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Grumpy Old Rock Star: and Other Wondrous Stories
By Rick Wakeman. 2008
Around about August 1948, Mr and Mrs Cyril Wakeman had an early night and some time later, at Perivale in…
Middlesex, Mrs Wakeman produced a bonny baby son. They named him Richard, but he quickly became known as Rick. Rick was a likeable little fellow who had a talent for the piano and for making trouble. Music became Rick's life - he joined a popular music group called Yes and became a legend. Much later he became a Grumpy Old Man who appears on Countdown, hosts a hugely popular radio show on Planet Rock and performs a one-man show telling stories about his rather extraordinary life.Which is where this book you are holding comes in. Mr Wakeman is simply one of the great storytellers of our age - let's face it, he has some fabulous material. It seemed a shame that some of the funniest yarns should not be more widely known. So he accepted some cash and here we are.Curl up by the fire with a Grumpy Old Rock Star and your nearest and dearest. We defy you not to want to read it aloud and laugh.Gene Vincent & Eddie Cochran
By John Collis. 2004
The United Kingdom had never seen anything like it, as two rock'n'roll legends rampaged around the country on Britain's first-ever…
rock tour. Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran lived the rock'n'roll lifestyle to the full, bringing to an end the monochrome 1950s and ushering in the swinging 60s.John Collis has traced the story of the UK tour that was a defining moment in British popular culture to its tragic climax with the death of Eddie Cochran. He looks back on the contrasting backgrounds of the two stars, follows the tale onwards to Gene Vincent's death from alcohol and drug abuse, and examines the lasting legacy of their music.Good Pop, Bad Pop: The Sunday Times bestselling hit from Jarvis Cocker
By Jarvis Cocker. 1966
The Sunday Times bestselling hit memoir from Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker.'It's real gold... its storytelling first class' Sunday TimesWhat if…
the things we keep hidden say more about us than those we put on display?We all have a random collection of the things that made us - photos, tickets, clothes, souvenirs, stuffed in a box, packed in a suitcase, crammed into a drawer. When Jarvis Cocker starts clearing out his loft, he finds a jumble of objects that catalogue his story and ask him some awkward questions:Who do you think you are?Are clothes important?Why are there so many pairs of broken glasses up here?From a Gold Star polycotton shirt to a pack of Wrigley's Extra, from his teenage attempts to write songs to the Sexy Laughs Fantastic Dirty Joke Book, this is the hard evidence of Jarvis's unique life, Pulp, 20th century pop culture, the good times and the mistakes he'd rather forget.This is not a life story. It's a loft story.'Nostalgic, playful and beautifully designed' Daily Mail'Brilliant...lurid, entertaining' Daily Telegraph'Terrific... Very funny' Guardian* A Book of the Year in the Daily Telegraph, Financial Times, Daily Mail and Uncut *Ziggyology
By Simon Goddard. 2013
He came from Outer Space...It was the greatest invention in the history of pop music – the rock god who…
came from the stars – which struck a young David Bowie like a lightning bolt from the heavens. When Ziggy the glam alien messiah fell to Earth, he transformed Bowie from a prodigy to a superstar who changed the face of music forever. But who was Ziggy Stardust? And where did he really come from?In a work of supreme pop archaeology, Simon Goddard unearths every influence that brought Ziggy to life – from HG Wells to Holst, Kabuki to Kubrick, and Elvis to Iggy. Ziggyology documents the epic drama of the Starman’s short but eventful time on Planet Earth… and why Bowie eventually had to kill him.You Don't Have To Say You Love Me
By Simon Napier-Bell. 2013
You probably know Simon Napier-Bell as the manager of the Yardbirds. Or you may know him as the man who…
managed Marc Bolan, or Japan. You should definitely know him as the man who managed Wham! And if none of these rings a bell, maybe you'll remember him as the man who co-wrote 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me' for Dusty Springfield. You Don't Have To Say You Love Me is one of the funniest books you will read and equally provoking. From his revelation that the entire music industry was motivated by sex, to an embarrassing come-on from a suicidal Brian Epstein, it's all shocking stuff. But when you're on the run from the German police with Marc Bolan, brothel-hopping with Keith Moon and generally living the life of Riley at the music industry's expense, it would be a shame not to share those amazing experiences with the rest of the world, wouldn't it? Of all the great pop-music books written, it is worth savouring You Don't Have To Say You Love Me for its brilliant sideways insight into one of the most exciting cultural periods Britain has ever seen.Eskiboy
By Wiley. 2007
‘Wiley is Wiley, and if you don’t know me, you don’t know much.’*Winner of the NME Best Music Book Award…
2018*A TIMES BOOK OF THE YEARA SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEARA TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR'The greatest UK MC of all time' NoiseyWiley. Godfather of grime. He's one of Britain's most innovative musicians – and the movement he started in east London in the early 2000s is taking over the world.This is his story. This is ESKIBOY.'Perhaps the most influential musician working in Britain today' Guardian'Wiley is the pioneering force of grime, the most revolutionary musical movement in Britain since punk' The Times'A glimpse of the 21st-century rock'n'roll' Sunday TimesA Fabulous Creation: How the LP Saved Our Lives
By David Hepworth. 2019
_________‘Hepworth’s knowledge and understanding of rock history is prodigious … [a] hugely entertaining study of the LP’s golden age’ The…
Times_________The era of the LP began in 1967, with ‘Sgt Pepper’; The Beatles didn’t just collect together a bunch of songs, they Made An Album. Henceforth, everybody else wanted to Make An Album. The end came only fifteen years later, coinciding with the release of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’. By then the Walkman had taken music out of the home and into the streets and the record business had begun trying to reverse-engineer the creative process in order to make big money. Nobody would play music or listen to it in quite the same way ever again.It was a short but transformative time. Musicians became ‘artists’ and we, the people, patrons of the arts. The LP itself had been a mark of sophistication, a measure of wealth, an instrument of education, a poster saying things you dare not say yourself, a means of attracting the opposite sex, and, for many, the single most desirable object in their lives.This is the story of that time; it takes us from recording studios where musicians were doing things that had never been done before to the sparsely furnished apartments where their efforts would be received like visitations from a higher power. This is the story of how LPs saved our lives.Electric Shock: From the Gramophone to the iPhone – 125 Years of Pop Music
By Peter Doggett. 1902
Ambitious and groundbreaking, Electric Shock tells the story of popular music, from the birth of recording in the 1890s to…
the digital age, from the first pop superstars of the twentieth century to the omnipresence of music in our lives, in hit singles, ringtones and on Spotify. Over that time, popular music has transformed the world in which we live. Its rhythms have influenced how we walk down the street, how we face ourselves in the mirror, and how we handle the outside world in our daily conversations and encounters. It has influenced our morals and social mores; it has transformed our attitudes towards race and gender, religion and politics. From the beginning of recording, when a musical performance could be preserved for the first time, to the digital age, when all of recorded music is only a mouse-click away; from the straitlaced ballads of the Victorian era and the ‘coon songs’ that shocked America in the early twentieth century to gangsta rap, death metal and the multiple strands of modern dance music: Peter Doggett takes us on a rollercoaster ride through the history of music. Within a narrative full of anecdotes and characters, Electric Shock mixes musical critique with wider social and cultural history and shows how revolutionary changes in technology have turned popular music into the lifeblood of the modern world.Finding My Voice
By Russell Watson. 2013
Russell 'The Voice' Watson is a star with a real story to tell. While most stars of today find success…
early, Russell was still working in a Salford factory at the age of 30. He spent the evenings singing in working men's clubs for extra cash to keep the bailiffs from his family's door. The chairman of Manchester United gave him his big break in May 1999: the opportunity to sing at Old Trafford. His extraordinary performance was quickly followed by a record deal and his phenomenal debut album.Despite his outward success, Russell struggled with his health and family life. His rapid rise to fame led to a bitter divorce from his childhood sweetheart and his private life being splashed across the tabloids. Then last year he was struck down by a life-threatening brain tumour. This plunged Russell into a deep depression and it was only the thought of leaving his two children fatherless that kept him going. Just when it seemed he was fully recovered he collapsed again while recording and had to have emergency surgery on a second brain tumour that threatened his voice, his sight and his life.Now, in his own words, Russell tells us the amazing story of his life.Fierce
By Kelly Osbourne. 2009
This no-holds-barred account of Kelly Obsourne's upbringing is as shocking as it is disarmingly funny. From stories about her father's…
alcoholism to pushing over portaloos on tour, Kelly unflinchingly deals with the extraordinary experiences that have made up her life so far:'Kelly Osbourne has written Fierce, a handbook for teenage girls/memoir of adolescence lived under very bright lights. After reading it, and her anecdotes about her mum's early experiments with home waxing, and her dad snipping off her thong, and Amy Winehouse complimenting her on her tits, and the confidence that comes with Vicodin, as well as the fact boxes with advice about bullying and hair straighteners, I like her very much.' Eva Wiseman, ObserverEngelbert - What's In A Name?: My Autobiography
By Engelbert Humperdinck. 2012
The man known simply as 'Enge' by his millions of fans worldwide has sold over 150 million records and is…
in the Guinness Book of Records for achieving 56 consecutive weeks in the chart with 'Release Me'.From living on the dole and receiving last rites with tuberculosis, to buying a Hollywood palace with a heart-shaped pool and a fleet of fourteen Rolls Royces, Engelbert wears his 'King of Romance' crown so well that horticulturists even named a rose after him. And the love god has certainly lived up to his reputation, indulging in a string of affairs and one-night stands, whilst remaining happily married to his first love Patricia. Forty years on from his early hits 'Enge' is still at the very top, selling out concerts across the world, representing the UK at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest, and topping the charts in all the major markets.Inspired by the warmth of his millions of affectionate fans and the endless support of his wife, Engelbert shares his incredible life story with openness, humour and astonishing honesty.Falling and Laughing: The Restoration of Edwyn Collins
By Grace Maxwell. 2009
In February 2005, Edwyn Collins suffered two devastating brain haemorrhages. He should have died. Doctors advised that if he did…
survive, there would be little of him left. If that wasn't enough, he went on to contract MRSA as a result of an operation to his skull and spent six months in hospital. Initially, Edwyn couldn't speak, read, write, walk, sit up or feed himself. He had lost all movement in his right side and was suffering from aphasia - an inability to use or understand language. When he initially recovered consciousness the only words he could say were 'Grace', 'Maxwell', 'yes' and 'no'.But with the help of his partner Grace and their son Will, Edwyn fought back. Slowly, and with monumental effort, he began to teach his brain to read and speak all over again - with some areas of his mind it was if he had been a slate wiped utterly clean. Through a long and arduous road of therapy he began to re-inhabit his body until he could walk again. Grace's story is an intimate and inspiring account of what you do to survive when your husband is all but taken away without warning by a stroke.Down the Crooked Road: My Autobiography
By Mary Black. 2014
For the last thirty years, singer Mary Black has been a dominant presence on the Irish music scene, an award-winning…
artist with many bestselling albums to her name. Now, in this long-awaited memoir, Mary takes us back to the roots of her musical heritage and to the influences that helped to shape her as an artist and a woman. Born into a musical family, Mary Black – a feisty tomboy who could hold her own when it came to sparring with her brothers and anyone else brave enough to take her on – began singing folk songs from the age of ten. Music played an important role in the family home and, performing with her brothers and her sister Frances, Mary built her highly successful career on the bedrock of these early years. From the pubs and clubs of her hometown, Dublin, she went on to perform in some of the most prestigious venues across the world. Always committed to exploring new material from the best writers, her unique talent attracted acclaim from critics, fellow artists and the public alike. It also led to a host of bestselling albums, including the multi-platinum No Frontiers, which spent more than a year in the Irish Top 30. Mary’s love of singing was matched only by the love she had for her family. As she recalls the inevitable tensions that arose when trying to juggle family life and a high-profile career, she tells of her struggle to combine the two contrasting aspects of her life. It was only through gritty determination, hard work and a fair amount of laughter that Mary was able to enjoy major success as an artist and, at the same time, raise a close and loving family with her husband Joe. Refreshingly honest, and written with warmth and humour, Down the Crooked Road offers a unique insight into the life and career of one of our most gifted singers – an artist who, during the course of her long career, has captured the hearts of millions around the world.Factory: The Story of the Record Label
By Mick Middles. 2002
Factory Records' fame and fortune were based on two bands - Joy Division and New Order - and one personality…
- that of its director, Tony Wilson. At the height of the label's success in the late 1980s, it ran its own club, the legendary Haçienda, had a string of international hit records, and was admired and emulated around the world. But by the 1990s the story had changed. The back catalogue was sold off, top bands New Order and Happy Mondays were in disarray, and the Haçienda was shut down by the police. Critically acclaimed on its original publication in 1996, this book tells the complete story of Factory Records' spectacular history, from the label's birth in 1970s Manchester, through its '80s heyday and '90s demise. Now updated to include new material on the re-emergence of Joy Division, the death of Tony Wilson and the legacy of Factory Records, it draws on exclusive interviews with the major players to give a fascinating insight into the unique personalities and chaotic reality behind one of the UK's most influential and successful independent record labels.Every Chart Topper Tells a Story: The Sixties
By Sharon Davis. 1997
The glorious sixties were a decade for the young and rebellious, of cultural freedom and of sexual liberation. The British…
music scene had never been so adventurous, taking even the American charts by storm.Every Chart-Topper Tells a Story: The Sixties takes a look at the number-one hit singles of the decade in Britain from artists such as The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Dusty Springfield, Ken Dodd, Cilla Black, The Supremes, Cliff Richard and Helen Shapiro, and is a valuable and entertaining source of information for all those interested in the sixties' music scene.Every Chart Topper Tells a Story: The Seventies
By Sharon Davis. 1998
The seventies witnessed great changes not only in dress style but also in music. The psychedelia of the late sixties…
had mutated into glam rock by the early seventies, while the latter half of the decade is best remembered for the punk and disco explosions which gripped both Britain and America. The number-one singles of the decade are recalled in Every Chart Topper Tells a Story: The Seventies, from artists as diverse as Gary Glitter, David Bowie, Jimi Hendrix, Diana Ross, The Bee Gees, T-Rex, Commodores, Donny Osmond, The Three Degrees and Abba. It is the ideal volume both for those wanting a trip down memory lane and for serious music connoisseurs.David Starkey's Music and Monarchy
By Dr David Starkey. 2013
For the kings and queens of England, a trumpet fanfare or crash of cymbals could be as vital a weapon…
as a cannon. Showcasing a monarch’s power, prestige and taste, music has been the lifeblood of many a royal dynasty.From sacred choral works to soaring symphonies, Music and Monarchy looks at how England’s character was shaped by its music. To David Starkey and Katie Greening, works like Handel’s Water Music and Tallis’s Mass for Four Voices were more than entertainment – they were pieces signalling political intent,wealth and ambition.Starkey and Greening examine England’s most iconic musical works to demonstrate how political power has been a part of musical composition for centuries. Many of our current musical motifs of nationhood, whether it’s the Last Night of the Proms or football terraces erupting in song, have their origins in the way the crown has shaped the national soundtrack.Published to coincide with a major BBC series, Music and Monarchy is not a book about music. It is a history of England written in music, from our leading royal historian.Do You Mr Jones?: Bob Dylan with the Poets and Professors
By Neil Corcoran. 2002
In 2016, Bob Dylan received the Nobel Prize in Literature ‘for having created new poetic expressions within the great American…
song tradition’. This collection of essays by leading poets and critics – with a new foreword by Will Self – examines Dylan’s poetic genius, as well as his astounding cultural influence over the decades.‘From Orpheus to Faiz, song and poetry have been closely linked. Dylan is the brilliant inheritor of the bardic tradition’ Salman Rushdie‘The most significant Western popular artist in any form or medium of the past sixty years’ Will Self‘For fifty and some years he has bent, coaxed, teased and persuaded words into lyric and narrative shapes that are at once extraordinary and inevitable’ Andrew Motion‘His haunting music and lyrics have always seemed, in the deepest sense, literary’ Joyce Carol Oates‘There is something inevitable about Bob Dylan… A storyteller pulling out all the stops – metaphor, allegory, repetition, precise detail… His virtue is in his style, his attitude, his disposition to the world’ Simon ArmitageTHE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERJoin national treasure Gary Barlow as he opens the curtains on his remarkable life in this stunning…
autobiography, from his fascinating early life to his star-studded music career'Warm, wise . . . A never-before-seen insight into one of Britain's greatest songwriters' Woman's Own'I just wanted to share my personal journey through the last five decades - the highs and lows, the ups and downs. So in A Different Stage, this is me opening the curtains and sharing moments nobody has heard or seen before . . .'__________In this warm, intimate and humorous book, rich with nostalgia and unexpected intimate detail, Gary Barlow unpacks the people, music, places, things and cultural phenomena that have made him the man that he is.From the working men's club where it all began through to the sold out stadium tours, this is the story of Gary's life told through music.Filled with a mixture of brand new photography from Gary's current one-man show and incredibly personal unseen photos and notebooks, A Different Stage is a beautiful book about the man we've spent our lives listening to.__________'Refreshingly honest . . . Think you know everything there is to know about the Take That megastar? Think again' Woman & HomeDesert Island Discs: 70 Years of Castaways
By Sean Magee. 2012
‘For seventy years now Desert Island Discs has managed that rare feat – to be both enduring and relevant. By…
casting away the biggest names of the day in science, business, politics, showbiz, sport and the arts, it presents a cross-sectional snapshot of the times in which we live. As the decades have passed, the programme has kept pace; never frozen in time yet always, somehow, comfortingly the same.’ Kirsty YoungBBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs celebrates its seventieth birthday in 2012. Since the programme’s deviser Roy Plomley interviewed comedian Vic Oliver in January 1942, nearly 3,000 distinguished people from all walks of life have been stranded on the mythical island, accompanied by only eight records, one book and a luxury.Here the story of one of BBC Radio 4’s favourite programmes is chronicled through a special selection of castaways.Roy Plomley, inventor of the programme as well as its presenter for over forty years, quizzes the young Cliff Richard about ‘these rather frenzied movements’ the 1960s pop sensation makes on the stage. Robert Maxwell tells Plomley’s successor Michael Parkinson that ‘I will have left the world a slightly better place by having lived in it.’ Diana Mosley assures Sue Lawley that Adolf Hitler was ‘extraordinarily fascinating’ and had mesmeric blue eyes. And Johnny Vegas tugs Kirsty Young’s heart-strings with his account of a childhood so impoverished that family pets were fair game: ‘My dad had always claimed that rabbits were livestock, but we’d never eaten one before.’Desert Island Discs is much more than a radio programme. It is a unique and enduringly popular take on our lives and times – and this extensively illustrated book tells in rich detail the colourful and absorbing story of an extraordinary institution.