Due to my lack of knowledge I'd always assumed that fanzine's were poorly circulated and of generally poor quality so to hear James' story of how his fanzine and the large network of fanzine creators in the UK was so popular it was circulated via post and appeared on John Peel's Radio 1 show was insightful.

By the age of twenty two he was features editor of the New Musical Express and at the ripe old age of twenty seven he launched Loaded, a magazine that gave the publishing world such a kick up the arse it hasn’t been able to sit down properly since. Please Note: By their very nature, all signed books will have been handled several times before they get to you. Since the turn of the century, his only notable vices, as far as I can see, have been Red Bull, Chocolate Hob Nobs and Leeds Utd.I would like to have read more about his work post-GQ and I found the sections about his recovery from drug addiction thoughtful and sensitive and I felt that they gave a careful balance to the many anecdotes of drug fuelled behaviour that preceded it. In the first few chapters he jumps back and fore mixing anecdotes from his career, such as tripping on acid at an awards ceremony, to tales from what he describes as his ‘first childhood’. For a teen-come-twentysomething, Loaded magazine was the bible of all things music/sport/fashion/film and gonzo journalism right at the centre of what would be known as 'Cool Britannia'. The readership of GQ increased, James’s salary increased and, perhaps more importantly, his new employer recognised he needed something and was prepared to pay for it.

About the Author: James Brown worked on the NME, founded loaded, Jack and Leeds, Leeds, Leeds magazines, and was Editor-in-Chief of British GQ. But more concerning for Brown was the sense that living the Loaded lifestyle 24/7 was putting his life in danger.He realised Loaded could include the kind of writing inspired by his journalistic heroes: Tom Wolfe, Hunter S Thompson, George Plimpton.