Biography & Autobiography

Punk protagonist, legendary drinker, Irish musical icon. The complete and extraordinary journey of the Pogues’ notorious frontman from outcast to national treasure has never been told – until now. This revised and updated paperback edition includes Shane's final months and the response to his passing.

A Furious Devotion vividly recounts the experiences that shaped the greatest songwriter of his generation including the formative trips to his mother’s homestead in Tipperary and the explosion of punk which changed his life.

As well as exclusive interviews with Shane himself, author Richard Balls has secured contributions from his wife and family, and people who have never spoken publicly about Shane before: close associates, former girlfriends and the English teacher who first spotted his literary gift. Nick Cave, Aidan Gillen, Cillian Murphy, Christy Moore, Sinead O’Connor and Dermot O’Leary are on the rollcall of those paying tribute to the gifted songwriter and poet.

This frank and extensive biography also includes many previously unseen personal photographs.

In 2011, Janet Devlin wowed X-Factor judges and charmed the nation with her unique vocals and performances. She consistently received the highest consecutive public vote out of all the contestants and gained a place on the live arena tour. But rather than this steering her towards greater musical success, Janet faced numerous challenges which almost cost her her career...

"Believe it or not, you’re holding my life in your hands. Not the picture-perfect version we’ve all become accustomed to, thanks to social media. This is my life as I’ve lived it – no filters.

Each chapter in this book unlocks the truth behind a song from my album Confessional. They span ten years of intense self-discovery married with a lot of self-sabotage. My broken brain has taken me to dark places both in my own head and in the real world. But, with destruction comes creation. I genuinely hope that My Confessional does not personally resonate with you and that you’ve not been to the same Hell that I’ve come to call Home, but if you have let my life be proof that it all works out in the end. I see now that the world is truly what we make of it and that everything happens for a reason. Or, at least, that’s what I tell myself.

Here lyeth my confessional of the sins I want so much to be free from and to finally forgive myself for what I’ve done.

I confess.

Janet Devlin"

The critically acclaimed definitive biography of Kate Bush, revised and updated for 2024, with a new foreword by Sinéad Gleeson.

Detailing everything from Bush’s upbringing to her early exposition of talent, to her subsequent evolution into a stunningly creative and endlessly fascinating visual and musical artist, Under The Ivy is the story of one woman's life in music. Written with great detail, accuracy and admiration for her work, this is in equal parts an in-depth biography and an immersive analysis of Kate Bush's art.

Focusing on her unique working methods, her studio techniques, her timeless albums and inescapable influence, Under The Ivy is an eminently readable and insightful exploration of one of the world's most unique and gifted artists. The text has been updated to include coverage of Bush’s return to the top of the charts in 2022 following the extraordinary resurgence of ‘Running Up That Hill.’ An eye-opening journey of discovery for anyone unfamiliar with the breadth of Bush’s work, Under The Ivy also rewards the long-term fan with new insights and fresh analysis.

Blues guitar great and Fleetwood Mac founder, Peter Green, was an enigma throughout his career. His innovative songwriting and unmistakeable voice shot Fleetwood Mac into the mainstream in 1969 with 'Albatross', 'Man of the World', and 'Oh Well'. But in May 1970, he turned his back on stardom and quit the band.

Written by Green's associate and friend, this biography - first published in 1995, now fully revised and updated - challenges the accepted narrative about why he left the band, and what happened next. It tracks every stage of Green's career, from his semi-pro years playing bass to his rise to fame in John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and Fleetwood Mac. It also takes a closer look at Green's solo material and the personal trauma that saw him hit the headlines.

This edition covers his return to the stage in 1996 with Peter Green Splinter Group and how his final band, Peter Green & Friends, was formed. It also covers the last years of his life and includes new, unseen photographs.

The biography of George Clinton, one of music’s most fascinating, colourful and innovative characters, featuring a new cover and foreword by critic Miles Marshall Lewis.

The most comprehensive history of the life, music and cultural significance of a great Black music pioneer and the era which spawned him.

Clinton stands alongside James Brown, Jimi Hendrix and Sly Stone as one of the most influential Black artists of all time who, along with his vast P-Funk army took black funk into the US charts and sold out stadiums by the mid 1970s with his mind-blowing shows and legendary Mothership extravaganzas.

The book contains first hand interview material with Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Jerome Bigfoot Brailey, Junie Morrison, Bobby Gillespie, Afrika Bambaataa, Jalal Nuriddin (Last Poets), Juan Atkins, John Sinclair, Rob Tyner (MC5), Ed Sanders (The Fugs), Chip Monck (“The Voice of Woodstock”) plus other P-Funk associates and friends.

An insiders’ view of the rise of Parliament and Funkadelic from the doowop era and LSD-crazed early shows through to P-Funk’s huge rise, the era of the Mothership and beyond.

When Little Richard burst onto the scene in the early 1950s, he was utterly unique. Drenched in sweat, screaming, hollering and pumping his piano, he made all who followed sound tame. His stage act was so explosive that for years people assumed the real man could never match the flamboyant public image.

Little Richard made himself a star through sheer talent and personality, breaking racial and sexual taboos on his way to becoming the primal force of Fifties rock’n’roll.

Using Richard’s own words, Charles White chronicles a staggering career that spanned the very inception of rock’n’roll, the rise of The Beatles, tussles with God and the Devil, and an erratic series of comebacks.

This edition includes pictures from Little Richard’s own archive and a comprehensive discography.