This Little Ziggy

Book excerpt: First published in 2001 and withdrawn from sale two years later, after a legal wrangle, Martin Newell's well-reviewed but shocking memoir of ten years of his life between the mid-60s and the mid-70s will resonate with anyone who ever wanted to be a rock star or joined a band. From an army upbringing in the Far East, the Home Counties and South London, his extraordinary story progresses through pop obsession, drugs, beatings, arrests and his eventual salvation through joining a glam-rock band. Recounted with self-deprecating, foul-mouthed humour, unusual frankness and some regret, This Little Ziggy has now become a cult classic of its genre.