'I bought it for £1': Brixton Academy's miraculous revival

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In 1983, when Simon Parkes was just 23, he persuaded the brewery Watney's to sell him the then derelict Brixton Academy for £1. At the time it had been shut for two years and was in a state of near dereliction. Over the next decade or so, Simon turned the venue into one of the most sought after in London. Now, a play has been written that canonises that scarcely believable story. It's on at the Southwark Playhouse. BBC Radio London's Robert Elms has been hearing the story in Simon's own words, and from the play's author about bringing it to life on stage. (Getty Images)