Sometimes you have to take a chance, and Simon Parkes is nothing if not a risk-taker. The riotous life-story of a music impresario and how he turned a near-derelict hall into a legendary stage.

In 1982, aged twenty-three, Simon Parkes paid £1 for a virtually derelict building in Brixton. Over the next fifteen years he turned it into Britain's most iconic music venue. And now he's telling his story: full of fond - and wild - reminiscences of the famous musicians who played at the venue, including Robert Plant and Jimmy Page, Lou Reed, The Ramones, New Order, the Beastie Boys and The Smiths. This is about one man's burning desire for success against the odds, his passion for live music and the excitement of those wilderness years, a far cry from the corporate world that controls the scene today. From rock-star debauchery and mixing it up with Brixton gangsters to putting on the first legal raves in the UK and countless backroom business deals, this is the story of how to succeed in business with no experience and fulfil your teenage fantasies.

"If Simon Parkes' autobiography - full of raucous tales and geezer speak - is ever made into a film, it will be fun trying to find an actor who can do him justice." - The Independent

"The king of gigs" - Sunday Times