'Hitchhiker :  a biography of Douglas Adams'

Procol-oriented extracts from MJ Simpson's authoritative book (5)

The most famous Procol Harum fan (and the only one to cross the footlights and perform with the band!) was Douglas Adams, the great British comic writer, technophile and conservationist. 'Beyond the Pale' wholeheartedly recommends Palers to buy MJ Simpson's fine, occasionally controversial, biography of Douglas (not just because we get name-checked!). Click directly on these links to have your copies delivered from Amazon Canada, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany or Amazon USA

From ‘Hitchhiker, a biography of Douglas Adams’ by MJ Simpson, Hodder and Stoughton © 2003, p 335
Because Douglas was massively successful at almost everything else. Success sometimes came through good fortune, but mostly it came through very, very hard work and determination. Douglas simply wasn't a quitter. It all went back to the days of Adams-Smith-Adams: Will and Martin spent a few years writing comedy as a second career, devoting most of their time to publishing and advertising. They ended up with nice houses and nice cars. Douglas was the one who took only such odd jobs as were needed to keep his overdraft down, while sleeping on people's floors and sofas, and he became an internationally fêted millionaire.

What Douglas wanted, Douglas eventually got. Always. He was an Eagle reader who got his name in the Eagle. He was a Doctor Who fan who wrote for the show and then became the series' script editor. He was a Monty Python fan who wrote and performed with the Pythons. He was a Beatles fan who was invited to Paul McCartney's Christmas party. He was a Procol Harum fan who invited his friends round to hear Gary Brooker perform in his living room. He was a Pink Floyd fan who played on stage with Pink Floyd. He was a Richard Dawkins fan who became one of Richard Dawkins' [yes, the editor has opted for this irregular form of the possessive throughout the volume] best friends.