I Was Douglas Adams's Flatmate

Book excerpt: Beginning life as a series on Radio 4, I Was Douglas Adams's Flatmate is a series of interviews that examine a great artist, politician or innovator from the perspective of an assistant, lover, muse, flatmate or editor who was indispensable to them at a key moment in their career. We hear from Douglas Adams's flatmate who reveals how the writer got hooked on listening to Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights while writing Hitchhikers' Guide; Ernest Hemingway's La Secretaria, Sam Peckinpah's Girl Friday, Les Dawson's Gag-writer, Billie Holliday's Stand in, Will Carling's Physiotherapist, Johnny Cash's Tailor and David Beckham's Stylist, among others. McGibbon, who was Morrissey's drummer, engages the reader with the human behind the artist, providing a revealing insight into well known personalities.