An Uncut Book of the Year 2021

Methods 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 possibly go wrong?

In a period that we can now only imagine, a young Baxter ricocheted from one adventure to another, narrowly swerving one disaster only immediately to collide with another. At times, his situation was perilous in the extreme—the world is lucky to have him at all. Chaise Longue is an intimate account of those escapades, evocatively illuminating a bohemian west London populated with feverishly grubby characters. Narrated in Dury's candid tone, both sad and funny, this moving story will leave an indelible imprint on its listeners.