Up above the city, down beneath the stars

A member of seminal new-wave band Magazine, the original bassist in the legendary Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, a Mercury-Prize-nominated solo artist, and pioneer of the imaginary soundtrack album—no matter where Barry Adamson's career has taken him, the result has been consistently impressive. Co...

Queen as it began

An informative and authoritative portrait of Queen's most fundamental period.This new edition features numerous extra photographs and a new Foreword from Brian MayThe original edition of this revered and authorised Queen biography explored every aspect of the legendary group’s career from incepti...

Journey: don't stop believin': the untold story

Journey are undoubtedly one of America's most successful melodic rock bands, with record sales in excess of 75 million. And with the recent phenomenal success of "Don't Stop Believin'" now the most downloaded song of all time they've been given an amazing new lease of life. Now, for the first tim...

Mods: the new religion

Mod may have been born in the ballrooms and nightclubs around London but it soon rampaged throughout the country. Young kids soon found a passion for sharp clothes, music and dancing, but for some it was pills, thrills and violence. The original Mod generation tell it exactly how it was, in their...

When the screaming stops: the dark history of the bay city rollers

What happened to The Bay City Rollers is one the great scandals of the music industry. This unflinching book exposes the sinister undercurrents and dark truths behind ‘Rollermania’, the pioneering boy band fad that gripped the UK in the seventies and spread across the world as the Edinburgh lads ...

Had me a real good time: the faces before during and after

The definitive account of one of rock 'n' roll's most engagingly shambolic acts as well as an evocative portrait of the times in which they raised hell and recorded some timeless tracks, now updated with details of the sad death of keyboard player Ian McLagan.

Their generation

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 TownshendTom Wright first met Pete Townshend at Ealing Art School in the early 60s. He became The Who’s official tour photographer ...

Salad daze

Best known as the divisive but iconic frontman of The Mission and a poster boy for the-then fledgling gothic scene of the 80s, Wayne Hussey has been making music since he was inspired to pick up a guitar by his childhood hero, Marc Bolan. As he began making his name in music with The Invisible Gi...

Listening to the music the machines make

Listening to the Music the Machines Make is the revolutionary story of electronic pop from 1978 to 1983, a true golden age of 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 elect...

Amy: a life through the lens

This incredible collection of photos, shot by Darren and Elliott Bloom between 2005 and 2011, chronicles the troubled career of a legendary singer who tragically died at the age of 27. These images capture the highs and lows of a hugely talented but flawed young woman, whose every move attracted ...

London life

While many publications claim to have captured the phenomenon that was "swinging London," only one magazine was present to illustrate this extraordinary moment as it unraveled. London Life magazine emerged in October 1965, and over the next fifteen months would document the capital's action when ...

Sound of the machine

Karl Bartos, founding member of the seminal German band Kraftwerk, tells his story: a life intertwined with art, music, and culture.“A full-blooded insider’s account of life inside the Kling Klang studio. This is a must read for the robots’ fans.” Prog MagazineAs a core member of Kraftwerk, some...

The beatles on the roof

The Beatles on the Roof studies the rooftop concert in penetrating detail, uncovering new truths and debunking old myths about the event. Nobody knew it yet—not even the band—but this was the last time they would play live to the public.When the world's greatest pop band played their final public...

Mod art

Examining and illustrating the art scene surrounding the birth of modernism and its simultaneous rise among the burgeoning working class Mod scene of the Sixties, Paul Anderson's Mod Art is the definitive work on the visual culture of Mod. With interviews from key artists, scene members and a ric...

Sabbath bloody sabbath: updated

This latest edition of Joel McIver's book, which has been translated into several languages in its nine-year history, covers the late-career activities of Sabbath in detail, with new interviews, analyses of the music and speculation about the band members' futures.

Smile

"Brian 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 McCartneyThis is 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, appropria...

Big time: the life of adam faith

Most pop stars' fame used to end with their 25th birthday, but Adam Faith just kept on being interesting until the day he died aged 62. Born Terry Nelhams in working-class Acton, he defined post-war aspiration. Though his vocal talents were limited, he enjoyed an unprecedented run of seven top fi...

Come and get these memories

Featuring honest and open first-hand accounts, Come and Get These Memories 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.As the creati...

Rolling stones 69

Against a backdrop of social unrest and protests The Rolling Stones entered 1969 as a successful blues band that had experimented with psychedelia but were returning to their rock'n'roll roots. By the end of 1969 they had released a stone cold classic, lost one of their founding members, played a...

The beatles graphic novel

Hervé Bourhis, creator of The Little Book of Rock, turns his unique graphic talents to the legend of The Beatles, told from the very beginning. Bourhis visual imagination illuminates the individual lives of each band member from their pre-Beatles youth to what would become a rock band of phenomen...

Come and get these memories

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 ...

Illustrated lives of the great composers: franz liszt

Arguably the greatest of all piano virtuosi, Liszt was one of the few composers of his day who had the technique to perform his own compositions. A child prodigy pianist who could read music before he could recite the alphabet, Franz Liszt is one of the most outrageously gifted and most controver...

Holy rock 'n' rollers: the story of kings of leon

Seven years after their unprecedented arrival in the UK, they are finally making a name for themselves overseas, thanks to a series of hit albums and singles (peaking with 2008's anthemic "Sex on Fire") and a headline slot at Glastonbury in 2008 and at Reading in '09. No longer indulging in the d...

Know your enemy: the story of rage against the machine

An unauthorised biography of the most pro-actively political rock band on the planet. Founder member and guitarist Tom Morello has given author Joel McIver his blessing to write this biography. Joel McIver has given a clear and unbiased analysis of the group's stance on a wide range of issues as ...

You really got me: the story of the kinks

The Kinks are the quintessential British 60s band, revered for an incredible series of classic songs ("You Really Got Me," "Waterloo Sunset," and "Lola," to name but a few) and critically acclaimed albums (The Village Green Preservation Society). Featuring original interviews with key band member...

David bowie: the golden years

This is a day-by-day account of Bowie's life from the start of 1970 to the end of 1980, his golden era that defined his work as a major artist a dozen inspired studio albums, five major tours, two feature films and critically acclaimed theatrical performances in Chicago and New York. He reinvente...

Bowie odyssey 71

Britain, 1971. Strange land of hot pants, moral outrage, anarchist bombs and sexual revolution. As Marc Bolan is hailed as the nation’s teenage saviour, the forgotten hope called David Bowie searches for the spark to relight his fire. He finds it in London’s gay clubland and the stoned fields of ...

Bowie odyssey 73

It is 1973. David Bowie is finally a superstar. All he has to do to remain there is to keep pretending he’s Ziggy Stardust, keep playing to thousands, keep selling to millions and keep on staying relatively sane … As glam rock crashes and burns in a sleazy scandal-ridden Britain, a world tour co...

Love and fury

A major new biography of Joe Meek, the legendary maverick engineer, songwriter, artist manager and record producer. Joe Meek. Wayward genius; the British Phil Spector, the first producer to treat the recording studio as an instrument; head of one of the earliest independent record labels; creator...

Music is the drug

Cowboy Junkies came to the attention of the world in 1988 when the beguiling sound of The Trinity Session found its way into more than two million homes. Drawing on the work of the 20th century's greatest songwriters in order to find their own voice, the band have gone on to produce one of the mo...

Conversations with tom petty

It's an of-told story: a young Tom Petty lucks his way onto the movie set for Elvis's Follow That Dream. The lightning bolt that is rock 'n' roll struck him and, at that moment, his future was defined and Tom Petty went on to become one of the greatest songwriters in rock 'n' roll history.This ex...

Bowie odyssey 76

“My favorite Bowie books of all and the only ones that make me regularly laugh out loud.” – Marc RileyBowie—in 1976, the Berlin YearsBook by book, year by year, the ultimate literary trip through Bowie’s greatest decade.1976, and in England the heat is rising. Immigration protests, racist murders...

Rock 'n' roll sweepstakes: the authorised biography of ian hunter (volume 1)

Rock 'n' Roll Sweepstakes is a frank and comprehensive biography of a remarkable man, an amazing life and an incredible musical legacy. It covers Ian Hunter's youth and formative rock 'n' roll years in the Sixties, Mott the Hoople's formation, David Bowie's intervention as 'a fan' of the band and...

Holy rock 'n' rollers: the story of kings of leon (updated edition

The Kings of Leon came from America's Deep South in 2003 and made an impact on the British music scene that was more immediate and long-lasting than any other new band in years. They embarked on a sex, drug and booze-fuelled rampage through the London music and fashion scene, never afraid to reve...

God only knows

"Essential reading for anybody who cares about Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys and the evolution of rock & roll."—Jason Fine, former Editor-in-Chief, Rolling Stone An intimate look at Brian Wilson’s rollercoaster of a life and career, it’s told through the eyes of those who were there duri...

Let there be rock

Learn how this group of Australian mates became one of the few truly legendary rock and roll bands in history. Author Susan Masino traces the band's roots, from their beginnings in Sydney, Australia in the early 1970s, to trail-blazing the U.S. mainstream, to the devastating death of lead singer ...

Grant & i

"In early '77 I asked Grant if he'd form a band with me. `No,' was his blunt reply." Grant McLennan didn't want to be in a band. He couldn't play an instrument; Charlie Chaplin was his hero du jour. And yet, when Robert Forster wrote Hemingway, Genet, Chandler and Joyce into his lyrics, McLennan ...

Growing out of it

Whether flying across a screen or lighting up the stage, Madness' wild, energetic sax player has always been hard to miss. For Lee 'Kix' Thompson, life is about having fun—even when times are tough. Growing Out Of It is the tale of one 'nutty boy' not really growing out of it at all. From getting...

The young punks

As the 1970s drew to a close and changes in music, fashion and attitudes collided to form Punk, Sheila Rock was right at the heart of the electrifying youth movement.

George harrison

'A magisterial biography… Thomson’s book adds something new to this conversation…' – Chicago TribuneBehind The Locked Door is Graeme Thomson’s rich, insightful account of George Harrison’s extraordinary life and career.As a Beatle, Harrison underwent a bewilderingly compressed early adulthood, bu...

Kraftwerk: publikation

Updated to include details of the group's recent concerts under the direction of Ralf Hutter. David Buckley examines the cult enigma that is Kraftwerk, including their beginnings in the avant-garde musical terrain of late-Sixties Germany and their Anglo-American breakthrough with Autobahn in 1975...

Careless whispers

George Michael was pop's greatest survivor. He has been UK radio's most-played artist over the last 35 years and the superstar behind the legendary 1980s Faith album and tour. He was a musician with international credibility—and a disaster magnet whose serial scandals never seemed to dent his pro...

Bowiestyle

A richly illustrated 160-page chronicle of pop's greatest exponent of style. This visual examination of a celebrated multi-faceted career documents the impact of David Bowie on twentieth-century fashion and culture, brilliantly capturing his spatial odyssey from dedicated follower to supreme arbi...

So it started there

So It Started There chronicles the life and career of drummer Nick Banks, and how he came to be in one of the most iconic and beloved bands: Pulp.Beginning with his childhood in Rotherham, Nick recounts his personal and musical journey through the genres, first as a punk, then as a goth; how it a...

The lyrics of syd barrett

The complete lyrics of Syd Barrett – 52 songs written for Pink Floyd and during his subsequent solo career – are presented together for the first time, along with rare photos and artwork, to form this beautifully illustrated book. Despite just a three-year tenure with the band, co-founder Syd Bar...

Modzines

Modzines is an original book that documents the fast living world of fanzines during the Mod revival years, fully illustrated with original artwork and photography. Leading figures from the scene including fanzine editors, bands, DJ s, promoters, journalists and main faces are interviewed providi...

The comeback: elvis and the story of the 68 special

"He wasn't dead and gone to Heaven. He was alive and still in Graceland. Cursed to live another year on God's earth as Elvis Presley. The man from yesterday trapped in a today of tomorrows..." As 1968 dawns, the once King of Rock 'n' Roll faces cultural oblivion. While elsewhere the Sixties are s...

Maybe i'm doing it wrong - the life & music of randy newman

There has never been anyone quite like Randy Newman, a truly unique and distinctive voice in popular, film and TV music. Maybe I'm Doing It Wrong - The Life And Music Of Randy Newman is a biography that presents an ideal introduction to the singer-songwriter while also celebrating a wonderful bod...

She’s a rainbow

"How Anita came to be with Brian is really the story of how the Stones became the Stones. She almost single-handedly engineered a cultural revolution in London by bringing together the Stones and the jeunesse dorée…The Stones came away with a patina of aristocratic decadence that served as a perf...

George clinton & the cosmic odyssey of the p-funk empire

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 spa...

Set in stone - ian tilton's stone roses photographs

Ian Tilton knew The Stones Roses before they were famous and shot every key moment during the band s meteoric rise to fame in the late Eighties. He photographed their first TV appearance, the Roses three famous early gigs at Blackpool Tower, Glasgow Green and Spike Island, his photos appeared on ...

Diary of a rock 'n' roll star

Foreword by Johnny Depp.Long acclaimed as one of the best rock books ever written, Diary of a Rock 'n' Roll Star is Ian Hunter's candid account of Mott the Hoople's five week American tour in November and December 1972.First published in 1974, it has received a litany of plaudits and been describ...

The sound of the machine

For the first time, in The Sound of the Machine, Bartos speaks candidly and with wit and humour about his life in Kraftwerk, a band widely acknowledged as being one of the most important in modern music.Some of the most beautiful, era-defining music has been co-composed by Karl Bartos. ‘The Robot...

Taj mahal

"A living link to the old blues traditions" — Mick Jagger Over the course of a remarkable sixty-year career, Taj Mahal has forged his own path, embracing a bold musical hybridity that fuses West African and Caribbean sounds with Delta blues, jazz, gospel and rock ’n’ roll. In retracing his ancest...

The police: every little thing

An American drummer, a bass player from Newcastle and a guitarist a decade older than the other two, with little in common other than their musical brilliance and towering ambition, formed one of the most successful bands in history. Covering the years 1977–1986 and the brief reincarnation in 200...

Dayglo!

Poly Styrene was many things: a pop star, a punk, a songwriter, a single mother, a woman of colour, a Hare Krishna convert and an artist, but she is best known as the singer of X-Ray Spex. Dayglo! is the definitive statement on Poly Styrene as an artist.Poly Styrene was a singer-songwriter, an ar...

The jam 1982

This richly illustrated oral history account of The Jam's rollercoaster final year, led principally by the voice of Jam drummer Rick Buckler, contains a number of previously unseen images and takes in everything from the recording and release of final studio album The Gift and the rigours of the ...

Defying gravity

The image of Jordan in her white shards of beehive and Mondrian make-up remains one of the most iconic in pop history. Yet few truly understood what was happening behind those watchful eyes when anarchy hit the UK. How did a ballet-obsessed girl from sleepy Sussex journey through the clandestine ...

All or nothing

A powerful biography of Steve Marriott, lead singer of the Small Faces and Humble Pie, whose voice was coveted by Bob Dylan, Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey and David Bowie, amongst many others.All or Nothing, Simon Spence's oral history biography, is drawn from over 125 interviews with those who kne...

Mod

Mods were always the essence of cool. Terry Rawlings' book perfectly captures the look and soul of Mod. Tracing its roots back to London's SoHo of the Forties, he unearths every impulse and expression of the only surviving British youth movement that can be looked back on without embarrassment. I...

Weighted down

Weighted Down is the first biography of the legendary '60s cult musician Skip Spence.As a member of era-defining bands Moby Grape, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane, Spence played a large part in setting the agenda and aesthetic for many other groups of the era. His only solo ...

The life of bob marley

A graphic novel telling of the life of Jamaican reggae singer, songwriter, musician and guitarist who achieved international fame and acclaim. Starting out in 1963 with the group The Wailers, he forged a distinctive songwriting and vocal style that would later resonate with audiences worldwide. D...

Keith richards: a life in pictures

From the early days of The Rolling Stones, with a relatively baby-faced 'Keef' sporting a hounds-tooth jacket, to his heroic piratical look of the present day, rock's indestructible hero has been photographed by many people over half a century. Featuring more than 300 photographs in colour and bl...

The guy on the left

Whatever happened to slade?

More than simply the iconic group of the 1970s glam rock era, Slade's huge popularity and the enduring levels of affection still exist. Although the original quartet ceased working as a unit in 1992, Noddy Holder, Dave Hill, Jim Lea, and Don Powell remain household names. The first serious biogra...

Bowie odyssey 70

He starts the decade a teenage pop idol. But the one-hit wonder who sang ‘Space Oddity’ is still very far from becoming the star who will one day define the 1970s. Not when he still has a band to find, a manager to sack, a mentally ill brother to save, a wife to marry and a rival called Marc Bola...

The clash: the music that matters

The ultimate book on records by The Clash. An album by album, track by track, examination of every song released by The Clash, from their first single 'White Riot' to Combat Rock and beyond. Includes sections on compilations, live recordings, films, and post-Clash work by Joe Strummer and Mick Jo...

Bowie odyssey 72

Book by book, year by year, the ultimate literary trip through Bowie's greatest decade.A new year for David Bowie means new clothes, new boots, new hair and a new name: Ziggy Stardust. To the gloomy blacked-out Britain of powercuts and three-day weeks he may as well be from outer space – if that’...

Living for kicks - a mods graphic novel

Living for Kicks is Omnibus's first fictional graphic novel, the tale of young Mod Spike Spellane and his attempts to hustle enough money in sleazy 1960s Soho to start a record label. Combining early Sixties Mod culture, Soho jazz dives, the Keeler affair and real-life British gangsters, this eng...

Arcade fire: behind the black mirror

Formed in Boston in 2001, Arcade Fire quickly relocated to Montreal and started performing in art galleries and lofts while hoping for a record deal. The early line-up quickly changed following rifts, first between co-founder Win Butler and Myles Broscoe, then between Butler and Brendan Reed. Bro...

Looking through you: rare & unseen photographs from the beatles book archive

In 1963, it was unusual for a pop group to have a monthly magazine devoted exclusively to their career. Only Elvis Presley had been considered important enough to warrant such an honour. But then the Beatles were unusual. Within the space of that pivotal year, the Fab Four became the biggest thin...

Thunder: giving the game away

The legend of Thunder spans 27 years and is studded with 18 Top 40 UK singles, as well as a haul of gold and platinum albums. They've had their share of breakups and re-formations, and their story, told in their own words and illustrated with rare photos and memorabilia, reflects both the price a...

A continual farewell

A Continual Farewell tells the story of the relationship between Factory Records’ Tony Wilson and his first wife, Lindsay Reade, through their letters, Factory Records memorabilia and numerous family photos and snapshots. Many are typed on Factory notepaper, or are scrawled on pages from various ...

Leaving the building

When a musician dies, it is rarely the end of their story. While death can propel megastars to even further success, artists overlooked in their lifetime might also find a new type of fame. But a badly timed move or the wrong deal can see the artist die all over again. Colonel Tom Parker, the for...

Smart blonde: the life of dolly parton

A revised and updated edition of Stephen Miller's definitive biography of Dolly Parton. Going behind the larger-than-life image to discover what makes Dolly tick, Miller gets to the core of a remarkable woman from a poor East Tennessee background who made it in the male-dominated world of Sixties...

The remarkable tale of radio 1

For most people in Britain in the 1970s and 1980s, Radio 1 provided the soundtrack to their lives. Commanding up to 24 million listeners a week, it was the most popular radio station in the world. An iconic institution and one of the UK's most famous brands, its history and socio-cultural impact ...

Blues from laurel canyon

With an incredible blues career spanning over sixty years, which rightly earned him the title "The Godfather of British Blues," John shares his experiences and encounters in what will be a must read autobiography for any true blues fans.John Mayall played with them all; Eric Clapton, Peter Green,...

Look wot i dun

Look What I Dun is the story of Slade told through the eyes of drummer Don Powell whose life was shattered when, in 1973 at the height of the group's fame, he was involved in a horrific car crash.Unflinching in his honesty, Powell deals frankly with the aftermath of the accident that took the lif...

Life and times of little richard

The classic authorized biography that told it all.Foreword by Sir Paul McCartneyWhen 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 t...

Bowie odyssey 75

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 American...

The anarchy tour

Illustrated throughout with rare photographs and memorabilia, The Anarchy Tour tells the story of why the 'Anarchy in the UK Tour' was so important, examining along the way punk rock’s impact on the nation in the Seventies. In December 1976, a coach drove off down a London street. On board were t...

Hickory dickory & doc that can't be the time!

A Colorful Story of Three Mice and Their Clock Making Factory

Ripped and torn: 1976-1979

Ripped and Torn was one of the first punk fanzines, and continued long after others like Sniffing Glue had stopped. Ripped and Torn began in in Glasgow in November 1976 and carried on into the next wave of punk. It ran for eighteen issues, all of which are faithfully reproduced in this book. By p...

Adrian henri

Adrian Henri was a British poet and painter best remembered as the founder of poetry-rock group The Liverpool Scene and as one of three poets in the bestselling anthology The Mersey Sound, along with Brian Patten and Roger McGough. The trio of Liverpool poets came to prominence in that city's Mer...

Hickory dickory & doc uncle able to the rescue

A Story of Three Mice Trying to Succeed in the Car Repair Business

Luc ferrari: complete works

This is the first English monograph of legendary French musique-concrète pioneer Luc Ferrari (1929–2005), founding member of Groupe de Recherches (GRM) with Pierre Schaeffer—the group and studio dedicated to the electronic medium that changed composition forever. This sumptuous volume includes fa...

There and black again

Don Letts – filmmaker, musician, DJ, broadcaster, social commentator, husband and father – has always defied conformity. A British-born son of Jamaican parents, he seamlessly pivoted between London’s punk and reggae scenes, earning his reputation as the ‘Rebel Dread’.In There and Black Again, Don...

The curious life & work of scott walker

This work details the formation of the Walker Brothers in the 1960s only for the group to split at the height of their fame, allowing Scott Walker to launch himself as a solo artist.

1999

The fascinating true story of the year in which everything changed in the music business.This is the story of a year in which the record business appeared to be firing on all cylinders, when the CD was at its commercial zenith, bringing in staggering sums of money for the global record business. ...

Small hours

Did any musician in the Seventies fly so free as John Martyn did on Bless The Weather, Solid Air, Inside Out and One World? Did any fall so far? Small Hours is an intimate, unflinching biography of one of the great maverick artists. Though Martyn never had a hit single, his extraordinary voice, i...