As anybody who grew up in the '70s will know, David Essex was a massive teen idol throughout the decade, inciting hysteria wherever he went. In recent years, he's come into all our lives again, starring in EastEnders as loveable rogue Eddie Moon in 2011, and touring the UK in 2012 with his hit musical All The Fun of The Fair.

David had a tough but happy childhood in the East End of London, the son of a docker and an Irish traveller. He started his career in music as a drummer, before becoming a singer, and his big break came in 1972, when he was cast as Jesus in the smash-hit musical Godspell. Within a year, he had the number one movie with That'll Be The Day, and had written and recorded his first number one single 'Rock On'. It was the start of Essexmania, and a hugely successful recording, touring and acting career spanning four decades.

David's autobiography has proven to be irresistible to the generation who idolised him, but beyond that, it is one of the most fantastic rags to riches, rock 'n' roll stories of our time and a classic of the genre.