'Wainwright tells the story of the girl with the incredible voice who, by sheer force of her personality and power of her decibels, took the operatic world by storm and managed to escape from her violent husband.' - Daily Mail. This delightfully revisionist biography of Dame Nellie Melba rescues her from fusty Victorianism to analyse her struggles and resilience to overcome misogyny and social expectations and becoming one of history's greatest opera singers. Nellie Melba is remembered as a squarish, late middle-aged woman dressed in furs and large hats, an imperious Dame whose voice ruled the world for three decades and inspired a peach and raspberry dessert. She battled misogyny and perhaps would have preferred she stay a housewife in outback Queensland Australia rather than parade herself on stage. But she endured the violence of a bad marriage, was denied by scandal a true love with the would-be King of France, and suffered for more than a decade the loss of her only son - stolen by his angry, vengeful father. Despite these obstacles, Nellie built and maintained a career as an opera singer and businesswoman on three continents which made her one of the first international superstars. Award-winning biographer Wainwright presents a very different portrait of this great diva which celebrates both her musical contributions and her rich and colourful personal life. Includes many pictures including Nellie on her way to London in 1919 to reopen Covent Garden Opera House. 344pp.

Songs about animals like Year of the Cat by Al Stewart, outstanding cover versions like Aretha Franklin's Respect or Johnny Cash's Hurt, songs about dying, songs inspired by novels or siblings, about films, Monty Python songs like Every Sperm is Sacred, songs about God and Jesus like Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven, songs about environmental matters like Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi, songs about the USA, countries, being broke, prostitution, acceptance, saying goodbye, getting dumped, other women like Dolly Parton's classic Jolene and iconic opening lines like 'Hello darkness, my old friend/I've come to talk with you again' written when Paul Simon was just 21 in his chosen spot for songwriting, his bathroom, with a tiled floor providing the perfect echo chamber for his guitar and voice. It's time to rock the Casbah, sway and sing along to all these mixed emotions and memories, some with lyrics worthy of a Nobel Prize for Literature, others raw and gritty. From Adele to Aretha, Jagger to Jarvis, Rufus to Rosalía, many are well known others a little more off-radar. Each list has a scannable Spotify code to access the music directly. With very cool portrait artworks throughout, 260pp.

A fun engaging and entertaining collection of facts, figures and miscellany from opera etiquette to the role of goats in opera, bible characters to favourite foods of the leading sopranos, test you knowledge with your fellow enthusiasts. If you are an absolute beginner it is a potpourri of the sublime and the ridiculous. Find out which opera is set on a planet called Doris, what prompted Rossini to burst into tears on a boating outing, which opera singers have appeared with the Muppets, how many Spanish women were seduced by Don Giovanni and more. With foreword by Lesley Garrett for all opera buffs and bluffers. 182pp, line art.

With the big swirly typeface 1970s lettering for their band name, utopian lyrics, dreamy artworks by Roger Dean on albums like Tales from Topographic Oceans, many music lovers have been moved by classic albums like Fragile, Close to the Edge, Relayer, Going for the One, or more recent offerings like Fly From Here and Heaven & Earth. This magical book perfectly captures the spirit of progressive rock's first, biggest and best band with original interviews from Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford, Steve Howe, Rick Wakeman, the late and great bassist Chris Squire and many others. The tales unfold via an exhaustive chronology designed to satisfy the most knowledgeable of Yes fans. You just might learn what 'Close to the Edge' actually means or why Alan White and Jon Anderson might be seen prowling the junkyard for car parts! Using a timeline format, the superb biographer Popoff disentangles the convoluted tale of the band's hirings and firings, their inside creations, live shows and triumphs, and studio victories as well as the occasional controversial failure such as when Anderson wanted to record 'Tales from Topographic Oceans' in the countryside so a cut-out cow was brought in. Popoff also gets the views of contemporaries such as Steve Hackett (Genesis), Bill Ward (Black Sabbath) and John Wetton (King Crimson, Asia et al) to provide a rounded view of the prog movement. Colour photos, 205pp, large softback.

A name many music lovers will know, legendary impresario Simon Napier-Bell takes us inside the world of popular music from sheet music to streaming. Not just a cradle for talent and expression, the music business has made people rich beyond their wildest dreams. Simon balances seductive anecdotes, pulling back the curtain on the gritty and absurd side of the industry, with an insightful exploration of the relationship between creativity and money. He describes the evolution of the industry from its birth in 1710 when the British Parliament first established the right of ownership in creative works, to the huge global market it has become today with streaming and downloads. You will uncover a treasure trove of musical facts including how a formula for writing hits in the 1900s which helped create 50,000 of the best-known songs of all time; how Jewish immigrants and Black jazz musicians dancing cheek-to-cheek established a template for all popular music that followed; and how rock tours became the biggest, quickest, sleaziest and most profitable ventures the industry had ever seen. We shine on this crazy diamond through the days of the American musical, Irving Berlin, pirating and other problems, dodgy producers, booze, the wireless, world wars, payola, record companies regrouping, Michael Jackson and Madonna, drugs and DJs, rap, the end of Classical and EMI, and new directions. With a cast of characters, and songs in chapter titles, index of quotations and bibliography. 388pp, paperback.

Few bands are as shrouded in the murky haze of rock mythology as The Doors, but now the band's notoriously quiet guitarist is finally breaking his silence to set the record straight. His often amusing memories will be loved by all Doors fans. It is a series of vignettes which takes us back to where it all happened - the pawn shop where he bought his first guitar, the jail cell he was tossed into after a teenage drug bust, his parents' living room where his first writing songs with Jim Morrison took place, and the many concert venues that erupted into historic riots. There are stories of the albums, flashpoints, the group's rise to fame, singles, drug and alcohol use all painting a picture of the 1960's counterculture. At the same time it is a moving reflection on what it means to find oneself as a musician, from the iconic and definitive first album on Elektra, we are reminded of the swirling technical wizardry on keyboards of Ray Manzarek and the solid drumming of John Densmore. Sadly of course Jim Morrison entered the 27 club but here his bandmate sets the record straight after wild acclaims and misunderstandings. Along the way he also managed to write 'Light My Fire', an anthem for the band. A great read from this underrated guitar player who writes with the same easy going style. 422 page paperback, many photos.

Adoring fans surrounding the limousine as a young David Bowie with his iconic haircut smoking a cigarette emerging into his newfound fame graces the cover of this gorgeous, celebratory read. The age of the rock star, like the age of the cowboy, has passed. What did we see in them? Swagger, recklessness, sexual charisma, self-belief, a certain way of carrying themselves, good hair, interesting shoes, talent? What did we want of them? To be larger than life but also like us. To live out their songs. To stay young forever. No wonder many didn't stay the course. Never a dull moment with 40 enjoyable romps across the years 1955 to 1994 with the rise of the drum machine. Here are bad boys, guitar heroes, rock bands, female rock stars and career suicide from the early days of Elvis Presley and Fats Domino to David Bowie, Morrisey to Madonna, Ozzy Osbourne to Björk, Little Richard, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, Sid Vicious, The Edge, Bob Marley, Kurt Cobain, Keith Moon and on into infinity. It's about the fantasy figures that rock fame transformed them into and the personal price they paid for playing a starring role in our dreams. We wanted rock stars to be glamorous but also authentic, willing to beat off willing sexual partners but also live a fulfilled family life, staying up too late and never giving their full attention, but still operating at their full potential and talent. Rock stars were uncommon people who came from the masses and got to the top without the help of education, training, family ties or money and surprisingly many had careers that lasted far longer than they ever had any right to expect. Here their legends endure. 421pp, paperback with many photos.

The third and final real stereophonic LP from Columbia with a part three booklet. The tracks are You're No Good, Talkin' New York, In My Time of Dyin', Man of Constant Sorrow, Fixin' To Die, Pretty Peggy-O, Highway 51, Gospel Plow, Baby Let Me Follow You Down, House of The Risin' Sun, Freight Train Blues, Song To Woody and See That My Grave Is Kept Clean. Originally released 1962 and with the iconic young Dylan in the photograph by Don Hunstein holding his acoustic guitar and wearing a sheepskin jacket and trademark black corduroy baker boy cap. Terrific value for money and a companion to 94044 The Freewheelin' 12" Vinyl Album and 94423 The Times They Are A-Changin' 12" Vinyl Album.