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Chaise Longue
An Uncut Book of the Year 2021
‘Wild, exhilarating and very funny’ Sunday Times
‘A must-read for pop culture fans’ Evening Standard Best Non-fiction 2021
‘Beautifully deadpan’ The Times, Books 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 readers.
‘Wild, exhilarating and very funny’ Sunday Times
‘A must-read for pop culture fans’ Evening Standard Best Non-fiction 2021
‘Beautifully deadpan’ The Times, Books 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 readers.
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Reviews
Number 10 in Uncut Book of the Year 2021
'This unflinching memoir by singer Baxter Dury, son of Ian, recalls his chaotic family life with the 'pot-soaked Fagin' and his bodyguard...[It] is written with linguistic gusto. His father would be made up'
'A compact book crammed with details about a particular periods of Baxter's life, there is less a whiff on nonsense and more of authenticity'
'Fittingly chaotic and non-linear, but razor sharp and side-splitting throughout, Chaise Longue is one rock autobiography not to miss - a Withnail & I-style cult classic in waiting'
'A must-read for pop culture fans'
'Wonderfully wild'
'It's an honest account of a difficult and at times slightly insane upbringing, which refreshingly these days was all written by Baxter himself in his own unique voice'
'Enthralling and moving. It is funny and sad in equal measure'
'Not unlike Ian Dury's nuanced musical portrait of his own father, "My Old Man", Chaise Longue fathoms Baxter Dury's complicated upbringing in the company of his dad and minder Pete Rush, a "six-foot-seven malodorous giant" better known as the Sulphate Strangler. "There was no school, there were no rules about drinking, there was no dinner," Baxter writes. No boots, no clean panties'
'Chaise Longue is a short, amusing, alarming and subtly sad memoir, punctuated by mind-boggling anecdotes related with nuance and zest'
'A fascinating and thought-provoking read'
'Beautifully deadpan'
'A bright, bruising account of growing up in the blast zone of a chaotic parent. Chaise Longue is wild, exhilarating and very funny'