Omnibus Press

The story of The Who’s momentous first tours of America told through fabulous photos by the band’s official photographer and tour manager Tom Wright.

Foreword by Pete Townshend

Tom Wright first met Pete Townshend at Ealing Art School in the early 60s. He became The Who’s official tour photographer and manager from 1967 in the US, also managing the Grande Ballroom in Detroit where The Who’s rock opera Tommy premiered. He was much more than the band’s photographer, he was a friend and photographed them right up to their farewell tour in 1991. Tom’s vast record collection and musical influences had a big impact on the band in their early years.

Their Generation covers The Who’s first tours of North America, a hugely creative time with explosive performances both on and off stage, the time of their US hit ‘I Can See for Miles’ and much more.

Through the fabulous photographs, many of which have never been seen before, we see the band backstage, onstage, on tour, at rehearsal, at ease, in studio, at home. The photos will be accompanied by extended captions providing background details of the time, the people and the places.

As well as The Who, Tom Wright toured with the Rolling Stones, the Faces, The James Gang, J. D. Elvis Costello, The Eagles and many more, documenting their performances and life on the road.

“One thing is certain, had I not met Tom Wright, The Who would never have become successful.” Pete Townshend

Now You’re One of Us is the definitive statement about Redd Kross, an in-depth and riveting tale told in the voices of the talented and tempestuous brothers at the core of this iconic outfit.

Emerging from humble beginnings in suburban Los Angeles, the McDonalds took their rock ‘n’ roll fantasy and ran with it — and wound up becoming one of the most influential American bands of their time. The band’s flamboyant, genre-defying, joyously tuneful blend of musical, sartorial and pop cultural elements profoundly influenced the punk rock, glam metal and grunge movements and won them a worldwide cult of fervent admirers that includes bands like Pearl Jam, Foo Fighters, Sonic Youth, L7 and The Bangles.

Redd Kross continue rocking to this day, much to the intense delight of fans old and new. And now the McDonalds team up with award-winning music journalist Dan Epstein to tell their wild, hilarious and gloriously star-spangled tale.

“To me, Redd Kross will always be one of the most important bands of the last 30-40 years.” Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth)

"Brain Wilson. SMILE: Excellent! The man is my hero. I love him. I weep when I hear his band, I hear him sing. I love him." —Paul McCartney

The story of the Brian Wilson’s legendary SMiLE album from Beach Boys authority David Leaf. The story of SMiLE is a story without precedent, appropriate for music that was and remains groundbreaking.

"This is the first book to tell the full story of Brian Wilson and SMiLE, including the details of the original SMiLE recording sessions and their increasingly legendary status as well as the final release of the album, the accompanying concerts and film, and its afterlife.

With over two dozen new interviews as well as generous excerpts from his extended 2004 interviews with Brian Wilson and SMiLE collaborator Van Dyke Parks, the book tells the story of SMiLEby those who were there in 1966 and from the participants in its 2004 resurrection, including all the members of Brian Wilson’s band. It also features fan memories of what it was like to see Brian Wilson Presents SMiLEand what it meant to them.

With a foreword by Melinda Wilson and an anthology of essays from SMiLE historians, devotees, and music professors, this book promises to be the definitive word on the subject.

“If I had to select one living genius of popular music, I would choose Brian Wilson.” —George Martin

"He's a modern-day Stravinsky, the way he constructs his music." —Questlove

"I don't think there is anyone his equal in pop music."—Linda Ronstadt

"[T]he only real pop genius in the world..." —Sir Elton John

This comprehensive manual helps musicians and those working in live music to identify and cope with the various physical and psychological difficulties that can occur during, or as a result of, touring.

It covers topics including mental health, peak performance and performance anxiety, addiction, group dynamics, relationship problems, dealing with the media, physical health, diversity and inclusion, crisis management and post-tour recovery. Written by health and performance professionals, this timely and essential book provides robust clinical advice, cutting edge research, practical strategies, resources and detailed illustrations.

Each chapter is underpinned with personal recollections from musicians and prominent touring personnel, including Nile Rodgers, Justin Hawkins, Philip Selway, Charles Thompson, Katie Melua, Kieran Hebden, Jake Berry, Tina Farris, Taylor Hanson, Trevor Williams, Lauren Mayberry, Pharoahe Monch, Jim Digby, Will Young, Angie Warner, Dale 'Opie' Skjerseth and many more.

Touring and Mental Health is designed to be picked up, put down, read at length and passed around the tour bus.

Pressure Drop chronicles reggae’s most tumultuous and influential decade. Beginning in 1970 and unfolding across the world, reggae flourished against a backdrop of political upheaval, gang warfare, Black Nationalism, racial and class discrimination and grinding poverty. 

The music that developed as rocksteady and early reggae gave birth to deejays, dub, rockers, lovers rock, early dancehall and 2 Tone was by turns brutal and revelatory.

Including an extensive analysis of the decade’s major singles and albums, Pressure Drop includes eyewitness accounts and experiences of the decade from the likes of Burning Spear, Chris Blackwell, Gregory Isaacs, Bunny Wailer, Jimmy Cliff, Black Uhuru, U-Roy, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Augustus Pablo, Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Dekker, Sly & Robbie, Dennis Bovell, Don Letts and members of the Specials, as well as first-hand anecdotes of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.

"One of the greatest music writing and production teams in pop music history" - Smokey Robinson

As the creative force behind Berry Gordy Jr.'s Motown Records in the mid-Sixties, a writing credit from Holland Dozier Holland was virtually a guarantee of chart success. From 'Stop! In The Name Of Love' to 'How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You', they were the songwriting and production dream team responsible for some of the greatest songs of the twentieth century.

In this compelling autobiography, brothers Eddie and Brian Holland share their story, starting with growing up in Detroit raised by a single mother and their grandmother, before shining a light on their early musical careers. A gifted lyricist, Eddie started out as a solo singer with Berry Gordy as his manager before partnering up with Brian and Lamont Dozier, both talented arrangers and producers.

Featuring honest and open first-hand accounts, this remastered edition is more than just a behind-the-scenes look at Motown Records at its peak: Eddie and Brian set the record straight on both their personal and professional lives and offer a revealing slice of pop-music history.

With an introduction by award-winning artist Richard Hawley.

So It Started There chronicles the life and career of drummer Nick Banks, including how he came to be in the iconic and beloved band Pulp.

Beginning with his childhood in Rotherham, England, Nick recounts his personal and musical journey through the genres, first as a punk, then as a goth; how it all started when he was first inspired to pick up the sticks by Sex Pistols drummer Paul Cook.

Flash forward to the eighties. Nick spies an ad from his favorite band, Pulp, in a local club. He pays Jarvis Cocker and the gang a visit and the rest is history.

From there, Nick describes his growth as a professional drummer and musician, the trials and tribulations of chasing success in the music industry, touring triumphs and horrors, the band’s journey from relative obscurity to becoming a global sensation, and the process of writing and recording their most famous albums.

Written with warmth, humor, and charm, Nick tells all. And with it, tells the story of a band that defined a generation.

Brian Holland, Edward Holland, and Lamont Dozier, known as Holland-Dozier-Holland or H-D-H, were the greatest songwriting team in American pop music history. This is their story.

Seventy of the songs they wrote reached the Billboard Top 40, with 15 of these reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. No other songwriting team or individual has come close to equaling, let alone surpassing, this record. They’ve been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

As tunesmiths for the legendary Motown Record Corporation, and for their own corporations, Invictus Records and Hot Wax Records, they wrote and produced hits for Diana Ross and the Supremes, including “Baby Love,” “Stop! In the Name of Love,” “Where Did Our Love Go,” “You Keep Me Hangin’ On,” “You Can’t Hurry Love,” “I Hear a Symphony,” “Come See About Me,” “Back in My Arms Again” and “Reflections.”

Now the legendary composers are ready to reveal the inspirations and stories behind their chart-topping hits, providing millions of fans with the first complete history of their songwriting process, and detail the real-life experiences that led them to write each of their most famous tunes. They will also reveal their creative and intimate relationships with Motown’s biggest stars.

Book by book, year by year, the ultimate literary trip through Bowie’s greatest decade.

With his first starring role in a feature film and his first number 1s on both sides of the Atlantic, 1975 ought to be David Bowie’s golden year. But away from the spotlight the suave soul boy of Young Americans is tumbling into a self-made hell of cocaine, witchcraft and the dark fantasies of his new fascist alter-ego, the Thin White Duke.

As David goes berserk in the Hollywood hills, back in the Britain he’s forsaken there’s a Nazi-crazed murderer stalking the streets where he was born, a masked rapist at large and a power-mad grocer’s daughter on the rise, while sappy nostalgia grinds pop to a standstill. But there are also restless scamps hanging around a certain King’s Road clothes shop, and David’s own drug-fuelled genius daring him to make the album of his life. The Seventies are about to reignite with a bang.

The sixth volume in Simon Goddard’s epic adventure through Bowie’s greatest decade, Bowie Odyssey 75 is an intricately plotted tour de force of rock’n’roll, crime, punishment, politics, punk – and a cautionary tale of tragicomic addiction.

The definitive biography of pop sensations ABBA, revised and fully updated.

Exploding on to the international music scene after winning Eurovision with ‘Waterloo’ in 1974, Abba have since become one of the most famous pop groups in the world. Bright Lights Dark Shadows is the definitive account of the rise, fall and rise of the Swedish pop music titans.

This new edition of the best-selling book has been extensively updated to include details of ABBA Voyage, the phenomenal ninth and final album, the amazing concert experience in London and the ongoing personal lives of Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog.

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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"

• 'Don't interpret me. My songs don't have any meaning. They're just words.' - Bob Dylan.
  
• 'I was a veteran before I was a teenager.' - Michael Jackson.
  
• 'I would rather eat my own testicles than reform The Smiths, and that's saying something for a vegetarian.' - Morrissey.
  
• 'I am the only man who can say he's been in Take That and at least two members of the Spice Girls.' - Robbie Williams.
  
• 'Rehab is a cop-out.' - Amy Winehouse.

• Full-colour maps of the city centre and larger Dublin area
• 'Top 5' lists, with maps, of live venues for rock, traditional folk, classical, jazz and more
• 'Essential Dublin Discs,' as provided by the musicians themselves
• Mini-bios on bands like The Frames, Planxty, and The Crash Ensemble
• Over fifty black and white photos

Listening to the Music the Machines Make is the revolutionary story of electronic pop from 1978 to 1983, a true golden age of British music. This definitive account explores how krautrock, disco, glam rock and punk inspired a new generation to rip up the rulebook and venture toward a new frontier of electronic music – one that laid the foundations for Hip-Hop, house, techno and beyond.

Including an extensive collection of archive images throughout, Richard Evans’s kaleidoscopic narrative draws on years of research, a plethora of archive press materials and the input of key figures, including Vince Clarke (Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Erasure), Martyn Ware (The Human League, B.E.F., Heaven 17) and Daniel Miller (The Normal, Mute Records).

From the gritty and experimental to the camp and theatrical, this book charts the careers and impact of electronic pop’s earliest innovators and luminaries, from Devo, The Normal, Telex and Cabaret Voltaire to Soft Cell, Gary Numan, OMD, Duran Duran, Depeche Mode.

For many years the exclusive preserve of cinemas, surround sound is currently the hottest topic in the recording world and in recent years has become the dynamo of the audio industry. New media such as DVD and SACD now offer a solid technological foundation for high-quality multichannel reproduction, opening up new perspectives and markets.

Practical Recording 5: Surround Sound is an essential guide to this new world order, providing a thorough breakdown of such problem areas as binaural room scanning, phase cancellation and working with analogue and digital sound. Packed with vital studio tips, including guides to multiple miking and the theory behind speaker placement, Practical Recording 5: Surround Sound is the ultimate guide to recreating the world on playback.