DJ Fat Tony: "I wasted £1m on drugs - it's not a boast it's the exact opposite - now I'm clean I want to help others"

DJ Fat Tony has played some of the world's biggest clubs, entertaining the world's biggest stars. But behind the glitz and glamour of his music career was a terrifying descent into drink and drugs oblivion.

He has shared in harrowing detail the highs and lows of his extraordinary life in his best-selling autobiography I Don't Take Requests. This week the DJ, real name Tony Marnach, heads to Manchester to talk about his life and work in a Q&A event at Selfridges to celebrate the launch of the new paperback edition of the tome.

Talking to the MEN ahead of the event, Tony admits it was hard to be so open about his traumas, but was necessary for him to move on and help others fighting addiction.

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When the book was originally released last year it shot straight into the bestsellers list, leaving him stunned. He says: "I thought it would maybe sell a thousand copies, but no, within the first week it was a Sunday Times bestseller.

"It was mindblowing, it wasn't really what I thought would happen.

"It's not a book of fairytales, it's trauma and honesty and a book of redemption. For a book like this, to the fact I've been completely honest and not tried to whitewash anything, it's testament to what it's about.

"People struggle with the truth, and to understand the truth sometimes. We'd much rather sugar coat things, but the one thing not sugar coated was me.

"A year on, I've really found