I Don't Take Requests: WINNER OF THE ATTITUDE AWARD 'If you want to change your life...read this book.' TRACEY EMIN

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I’d like to say it was all plain sailing, a Barbara Taylor Bradford-type situation; Tony laying on a chaise lounge, me dutifully typing his dictation. The latter is unquestionably an honest, glamorous and wild ride of a book but there’s something about “I Don’t Take Requests” that really gets to you. In fact, quite the opposite is true, and its author told Nick: “It's not the Gruffalo, let's get it right… and to be accepted for that, and loved for that, is a remarkable thing. That changed really quickly, the wind changed when it became both more monetised and more criminalised. Tony's book is also the most intimate portrayal of his addiction to drugs and sex and his fightback from the depths of addiction to being a clean DJ who advocates for sobriety while continuing to tour the world, playing everything from Donatella Versace's birthday party to superclubs in Ibiza to dirty raves in London.

And I would lay awake thinking ‘Everyone's gonna hate me, I'm gonna get bricks thrown at me in the street. I Don't Take Requests is Fat Tony's breathtakingly candid and outrageous memoir of a life of extremes. I began to learn the nuances of his character (which believe me, there are a few), and we developed a deep connection and what I hope will be a lifelong friendship. You may find yourself not liking him as a person as he tells tales of his harsh personality and mood swings. I learned acceptance, but I also learned how to love myself, learn from myself and learn how to learn from others.They really hit hard at the start, but there's only so many drug fueled tales I can listen to, especially ones where he comes across as a real *nice word for ****. Knowing that someone is about to bare their soul to the world and air all of their dirty laundry in public, you need to learn to tell them when enough is enough. The DJ says at the height of his drug addiction he would think about dying daily and it took almost a year of 'rock bottom' moments before a five-day bender finally sparked a journey to sobriety.

This is the first year that an Attitude Award has gone to a book that has made a significant difference to the LGBTQ+ community. He was an unstoppable force, both behind the decks and as a character on London’s already outrageous queer club scene.Now, he is 14 years sober and, alongside working to help others overcome addiction, DJing for everyone from Elton John to Louis Vuitton and the Beckhams - and running one of lockdown's most popular Instagram accounts with its wickedly funny memes. Everyone was there for the same music, everyone was there to dance, and they were there to take whatever it was that they wanted to take. I used to think, oh I’m not getting on with them because they’re not like me, but thank God there’s no more people like me! It seemed to come straight from the heart and he had me laughing out loud, then in complete shock and then being in tears. It's the sort of book you can read in the lavatory very quickly, pick up and put down, and then flush away.