"[6] Campbell was a copywriter for advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather before he quit in 1971, aged 26, to visit India, and pursue an ambition to become a journalist.
[7] Prior to joining The Guardian, Campbell worked for the London Daily News and City Limits (both defunct), Time Out and LBC Radio.
[18][19][20] The Evening Standard wrote about it: "A strong sense of nostalgia runs throughout this zany catalogue of atrocity and achievement",[21] while The Guardian reviewer called the book "by turns amusing, engaging, horrifying and, yes, thoughtful.
It is not merely a catalogue of the goriest and most notorious crimes, but a fascinating description of the often corrupt relationship between Fleet Street's finest and the police.
"[22] Campbell's 2019 book, The Underworld: The inside story of Britain’s professional and organised crime, was a Sunday Times Bestseller.