Though everyone from D. H. Lawrence and David Bowie struggled with being there, and comedians have made it a byword for the ugly and banal, this town halfway between London and Brighton has a remarkable history at the centre of things.

Eleven archbishops are buried there. London's first airport was there. In the sixties it was a daring experiment in futuristic brutalist architecture. Its contribution to black culture began with our most notable black composer and culminated in the first black British artist to headline Glastonbury. Its Brit School produced everyone from Adele to Amy Winehouse and Raye. Still want to diss Croydon?

Croydonopolis tells the amazing story of this much-maligned town, whose only fault was to be too far ahead of the curve, and always go for broke.