great story teller and someone with many great stories to tell. The first thing to confess is that 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? One of the most consummate radio presenters and raconteurs I've ever come across. Needless to say 'Going to Sea in a Sieve' the first memoir (of hopefully many more), which takes us from his birth in the last 1950s to the very early 1980s, is - to use a Bakerism - a pip and a dandy. The book is very similar to listening to Danny talk - quick, chatty, witty, and compelling.
The book is crammed full of great anecdotes: passing himself off as David Essex's brother; pretending to be gay; being saved from a murderous mob of Brummie punks by Kevin Rowland; touring with Darts and Ian Dury (curiously Darts were the more hard living group); working in one of the West End's hippest record shops; being given a shirt by Marc Bolan only to see it ruined by his Mum in the wash; doing the last proper interview with Michael Jackson and spotting the telltale signs of, ahem, extreme eccentricity.
The stories are great but also what makes it such a rollicking good read is all the period detail: attending his first Millwall match with his Dad; a glorious visit to a holiday camp; a failed potato heist that put him off serious crime for life; bottling out of a romantic liaison with one of his school teachers; and so on. There is so much to enjoy and I find it hard to imagine that most people wouldn't devour it - and certainly it should appeal to anyone with a love of music, the seventies, London, the NME, and other associated cultural landmarks.
The book is crammed full of great anecdotes: passing himself off as David Essex's brother; pretending to be gay; being saved from a murderous mob of Brummie punks by Kevin Rowland; touring with Darts and Ian Dury (curiously Darts were the more hard living group); working in one of the West End's hippest record shops; being given a shirt by Marc Bolan only to see it ruined by his Mum in the wash; doing the last proper interview with Michael Jackson and spotting the telltale signs of, ahem, extreme eccentricity.
The stories are great but also what makes it such a rollicking good read is all the period detail: attending his first Millwall match with his Dad; a glorious visit to a holiday camp; a failed potato heist that put him off serious crime for life; bottling out of a romantic liaison with one of his school teachers; and so on. There is so much to enjoy and I find it hard to imagine that most people wouldn't devour it - and certainly it should appeal to anyone with a love of music, the seventies, London, the NME, and other associated cultural landmarks.
December 28, 2014
It took me more than two decades to realise that Danny Baker isn't a chattering imbecile but is in fact a genius. This revelation came through spending an hour a day listening to the gloriously surreal inventiveness of his BBC London radio show.
Despite being co-founder of the legendary punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue and a major writer at New Musical Express in the late 70s and 80s, where conformity to 'correct' opinions was almost Maoist in its intensity, this is a man who has never denied his love for unhip, old music (such as Steely Dan and Anthony Newley) and who was almost lynched when, aged 20, he leapt on stage to berate a punk audience that was cheering at the news that Elvis had just died. More recently he's been railing against the tyranny of 'cool'.
This covers the first 25 years of his life, and what a fascinating life it is. His father was a docker who supplemented his income - as they all did - by taking a cut of Britain's flagging export trade. Baker sold knocked-off records to the Petticoat Lane traders and left school at 15, despite being top of the class, to work in a hip record shop in Soho, where he met all the stars but chucked Queen out for demanding that the shop play their debut album, which he and the manager hated.
Baker's story isn't a tale of triumph in the face of hardship: it's a story of of a happy, trauma-free, working-class upbringing; staying just the right side of poverty by keeping just the wrong side of the law; being happy by spending every penny as it comes; and succeeding by cheek, talent, wit, blarney and outrageous good fortune.
His warmth and utter lack of pretention keeps the book charming, while his comic talent keeps it fun and sometimes hilarious, never more so than in his record-shop days or his japes as receptionist at the NME. He even apologises for calling Kate Bush Chicken Licken.
My only complaint is that, having never given Nick Kent's testicles a moment's thought, I now have an image of them in my mind that can never be erased.
Despite being co-founder of the legendary punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue and a major writer at New Musical Express in the late 70s and 80s, where conformity to 'correct' opinions was almost Maoist in its intensity, this is a man who has never denied his love for unhip, old music (such as Steely Dan and Anthony Newley) and who was almost lynched when, aged 20, he leapt on stage to berate a punk audience that was cheering at the news that Elvis had just died. More recently he's been railing against the tyranny of 'cool'.
This covers the first 25 years of his life, and what a fascinating life it is. His father was a docker who supplemented his income - as they all did - by taking a cut of Britain's flagging export trade. Baker sold knocked-off records to the Petticoat Lane traders and left school at 15, despite being top of the class, to work in a hip record shop in Soho, where he met all the stars but chucked Queen out for demanding that the shop play their debut album, which he and the manager hated.
Baker's story isn't a tale of triumph in the face of hardship: it's a story of of a happy, trauma-free, working-class upbringing; staying just the right side of poverty by keeping just the wrong side of the law; being happy by spending every penny as it comes; and succeeding by cheek, talent, wit, blarney and outrageous good fortune.
His warmth and utter lack of pretention keeps the book charming, while his comic talent keeps it fun and sometimes hilarious, never more so than in his record-shop days or his japes as receptionist at the NME. He even apologises for calling Kate Bush Chicken Licken.
My only complaint is that, having never given Nick Kent's testicles a moment's thought, I now have an image of them in my mind that can never be erased.
January 26, 2016
This book was flippin' hilarious! Seriously, I had no idea Danny Baker has had such an interesting life and has acomplished so much in the field of entertainment. In the World of Claire, he's only ever been famous for:
1) The Daz advert
2) Going on massive benders with Chris Evans and Gazza in the nineties
And that's about it.
I had no idea he used to work for the NME (in the eighties, he conducted the last interview that Michael Jackson gave for fifteen years) or LWT (Saturday night staple when I was a kid), or any of the other things he's done.
This book starts off in his childhood and takes you through his schooldays, his first jobs and how he eventually broke into journalism and then TV. It's written in South Londonese and if you know what Danny Baker sounds like, you can absolutely hear him speak as you read. In fact, if you've never heard or heard of Danny Baker, listen to his Radio Five show on BBC iPlayer before you start - your reading experience will be improved if you do.
I'd totally recommend this book, even if you've never heard of him: such an interesting read.
1) The Daz advert
2) Going on massive benders with Chris Evans and Gazza in the nineties
And that's about it.
I had no idea he used to work for the NME (in the eighties, he conducted the last interview that Michael Jackson gave for fifteen years) or LWT (Saturday night staple when I was a kid), or any of the other things he's done.
This book starts off in his childhood and takes you through his schooldays, his first jobs and how he eventually broke into journalism and then TV. It's written in South Londonese and if you know what Danny Baker sounds like, you can absolutely hear him speak as you read. In fact, if you've never heard or heard of Danny Baker, listen to his Radio Five show on BBC iPlayer before you start - your reading experience will be improved if you do.
I'd totally recommend this book, even if you've never heard of him: such an interesting read.
January 21, 2019
I didn’t realise Danny Baker had had such an interesting life. Full of funny stories from growing up in a rough London estate, through his teenage years to partying with rock stars.
November 19, 2024
Danny Baker is a name I haven’t come across in many a moon, but I’m sure my limited exposure to his TV/radio work back in the day was mostly a positive one, and if memory serves me correctly he seemed to have a chirpy, buoyant default air about him, which tended to make him worthwhile listening to, but it appears he is no storyteller.
I picked this up thinking it would maybe along the lines of someone like Stuart Maconie, Tony Parsons or Danny Kelly, but ended up getting a veritable cringefest crammed with thin, rambling series of tabloid nuggets. Absolute rubbish from a dull, boasting bore who never tired of listing his alleged qualities and achievements.
Worryingly this is only "Vol 1", he likes to go on about how well he did with the ladies and how comfortable he always was around them and yet he shares the bizarrely dark story of how he paraded around London in the early 70s lying to women about being the brother of David Essex, and describes one elaborate scam he pulled off, to create the illusion that he was taking his then girlfriend to the premier of a movie Essex starred in?...What is clearly an anecdote to make him sound like a loveable rogue has him sounding like the subject of a dark documentary you’d find on the BBC or a podcast.
His dad, who he speaks glowingly of sounds like a tyrannical, overbearing bully and yet he attempts to portray and reframe these dark characteristics as an affable, loveable rogue, which I just couldn’t see?...At one point he uses the phrase “about thirty close friends”…Perhaps he has misunderstood the meaning of the word “friend”?...To be fair he does make a really good point about the re-writing of history around punk and how the media have cynically retrospectively recreated a mythology around it, which simply didn’t exist at the time.
If I was a better or smarter man I would have thrown this out after two or three chapters, but unfortunately I’m a flawed, stubborn clown and persisted in reading this to its dull, bland bitter end. Learn from my mistake and be the better person and don’t even pick it up in the first place. Absolute rubbish.
I picked this up thinking it would maybe along the lines of someone like Stuart Maconie, Tony Parsons or Danny Kelly, but ended up getting a veritable cringefest crammed with thin, rambling series of tabloid nuggets. Absolute rubbish from a dull, boasting bore who never tired of listing his alleged qualities and achievements.
Worryingly this is only "Vol 1", he likes to go on about how well he did with the ladies and how comfortable he always was around them and yet he shares the bizarrely dark story of how he paraded around London in the early 70s lying to women about being the brother of David Essex, and describes one elaborate scam he pulled off, to create the illusion that he was taking his then girlfriend to the premier of a movie Essex starred in?...What is clearly an anecdote to make him sound like a loveable rogue has him sounding like the subject of a dark documentary you’d find on the BBC or a podcast.
His dad, who he speaks glowingly of sounds like a tyrannical, overbearing bully and yet he attempts to portray and reframe these dark characteristics as an affable, loveable rogue, which I just couldn’t see?...At one point he uses the phrase “about thirty close friends”…Perhaps he has misunderstood the meaning of the word “friend”?...To be fair he does make a really good point about the re-writing of history around punk and how the media have cynically retrospectively recreated a mythology around it, which simply didn’t exist at the time.
If I was a better or smarter man I would have thrown this out after two or three chapters, but unfortunately I’m a flawed, stubborn clown and persisted in reading this to its dull, bland bitter end. Learn from my mistake and be the better person and don’t even pick it up in the first place. Absolute rubbish.
December 30, 2012
This is a rollicking good read. If you have had no previous exposure to the constantly inventive master of lightweight banter then you are in for a treat. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to catch his radio shows will find many of his funniest anecdotes here. I first came across him on Radio 5's 606 football phone-in during the 1980's and was, and still am enormously cheered by his ability to find nuggets of gold in the seemingly mundane experiences of football fans. The atmosphere of his radio programmes (4th form common room) reminds me of the old days of Test Match Special and I have always thought that he was a natural successor to Brian Johnson - happiest when an entire session of cricket has been washed out and there are 3 hours of airtime to fill. Somehow his radio genius and the world he creates doesn't seem suited to TV (like Terry Wogan) and Podcasts of his current show have been known to leave me laughing so much that I have to stop running.
The book contains his trademark double takes of pure joy and he is completely aware that he is living a life that anyone of around our age (50+) could only look upon with tremendous envy, especially as he is irritatingly enormously talented, witty and generous. The real heroes of the tale so far are his parents, in particular the exploits of his father would be worth a biography of their own.
The book contains his trademark double takes of pure joy and he is completely aware that he is living a life that anyone of around our age (50+) could only look upon with tremendous envy, especially as he is irritatingly enormously talented, witty and generous. The real heroes of the tale so far are his parents, in particular the exploits of his father would be worth a biography of their own.
November 18, 2012
If you have ever listened to a Danny Baker radio show, you'll be used to his style - fast, chatty, always witty, and seemingly effortless on his part. The first instalment of his memoirs reads in exactly the same way.
He's helped in that he's got such an interesting background - he's one of those people to whom interesting things just seem to happen all the time, and as a result, this book is a great read from start to finish.
I wonder if there is another broadcaster working today with as fantastic a collection of anecdotes as he has. There are certainly plenty here - successfully passing himself of as David Essex's brother, being rescued from an angry mob of Brummie punks by Kevin Rowland, touring with as diverse a range of bands as Ian Dury, Earth Wind and Fire and, err, Darts, working in a record shop frequented by pretty much every interesting person of the late 70s, being given Marc Bolan's shirt (later ruined in traumatic washing machine incident), and being possibly the first journalist to realise the true extent of Michael Jackson's nuttiness are just a handful of them.
Highly recommended, am already looking forward to the next instalment.
He's helped in that he's got such an interesting background - he's one of those people to whom interesting things just seem to happen all the time, and as a result, this book is a great read from start to finish.
I wonder if there is another broadcaster working today with as fantastic a collection of anecdotes as he has. There are certainly plenty here - successfully passing himself of as David Essex's brother, being rescued from an angry mob of Brummie punks by Kevin Rowland, touring with as diverse a range of bands as Ian Dury, Earth Wind and Fire and, err, Darts, working in a record shop frequented by pretty much every interesting person of the late 70s, being given Marc Bolan's shirt (later ruined in traumatic washing machine incident), and being possibly the first journalist to realise the true extent of Michael Jackson's nuttiness are just a handful of them.
Highly recommended, am already looking forward to the next instalment.
July 5, 2017
I can't believe I read the whole thing! I've enjoyed his radio shows since I was a kid, and some of the stories and gags here are good fun, but way too much of this book is all about gleeful lies to women (the story about pretending to be David Essex's brother honestly took years off my life expectancy alone) and a cringy collection of careless and smug sexual encounters (as well as a - literally - abandoned marriage). It's painful to read for that reason and it totally ruins it for me.
December 28, 2012
I thought the Rod Stewart autobiography was pretty good, easy-going and written with a joie de vivre and chatty style that drew you closer to the person and the life being recalled. Danny Baker, however, comes along and shows Rod how it’s really done. Frankly, I could never really be bothered with Danny Baker on the TV or radio, but the good reviews of this book attracted me to it. He always struck me as some sort of wannabee Cockney wide-boy who probably in reality spent most of his youth in his bedroom absorbing Seventies trivia about pop music and football. I was unaware of his career as a journalist for the NME, or his early days in TV, and thought he’d come to fame through knowing Chris Evans (another erstwhile Southern twat whose autobiography is supposed to be excellent and is sitting on my Kindle awaiting its day.) I was pleasantly surprised, therefore, to become immediately caught up in Danny’s tales of growing up in working-class London, and a large part of the book is devoted to his years at school and giving us the background to his world view. He develops the theme of loving life from the carefree standpoint of having a secure family and community background behind him, giving the impression that as long as he has loved ones around him the world can do its worst. But the world is kind in the early days to Baker and opens doors for him in an effortless way that makes you think it really could have happened to you, thereby painting over what is probably quite a steely personal streak of work ethic, ambition and drive within the man himself. Baker wants to come over as one of the lads who just happened to love life and it loved him back - and maybe there’s a healthy dose of truth in that.
The tone of the book and the reminisces are akin to one of a kid being let loose in a sweet shop, with a kind of “Cor blimey, can you believe it?” approach to things. This could be annoying but is actually quite endearing, and I laughed along with his tales of working in a record shop in Soho that brought him into contact with some pop icons of the Seventies, Queen, Elton John, Rod Stewart and so on. His following days at the NME continue the theme, recounting dalliances with The Sex Pistols, The Jam and Michael Jackson to name but a few, and he always seems to find something pretty interesting and original to say or tell about all of them. You can’t help but envy him, but in a likeable way unlike, say, Piers Morgan (whose book “The Insider” is also a belter, despite the fact that you still finish it thinking “What a tosser”.)
I look forward to the next installment of Danny Baker’s autobiography, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to all and sundry.
The tone of the book and the reminisces are akin to one of a kid being let loose in a sweet shop, with a kind of “Cor blimey, can you believe it?” approach to things. This could be annoying but is actually quite endearing, and I laughed along with his tales of working in a record shop in Soho that brought him into contact with some pop icons of the Seventies, Queen, Elton John, Rod Stewart and so on. His following days at the NME continue the theme, recounting dalliances with The Sex Pistols, The Jam and Michael Jackson to name but a few, and he always seems to find something pretty interesting and original to say or tell about all of them. You can’t help but envy him, but in a likeable way unlike, say, Piers Morgan (whose book “The Insider” is also a belter, despite the fact that you still finish it thinking “What a tosser”.)
I look forward to the next installment of Danny Baker’s autobiography, and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to all and sundry.
November 26, 2015
Fun reminiscences of Danny Baker's childhood and early adulthood in London, some very funny moments and bizarre characters. For a change Danny confesses he had a happy childhood, enjoyed school and liked his sport, no angst but fond memories.
April 21, 2024
This came out in 2012, and I had no real interest in reading it. I was happy with my knowledge of Danny Baker and didn’t feel the need to know more about him. I’m old enough to have been a teenage reader of his work in the NME; I didn’t see any of his telly work, but I’ve listened to him on the radio a lot, and I’ve heard him on podcasts like The Word.
But then a friend left this on the free table at work, hardback edition, and I picked it up. First of all: my eyes. Even sitting in the fairly bright (so-called) conservatory at home, I found it a struggle to read because I’m so spoiled by my backlit Kindle and its elastic font sizes.
But I managed. In two halves, actually. I read half of it before going away for Easter, and I finished it this weekend, as a way of distracting myself from hunger pangs.
It’s straightforwardly told, in Baker’s distinctive and easy style. He has the gift of the gab, and a great gift it is. He was always the funniest writer in the NME’s heyday, and his 1979 entry on the letters page under the name Samuel K Amphong is the stuff of legend.
Where is Beatles band? This band who have not been as of late clear of circumstance. Beatles Band! Can we no longer hear there medolious throng? John! Paul! All in Beatles Band come forth! What question have we to put? Now? Arguments neccessary can begin with whole results expected for any return. Ringo! Here in Thailand Beatles band experience is long loved and can be hurt away from John, Paul etc. Please give any news to Samuel K. Amphong of address similar to above. yours as in rock!
Samuel K Amphong, Thailand
I’m still not sure if I’ll get to volumes two and three of this autobiography, but I did enjoy this, mainly because it covers the period of my own formative years, including the NME’s glory days and the lightning fast coming and going of punk rock. While Baker started his writing career at punk ‘zine Sniffin’ Glue, he shares my disdain for the scene, which for him lost its shine on the night the news of Elvis’ death was greeted by punk rock cheers in some club.
Baker acknowledges that he has had a charmed life — though at the time of publication he was still employed by the BBC and yet to be fired (for once and for all?) for making the wrong joke to the wrong crowd about a royal birth. That happened in 2019, and I wonder in the five years since his encounter with the po-faced career cancellers has moderated his view. One hopes not, but it must have been harder to make a living, since.
But all that is a long way ahead in this volume, which takes you through his 60s Sarf London childhood, his charmed time as a teenager in a trendy record shop, the punk rock years, his various encounters with pop luminaries, and his early breakthrough on television. And there’s plenty here that had passed me by at the time. I hadn’t realised, for example, that he was one of the last people to ever interview Michael Jackson. His subsequent write-up for the NME gave the world the first hint of Jackson’s unhinged nature.
For younger readers, by the way, the book’s title comes from the poem “The Jumblies” by Edward Lear. It’s an apt metaphor for Danny Baker’s without-a-safety-net life.
But then a friend left this on the free table at work, hardback edition, and I picked it up. First of all: my eyes. Even sitting in the fairly bright (so-called) conservatory at home, I found it a struggle to read because I’m so spoiled by my backlit Kindle and its elastic font sizes.
But I managed. In two halves, actually. I read half of it before going away for Easter, and I finished it this weekend, as a way of distracting myself from hunger pangs.
It’s straightforwardly told, in Baker’s distinctive and easy style. He has the gift of the gab, and a great gift it is. He was always the funniest writer in the NME’s heyday, and his 1979 entry on the letters page under the name Samuel K Amphong is the stuff of legend.
Where is Beatles band? This band who have not been as of late clear of circumstance. Beatles Band! Can we no longer hear there medolious throng? John! Paul! All in Beatles Band come forth! What question have we to put? Now? Arguments neccessary can begin with whole results expected for any return. Ringo! Here in Thailand Beatles band experience is long loved and can be hurt away from John, Paul etc. Please give any news to Samuel K. Amphong of address similar to above. yours as in rock!
Samuel K Amphong, Thailand
I’m still not sure if I’ll get to volumes two and three of this autobiography, but I did enjoy this, mainly because it covers the period of my own formative years, including the NME’s glory days and the lightning fast coming and going of punk rock. While Baker started his writing career at punk ‘zine Sniffin’ Glue, he shares my disdain for the scene, which for him lost its shine on the night the news of Elvis’ death was greeted by punk rock cheers in some club.
Baker acknowledges that he has had a charmed life — though at the time of publication he was still employed by the BBC and yet to be fired (for once and for all?) for making the wrong joke to the wrong crowd about a royal birth. That happened in 2019, and I wonder in the five years since his encounter with the po-faced career cancellers has moderated his view. One hopes not, but it must have been harder to make a living, since.
But all that is a long way ahead in this volume, which takes you through his 60s Sarf London childhood, his charmed time as a teenager in a trendy record shop, the punk rock years, his various encounters with pop luminaries, and his early breakthrough on television. And there’s plenty here that had passed me by at the time. I hadn’t realised, for example, that he was one of the last people to ever interview Michael Jackson. His subsequent write-up for the NME gave the world the first hint of Jackson’s unhinged nature.
For younger readers, by the way, the book’s title comes from the poem “The Jumblies” by Edward Lear. It’s an apt metaphor for Danny Baker’s without-a-safety-net life.
December 15, 2021
I'm not usually a fan of auto/biographies/memoirs but Danny Baker kept me entertained pretty much throughout this book. In particular, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about his early years - & if, like me, you were a teenager in the 70s there's much to relate to (Oh how I smiled at the mention of Blue Oyster Cult's "Tyranny and Mutation").
As he left school & began to become involved in the music scene, he came into contact with many soon-to-be famous folk & to Baker's credit talking about this period didn't feel like just a name dropping exercise - & even more well known names crop up as he begins his working life as a music journalist. He has an exuberant personality that many may find annoying but his confidence & belief in himself has allowed him to take risks & live the life he wants, so fair play to him.
Baker certainly knows how to spin a good yarn & I'll be happy to read more by him.
As he left school & began to become involved in the music scene, he came into contact with many soon-to-be famous folk & to Baker's credit talking about this period didn't feel like just a name dropping exercise - & even more well known names crop up as he begins his working life as a music journalist. He has an exuberant personality that many may find annoying but his confidence & belief in himself has allowed him to take risks & live the life he wants, so fair play to him.
Baker certainly knows how to spin a good yarn & I'll be happy to read more by him.
July 3, 2020
Definitely 5 stars for this one. In fact if I could give it more I would! I actually gave a small wail when the music started at the end of the audiobook because I didn't realise that the book was finishing and I wanted it to go on.
Often after I've read a biography or autobiography I feel that I didn't really get to know the subject any better - yes I know more facts about them, but not what they are really like. That wasn't the case with the first part of Danny Baker's autobiography. What you see is what you get and I didn't feel he was being selective on how much of himself he revealed.
I'm trying to hang on before I dive into the next volume, but it may not be long.
Often after I've read a biography or autobiography I feel that I didn't really get to know the subject any better - yes I know more facts about them, but not what they are really like. That wasn't the case with the first part of Danny Baker's autobiography. What you see is what you get and I didn't feel he was being selective on how much of himself he revealed.
I'm trying to hang on before I dive into the next volume, but it may not be long.
July 7, 2017
Really good. Narrated superbly by Danny Baker. I loved the moments when he was recounting interactions with his dad, often making me laugh helplessly - best listened to at home! And probably best avoided if you are at all sensitive to earthy language - though used only ever in context (his dad was a docker in the East End of London). I want the next book now.
September 20, 2018
In short doses cheerful and occasional hilarious: especially any story connected with his dad.
Read for too long and he, in the manner of English radio folk of the youth culture generations, begins to pall and eventually become tedious.
So, read it in short doses!
Read for too long and he, in the manner of English radio folk of the youth culture generations, begins to pall and eventually become tedious.
So, read it in short doses!
April 26, 2015
While for some Danny Baker is a slightly annoying type who has made a career in UK broadcasting out of being a sort of professional semi-intelligent oik, for me he is a personal favourite, and a welcome and irreverent bastion of intelligent quippery, good musical taste, and most of all how to have complete fun with the British people who tune in to his (now) weekly radio show. Trading in a charming blend of amusing audience contributions with a cheeky repartee backed by a musical bed of cartoonish sound affects and mood music, his show appeals to a certain silly British sensibility equally at home with the likes of Spike Milligan )and all the Goons for that matter,) or a Ronnie Barker if you prefer. If nothing else, he is probably the best interviewer of musicians and singers going in the business on this side of the pond.
I was happily surveying street trees in Ealing a few years ago - happy chiefly because of Danny's then daily afternoon show on BBC Radio London coming through my earphones; it was the last day of his Halloween spooky specials - when to my horror, the listeners learnt straight from the horse's mouth that the BBC in their infinite wisdom had effectively sacked the man who single-handedly constituted the best thing about the whole station. Danny defiantly berated and humiliated the bigwigs responsible while delivering a faultless performance at the microphone for the ensuing two hours of his last show with that station.
The period covered in this first volume of his memoirs includes his lively and generally happy childhood in working class south London of the 1960s and '70s, as well as his working at one of London's pioneering independent record shops - where the likes of Elton John and Marc Bolan were regulars on first name terms. Then came his entree to the world of music journalism: a DIY punk fanzine leading to a job with the (then relevant) New Musical Express before his first forays into TV broadcasting. I will be on the lookout for his second volume, which covers his further career in television, before finding his best calling (my opinion) in radio and bringing the story up to date.
With his simple and immediate writing style he brings to life the atmosphere of life in 1970s England, and in particular the musical soundtrack to that era. Full of great stories and plenty of fun and laughs, this is a very entertaining read for all, and a must for any of his admirers.
I was happily surveying street trees in Ealing a few years ago - happy chiefly because of Danny's then daily afternoon show on BBC Radio London coming through my earphones; it was the last day of his Halloween spooky specials - when to my horror, the listeners learnt straight from the horse's mouth that the BBC in their infinite wisdom had effectively sacked the man who single-handedly constituted the best thing about the whole station. Danny defiantly berated and humiliated the bigwigs responsible while delivering a faultless performance at the microphone for the ensuing two hours of his last show with that station.
The period covered in this first volume of his memoirs includes his lively and generally happy childhood in working class south London of the 1960s and '70s, as well as his working at one of London's pioneering independent record shops - where the likes of Elton John and Marc Bolan were regulars on first name terms. Then came his entree to the world of music journalism: a DIY punk fanzine leading to a job with the (then relevant) New Musical Express before his first forays into TV broadcasting. I will be on the lookout for his second volume, which covers his further career in television, before finding his best calling (my opinion) in radio and bringing the story up to date.
With his simple and immediate writing style he brings to life the atmosphere of life in 1970s England, and in particular the musical soundtrack to that era. Full of great stories and plenty of fun and laughs, this is a very entertaining read for all, and a must for any of his admirers.
July 15, 2013
If you like your autobiographies to be honest in tone and full of banter than you could do far worse than to read this one by Danny Baker. Baker himself is a certified ‘chatter’ (or 'chatterer') and I’m sure he could talk for London/England/ UK in that order if this book is anything to go by. He quickly introduces himself in the book without any airs and graces and what you see is pretty much what you get with Baker – a self-made South London lad who has rolled with the punches in life and who started writing factual music and feature pieces for a plethora of British media in the late seventies almost by accident and without any prescribed career route in his head.
The pace of this autobiography is pretty much rapid fire and Baker hardly takes a moment in time to catch a breath. He paints his family on a canvas full of love and appreciates his working class heritage with a particular pride. His professional career was concocted almost by accident and chance as opposed to him struggling or striving for anything, or taking the academic route. Baker comes under category of being that rarer breed of stemming from the University of Life and hard knocks – he is naturally gifted and, again, is a person in ownership of an organic stream of on-tap banter.
After all my obvious reader-gush and admiration for the man, I would say the autobiography is an easy going read that still suffers with being too lengthy and expanded-upon in places. Although Baker is captivating and effervescent when it comes to recalling life experiences, he did, for me, go over the boil in spots – particularly with some of his re-telling of the punk years. It’s a fine line, I’m sure, for any writer to know where the exact saturation point is when telling a yarn and I’ve got to say that Baker passes it well over a couple of times for me. By the same token, he talks a lot about other stories being mentioned in the ‘next book’ and by hook or by crook I certainly think any future Baker tome will be more than worth a glance and read for his sheer original showmanship alone!
Baker is, in short, an unconventional and ‘un’-establishment British original and this book is recommend, interesting and seemingly-unfiltered reading in all, even if it is just a little ‘too’ over-blurted in places.
The pace of this autobiography is pretty much rapid fire and Baker hardly takes a moment in time to catch a breath. He paints his family on a canvas full of love and appreciates his working class heritage with a particular pride. His professional career was concocted almost by accident and chance as opposed to him struggling or striving for anything, or taking the academic route. Baker comes under category of being that rarer breed of stemming from the University of Life and hard knocks – he is naturally gifted and, again, is a person in ownership of an organic stream of on-tap banter.
After all my obvious reader-gush and admiration for the man, I would say the autobiography is an easy going read that still suffers with being too lengthy and expanded-upon in places. Although Baker is captivating and effervescent when it comes to recalling life experiences, he did, for me, go over the boil in spots – particularly with some of his re-telling of the punk years. It’s a fine line, I’m sure, for any writer to know where the exact saturation point is when telling a yarn and I’ve got to say that Baker passes it well over a couple of times for me. By the same token, he talks a lot about other stories being mentioned in the ‘next book’ and by hook or by crook I certainly think any future Baker tome will be more than worth a glance and read for his sheer original showmanship alone!
Baker is, in short, an unconventional and ‘un’-establishment British original and this book is recommend, interesting and seemingly-unfiltered reading in all, even if it is just a little ‘too’ over-blurted in places.
August 3, 2016
I'm a fan of Danny's radio 5 show on Saturday mornings and I really wanted to love this, but it left me feeling..just..annoyed. It started out well, it was a pleasant change to hear (I had it on audiobook) about a happy rumbunctious past with no regrets and some funny tales, but by about half way through I was so tired of hearing about how wonderful he finds himself that I nearly gave up. Maybe it's because I was listening to him tell me in his own voice how handsome, how lucky, how sporty he was, how very clever, how girls and gay men loved him, how he is a 'wonderful' drunk who never gets hangovers, ad nauseum that did it but it really rankled. What really annoyed me was the part when he started to talk about he loved to spend money and had spent millions on his fabulous life and felt sorry for bankers working for their bonuses and dropping dead of heart attacks (Ahem? Aren't they just trying to earn 'millions' so they can have a fabulous time as well?), as is he is somehow special for wanting to enjoy life and everyone else is some kind of staid sheep. I've gone right off him, and I didn't expect or want that. I don't even normally bother leaving reviews but this got my goat so much...!
January 19, 2015
Wonderfully engaging and entertaining autobiography. Being of a similar age to the author there were so many musical and cultural references that I could relate to that I found myself regularly thinking, 'Yes, I remember thinking/feeling like that'. He even unashamedly owns up to liking Tommy Steele's 'Little White Bull', which was the first record I ever badgered my parents into buying for me (Ike and Tina Turner's 'River Deep Mountain High, also referenced in the book as having a major impact on his young ears, was the first record I bought with my own money).
His conversational and witty style held my interest throughout and I read it with an almost constant smile and laughed out loud on more than one occasion.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in British musical culture of the 60s and 70s or to anyone interested in the fascinating story of someone to whom things just seem to happen told in a witty, chatty and engaging manner.
Oh, and this only takes us up to the age of 24. There's more to come in vol 2
His conversational and witty style held my interest throughout and I read it with an almost constant smile and laughed out loud on more than one occasion.
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in British musical culture of the 60s and 70s or to anyone interested in the fascinating story of someone to whom things just seem to happen told in a witty, chatty and engaging manner.
Oh, and this only takes us up to the age of 24. There's more to come in vol 2
September 3, 2013
Danny Baker is one of the funniest writers around. There's no rose tint, just honesty in his recount of growing up in South London in the 60s and 70s. The early days of punk were that mundane - this was what it was really like in Britain at that time. All chaos, not really having a plan and just getting on with life. And Mr Baker did, becoming a successful journalist and TV presenter, not without hiccup - but that's how you learn, from mistakes. Some of these stories are laugh out loud. There are some big name checks: Elton John, Queen, Michael Jackson to name a few of the people that cropped up in Baker's life. The fact that Danny Baker became a household name (at one point) seems to surprise him. The Boy done well. Great book.
June 11, 2016
So, it's never going to win an award but it was just the right bit of light relief I was after. I've a feeling Danny Baker used to live in my road in East London- or I used to think so, but that doesn't fit in with the chronology of this book. Never mind.
It was funny. I liked a bit of everyday/ music scene history (having recently read Viv Albertine) and, although it seems unfair as less likely to happen these days, I like that you can wangle yourself into all sorts of circles having had no prior advantage or connections- just being in the right place and having the knack.
I enjoyed recognising some of the scenarios from "cradle to grave". (Catch that series if you haven't already).
It was funny. I liked a bit of everyday/ music scene history (having recently read Viv Albertine) and, although it seems unfair as less likely to happen these days, I like that you can wangle yourself into all sorts of circles having had no prior advantage or connections- just being in the right place and having the knack.
I enjoyed recognising some of the scenarios from "cradle to grave". (Catch that series if you haven't already).
December 4, 2012
I think I could read or listen to Danny Baker recite the phone book or a shopping list. But I have deducted one star from my review. This is entirely sour grapes on my part as I still can't help but feel I was gypped out of winning that game of Chattleships on his BBC Five Live show against the resident scorekeeper and "referee", Gavin. Our foal has never been the same since. Boooo!
March 2, 2013
Danny Baker is not everyone's cup of tea. I still find it hard to warm to him as a broadcaster, however there is no denying that he is a wonderful raconteur. Some of the stories he tells in this opening book of his time on earth are highly amusing. He seems to have been at the centre of a superb time for music, while his family recollections are glorious throwbacks
June 11, 2015
A real marmite person Mr Danny Baker. You either love his rambling style or head for the off switch on radio! This is the first book of his memoirs and he recounts tales of meeting the Clash, how punk was overrated and interviewing Michael Jackson. An enjoyable read although if you're not a fan of him I doubt you'd be won over by this book ;-)
May 2, 2021
The sign of a good book is one that you cannot put down and finish very quickly. The sign of a terrible book is one where you skim the pages in search of something more interesting.
The luck of Danny Baker has run out nowadays following an unforgivable jibe at a royal couple. He is of my era, I wanted to see what we had in common. Turns out nothing but he did have a great dog.
The luck of Danny Baker has run out nowadays following an unforgivable jibe at a royal couple. He is of my era, I wanted to see what we had in common. Turns out nothing but he did have a great dog.
May 5, 2014
The most entertaining autobiography I've ever read. The stuff about music, particularly around the time of the emergence of punk rock and him working for the NME, was really interesting but the best stuff is in the stories about his dad. Can't wait for the second volume.
March 15, 2017
My goodness this was a fun rollercoaster of an audiobook. Despite his protestations to the contrary, I suspect that there is an element of poetic licence here, however, it's fast and furious and makes for a great listen.
December 30, 2014
Laugh out loud funny. I could hear Danny's voice telling me the stories. Great slice of the time and place.
December 19, 2017
just didn't enjoy this like i did his 3rd autobiography
March 17, 2021
This had been in my reading list for a while before I got round to reading it, I think it needs to be said that the man can tell a story, he has a great way with words, which is probably why he had a successful radio career for so many years. I toyed with giving this book 4 stars rather than 3 but there were too many small things that I couldn't overlook. The book is the first of three and follows Danny through the early years of his life up until around 1981, it covers his childhood growing up in post-war South-East London, his teenage years and discovery of music and working in a famous London record store which many famous faces frequented. It also includes Danny working firstly as a receptionist at the NME before becoming a writer and his early TV work and first attempts at Radio.
I loved the music sections, Danny's tales of working in the record shop and later at the NME were very interesting, I particularly liked that he has a refreshingly open outlook on music, often when someone has been a successful music critic, especially when working for magazines such as the NME like Danny did they are known for taking an arrogant pretentious approach to anything less than cool but thankfully Danny doesn't seem to have been affected by the magazines elitist approach as he wrote lovingly at many points throughout about bands that would have been sneered at by the NME journalists at the time.
Danny has some really interesting music anecdotes such as meeting Marc Bolan who gave him the t-shirt off his own back after Danny (unknown at the time) commented to Marc that he liked his shirt. I also enjoyed his tales of Mick Jagger and Elton John's separate visits to the record shop. It's nice to read stories of these now major stars in the real world and during all these Danny acted as many of us would in being awestruck and struggling to keep his cool, pretending to read a magazine whilst his manager chats with Marc Bolan.
However I really didn't like the anecdote about his school teacher and the radio, I found it really upsetting. Maybe I was being sensitive and to be fair to Danny he wasn't involved in the story at all but personally i'd have preferred it to have not been included as I don't see what the anecdote had to do with Danny's story. I skipped the story which immediately followed this one as Danny stated that one was even worse. There were also a few anecdotes which didn't sit right with me and made me feel uncomfortable such as Danny pretending to be David Essex's Brother in order to pull women and also when he would pretend to be unsure whether he was gay (when he knew he was definitely straight) in order to pull women. I know that it can be argued that we live in a different time now (these stories were from the 1970's) but they didn't sit right with me.
Several other reviews have noted about Danny's exuberant confidence in himself, on the whole I found it refreshing but there were times when it was grating. He has a confidence that is rarely seen or heard, at one point he writes that before he worked for the NME it had never occurred to him that people might not love him because everyone loved him. He writes about his childhood and that he was lucky enough to genuinely enjoy it and not suffer any hardships such as bullying. I do wonder if many of the reviewers who found his confidence a bit much struggled with it because as a nation we are generally encouraged to be self-effacing and play down our achievements so when someone does the exact opposite of that it can be hard to comprehend. Danny seems genuinely grateful and enthusiastic for the life he fell in to and the opportunities it has given him and I look forward to reading the next installment.
I loved the music sections, Danny's tales of working in the record shop and later at the NME were very interesting, I particularly liked that he has a refreshingly open outlook on music, often when someone has been a successful music critic, especially when working for magazines such as the NME like Danny did they are known for taking an arrogant pretentious approach to anything less than cool but thankfully Danny doesn't seem to have been affected by the magazines elitist approach as he wrote lovingly at many points throughout about bands that would have been sneered at by the NME journalists at the time.
Danny has some really interesting music anecdotes such as meeting Marc Bolan who gave him the t-shirt off his own back after Danny (unknown at the time) commented to Marc that he liked his shirt. I also enjoyed his tales of Mick Jagger and Elton John's separate visits to the record shop. It's nice to read stories of these now major stars in the real world and during all these Danny acted as many of us would in being awestruck and struggling to keep his cool, pretending to read a magazine whilst his manager chats with Marc Bolan.
However I really didn't like the anecdote about his school teacher and the radio, I found it really upsetting. Maybe I was being sensitive and to be fair to Danny he wasn't involved in the story at all but personally i'd have preferred it to have not been included as I don't see what the anecdote had to do with Danny's story. I skipped the story which immediately followed this one as Danny stated that one was even worse. There were also a few anecdotes which didn't sit right with me and made me feel uncomfortable such as Danny pretending to be David Essex's Brother in order to pull women and also when he would pretend to be unsure whether he was gay (when he knew he was definitely straight) in order to pull women. I know that it can be argued that we live in a different time now (these stories were from the 1970's) but they didn't sit right with me.
Several other reviews have noted about Danny's exuberant confidence in himself, on the whole I found it refreshing but there were times when it was grating. He has a confidence that is rarely seen or heard, at one point he writes that before he worked for the NME it had never occurred to him that people might not love him because everyone loved him. He writes about his childhood and that he was lucky enough to genuinely enjoy it and not suffer any hardships such as bullying. I do wonder if many of the reviewers who found his confidence a bit much struggled with it because as a nation we are generally encouraged to be self-effacing and play down our achievements so when someone does the exact opposite of that it can be hard to comprehend. Danny seems genuinely grateful and enthusiastic for the life he fell in to and the opportunities it has given him and I look forward to reading the next installment.
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