64. Alexander Baron - The Lowlife

John and Andy are at the dogs for Backlisted this week, discussing the 1963 cult novel The Lowlife by Alexander Baron. They are joined by London enthusiast Peter Watts (the first person to write a biography of Battersea Power Station) and Gary Budden, author and director of ground-breaking indie Influx Press.

Books mentioned:

• Eley Williams - Attrib.: and other stories

• Edward St Aubyn - Patrick Melrose Volume 1 : Never Mind, Bad News and Some Hope

• Mary Stewart - Ludo and the Star Horse; The Crystal Cave

• John Gordon - The Giant Under the Snow

• Laura Thompson - Rex v Edith Thompson

• Harvill Press London Writing - Maureen Duffy - Capital; Gerald Kersh - Fowler's End; Henry Green - Caught

• Patrick Hamilton - The Slaves of Solitude

• Norman Collins - London Belongs to Me

• Julian Maclaren-Ross - Of Love and Hunger

• Iain Sinclair - London Orbital; Lights out for the territory

• Alexander Baron - King Dido; Rosie Hogarth; From the City, from the Plough; The Human Kind; Strip Jack Naked; Franco is Dying

• Acquired For Development By... : A Hackney Anthology

• Colin MacInnes - Absolute Beginners

• Derek Raymond

• Don DeLillo - Libra

Unbound project of the week:

• Medieval Death Bot - Murdered by Clerks - get free postage by using the code BARON at checkout

Other Links:

• Wes Anderson movies

• Michael Chabon on Wes Anderson

• Jackanory

• Rebecca West on Edith Thompson, "A shocking little piece of rubbish"

• The Small World of Sammy Lee (DVD)

• Ken Worpole essay

• Susie Thomas on The Lowlife

• To serve them all my days (TV series)

• The Siege of Sidney Street (DVD)

Thanks to Spoke for sponsoring this episode - Spoke cut our trousers in more sizes and custom finish for a flawless fit – delivered in two working days. For £20 off your first purchase, use the code BACKLISTED20 at checkout (valid to early June 2018)