Going on the Turn: Being the Extraordinary Stories of My Life and Dodging Death’s Door

Danny Baker's third volume of memoirs barrels along at the same cracking pace as its predecessors, the bestselling Going to Sea in a Sieve (the inspiration for the major TV series Cradle to Grave and subsequent nationwide tour) and Going off Alarming . With his trademark exuberance, he recalls the years which included six years' involvement in the massive TV hit TFI Friday ('piling it up with hellzapoppin' ideas') - during which time he stalked John Cleese in New York, entertained David Bowie and Paul McCartney, bizarrely reunites with Sir Michael Caine, gets befriended by Peter O'Toole and becomes a member of Led Zeppelin for 35 minutes. However, the tales are not reliant on celebrity alone, and the book comes packed with the usual quota of Baker family jewels, including Spud's attitude to doctors, Danny's trip to Amsterdam to get stoned for the first time (he fails), getting caught up in football rioting, and the now infamous 'kaboom' of an outburst following his despatch from BBC London. And then there's the cancer. Spoiler alert: this is the one in which he almost dies. Further spoiler alert: he doesn't. Going on the Turn is a rollicking read that fizzes with wit, warmth and enviable joie de vivre . In this book my father dies. I almost die.*** My showbiz career winds down. And yet everyone keeps telling me it's the funniest book I've ever written. If I'd known that's what the public wanted, I'd have cancelled Pets Win Prizes and just got sick sooner. Along the way this time we encounter, among others, David Bowie, Kanye West (I think), John Cleese, Peter O'Toole, and have several adventures in the Fourth Dimension. Oh, and I can reveal the Man With The Foulest Mouth In All Show Business. Plus assorted high-kicking hoopla and a whole lot of rather stark stuff about what it's like to be told you could be On The Way Out. *** (SPOILER ALERT: I don't actually die.) Danny Baker is a national treasure with a colourful life. For over a quarter of a century he has amused and entertained audiences on both radio and television. Beginning his career at the age of 15 in a small record shop in the London's West End, Danny went on to become a music journalist and started his radio career on BBC GLR in 1989. With a unique take on life and a lot to say, Danny's latest book is full of his trademark warmth, wit and showbiz.