"In High School I was working at Waldenbooks when this book came in, it wasn't until years later that I realized emulating Edie Sedgwick and dying face-down on my pillow, high on drugs, might not be the most glamorous way to go."

"Zappa divides opinion massively. Bottom line is, he's a dick. And you can't escape it. The years as they've gone on have been less kind to him. His later stuff is horrible – misogynistic, very jock-ish. He was famously anti-drugs, would fine band members if they used drugs. He was very showy too. I've got a bunch of his records and I never listen to them… apart from Hot Rats, which I just love. The cover is fantastic and deeply unsettling. The band playing it are insanely talented – Ian Underwood, Shuggie Otis… Beefheart. For me, the album is the first two tracks. 'Willie The Pimp' has one of my favourite guitar solos ever – it's completely mind-melting. Zappa had a really big following in Liverpool amongst casuals – I remember going up there in the '90s and seeing his name daubed on walls in emulsion. Considering how much he hated drugs, he really did seem to connect with stoners."

"This is a deliciously dense historical text about some of the baddest bitches ever to crawl the streets of New York. Drama. Drugs. Sex. Violence. Flapper dresses that would look so good on the women of Big Little Lies. This book has it all."

"The second half abandons you at the worst concert in the world, soaking with dread and drugs and wandering Hieronymus Bosch creatures. It’s still effective no matter how many times you’ve seen it. And I’m in love with the sunspot flares of early-’70s 16 mm."