With only a guitar, a tatty copy of the Melody Maker, and his template for the perfect band, Andrew Matheson set out, in 1971, to make musical history. His band, The Hollywood Brats, were pre-punk prophets—uncompromising, ultra-thin, wild, untameable, and outrageous. But thrown into the crazy world of the 1970s London music scene, the Brats ultimately fell foul of the crooks and heavies that ran it and an industry that just wasn't ready for them.

Directly inspiring the London SS, the Clash, and the Sex Pistols, The Hollywood Brats imploded too soon to share the glory. Punk's answer to Withnail and I, Sick on You is a startling, funny and brilliantly entertaining period memoir about never quite achieving success, despite flying so close to greatness.