Sub-titled 'Fairport, Folk Rock and Finding My Voice 1967-75'. In this "droll and very British" memoir, guitarist/songwriter Richard Thompson describes the founding of the band Fairport Convention and life on the road in its heyday. Thompson grew up in a typical 1960s suburban house, with its radiogram and G-Plan furniture. Aged 11 in 1960, Thompson was inspired by Cliff Richard's backing group The Shadows to dream of owning a Fender Stratocaster guitar. His dad brought home a damaged instrument, mended it, and Thompson acquired a beginner's manual. His first guitar teacher, Pete, disappeared when the squat he lived in was razed to the ground, but in spite of setbacks, by the age of 18 Thompson was a competent electric guitarist. His break came when he met Simon Nicol of the Electric Shuffle Orchestra who lived in a big house called Fairport on Hampstead's Fortis Green. Renaming themselves "Fairport Convention" they performed covers of the Byrds and Lovin' Spoonful and started to get bookings. In 1967 Fairport opened for Pink Floyd, a gig memorable for the fact that Floyd's Syd Barrett overdosed on LSD and Dave Gilmour had to play his guitar parts behind stage. Record producer Joe Hopkins of Sound Techniques, who had stage-managed Newport when Dylan went electric, signed Fairport up at that gig. Soon they were doing weekly live shows at Speakeasy, where Jimi Hendrix joined them onstage a few times. Looking down on the Beatles as mere pop artists, Richard refused a birthday party invite from Paul McCartney but with hindsight was embarrassed by his snobbery. In 1969 a fatal road accident killed Richard's girlfriend Jeannie and their superb drummer Martin Lamble. The band eventually reformed and meanwhile Richard's songwriting reflected his new interest in spirituality. Following his marriage to Linda in 1973 the couple made a life-changing pilgrimage to Mecca. The book ends with the decline of folk rock, the end of his marriage and the search for a new direction. 290pp, paperback with colour and other photos including promotional posters and Fairport performing at the Bath Festival of Blues and Progressive Music June 1970 and RT with Linda in Hampstead.

One of the greatest rock bands of all time, Led Zeppelin's blend of rock and heavy metal with blues, soul, folk, pop, Indian and Celtic ranks them as one of the all-time greatest bands whose influence is still felt today, and whose music is still covered. This glamorous pictorial publication takes a chronological look at their career from the heady days of 1968 when they brought their unique sound to a worldwide audience, through the early 1970s when they were billed as the 'biggest band in the work', and to the 1980s when they became household names on both sides of the Atlantic. Chapters include Whole Lotta Success, On A Stairway to Heaven, Ripping Up the Rule Book, Rock Royalty, Exiled in America, Dazed and Confused, The Cracks Begin to Show and Rock Gods Return. Under the maverick management of Peter Grant, the band flaunted regular rock business conventions in a way that allowed them total artistic freedom. They constantly played audiences with long and compelling performances, and elaborate album covers added to the whole mystique of the band. More than 50 years on, the band remain very much in the present tense. This book is a story of their legend. Packed with quotes from other people, just a bit of history, buy for the revealing pictures alone. Packed with full page colour photos and archive black and white photography, 128pp, 20.3 x 23cm.
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When schoolfriends Mick Jagger and Keith Richards encountered Brian Jones's phenomenal guitar skills, the nucleus of a historic group was formed. The three lived in unbelievable squalor in a Chelsea flatshare, but Mick was still hedging his bets by studying at LSE, while Brian's incredible self-importance, based on his musicianship but also the numerous children he fathered even as a teenager, nearly drove them apart. When the well-dressed bassist Bill Perks auditioned, he was doubtful whether he wanted to join such a motley crew, but he stayed and found fame as Bill Wyman, while the suave and debonair drummer Charlie Watts made up the fifth. Initially the group played R&B, but everything changed when the Beatles came to see them and Mick realised he wanted the fame and fortune that pop music could bring. In 1963 the Stones found a tough manager in Andrew Oldham, who forced them into Beatles-style clothes and got them a deal with Decca and a 60-concert tour. Photos from this era are candid and revealing, showing the lads posing for the cameras but not yet skilled in creating the cool masks of later publicity. Their ascent to stardom was meteoric and Jones coped least well. Even a Rolls Royce Silver Cloud and Anita Pallenberg failed to stall his permanent acid high, and it was only when Jagger and Richards started making money out of songwriting that Jones realised his reputation was only as good as the last gig, while the others had a solid source of income. 1965 was the year of Keith's stratospheric hit "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", regarded by many as symbolising all the frustrations of the sixties. When Pallenberg transferred her affections to Keith, Brian's downward slide was assured and the days of the original band were numbered. Meanwhile Marianne Faithfull had left Mick and Bianca was on the horizon. This superb book takes the incredible story of the stupendous Stones into the 21st century. 112pp, colour and monochrome photos on most double spreads.
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Richard in his own words calls it 'The reference guide to go to.' 'It has the heft and visual history of a coffee table book, but it's also a nearly note-for-note musical biography of the pair that goes back to their childhood lives in Newhaven, Connecticut, where Richard Carpenter found the seeds of the group's sound in his father's records and a toy jukebox.' - Associated Press. Richard and his sister Karen signed to A&M Records in 1969 and the duo became one of the most successful and revered recording artists in pop music history. Here is the full story of The Carpenters told for the first time and from the perspective of the one person there for it all, Richard Carpenter. He reflects on their journey with heart and humour and speaks candidly about the high price of success. He includes more than 200 never-before-published photographs from his personal archive and sets the record straight. Brother and sister Richard and Karen Carpenter were not only incredibly beautiful to look at, but incredibly talented. The duo formed in the late 1960s. With Karen's timeless singing voice and impeccable phrasing, and Richard's gift for writing music, selecting, producing and arranging hit singles and sparkling album tracks, their classics came fast and furious starting in the summer of 1970 when 'They Long to Be (Close to You)' set a new gold standard for popular music. Of course, Karen died at the age of just 32, tragically, and her anorexia well known. Album covers, singles covers, facts like release dates and Billboard top chart positions, the full history of the sparkling stage show, big-name managers, record breaking European and Japanese concert tours in the mid 70s, television specials, here are the biggest names in music from the period as we fondly recall and sing along to A Song for You, Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft, watch Karen playing drums, driving a red sportscar, enjoying her 25th birthday cake, smiling to the camera in her fashionable clothing. The history continues 1983 to the present and new recordings, TV and film as the music they created lives on. Superb studio discography and the Silver, Gold and Platinum awards in a really heavyweight beautifully produced Princeton Architectural Press publication. 400 colour and archive photos, 23 x 30cm.
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All four of the band were born and raised in Birmingham - Anthony Frank Iommi 1948, William Thomas Ward 1948, John Michael Osbourne 1948 and Terance Michael Joseph Butler 1949 otherwise known as Geezer since schooldays. They were the sons of an ice cream vendor, dustman, tool room machinist and steel tube bundler. Ozzy worked at Lucas's factory as a car horn tuner, then in a slaughterhouse and on leaving there resorted to burglary as a means to get by. He was released from prison after six weeks on account of good behaviour, but that didn't last on the outside and he punched a policeman in the face. Local band The Music Machine took Ozzy on as their singer, and the rest is history. Year by year from 1969 to 1979, Black Sabbath were undoubtedly one of the biggest rock bands to come out of Britain yet despite their success never received the same acclaim and respect from the music press as their peers. It didn't seem to bother them much in the early years, but by the time of Sabbath Bloody Sabbath onwards, the diversity and quality of that record, from the songs to the sleeve design and the copious instrumentation credits, all showed a band hungry for and deserving of respect. It never came and the band's path descended after the last hurrah of Sabotage. The 1970s saw the rise of rock and metal as a force in record and ticket sales and right there was Black Sabbath. The book covers the career of the original foursome from early bands Polka Tulk and Earth and their original nine years of Black Sabbath when the band recorded such iconic albums as Paranoid and Masters of Reality as well. Includes new interview material from Rick Wakeman and engineers Mike Butcher and Robin Black among others. It is a comprehensive roundup of all the albums and singles from The Rebel until Never Say Die examined in detail alongside related archive releases and a section covers live shows and looks at key live recordings from every tour. 174pp, paperback with colour photos.

Taking in superstars such as Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith and Frank Sinatra alongside the unheralded figures behind some of our most enduring songs, Stanley paints a stunning portrait of pop music's formative years, uncovering the silver threads and golden needles that bind the form together. Who were the earliest recording stars? Who were the likes of George Gershwin writing songs for? Why did swing, the hit sound for a decade or more, become almost obsolete after World War Two? 'An absolute landmark/joy/gossip-fest/door to Narnia: the history of pop music before rock'n'roll. Fascinating.' - Caitlin Moran. The prequel to Bob Stanley's Sunday Times bestselling 'Yeah Yeah Yeah', this is the only book that brings together all genres to tell the definitive story of the birth of pop, from 1900 and the invention of the 78 rpm record to the beginnings of rock and the modern pop age. There was the maximal rhythm of Count Basie and the minimal softness of Claude Thornhill; the furrowed Jerome Kern and the flighty P. G. Wodehouse; the bellow of Sophie Tucker and the squeak of Helen Kane; the Andes siren sound of Yma Sumac and the lounge-bound purr of Julie London; the rough Louis and the smooth Hutch, and throw in the silver threads of Billie Holiday and Rodgers & Hammerstein. It is an Anglo-American story, with early nods to sounds and styles from Vienna, together with outside influences from Hawaii, Cuba, Brazil and the tape recordings and technology brought home by victorious American soldiers. We will see how World War Two broke up swing bands, putting the post-war focus on solo singers like Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee, and how Tin Pan Alley's infantilism in the 1950s left the door open for the schism of rock'n'roll. 636 magnificent pages, illustrated. Please note contents same as code 94368.

A revelatory memoir by the rock icon and legendary guitarist Peter Frampton. His monumental album Frampton Comes Alive! spawned three Top 20 singles and sold eight million copies the year it was released and more than 17 million to date. Frampton was first the lead singer and guitarist of The Herd and then as co-founder along with Steve Marriott of one of the first supergroups, Humble Pie. Frampton was part of a tight-knit collective of British 1960s musicians with close ties to the Rolling Stones, the Beatles and The Who. This led to Frampton playing on George Harrison's solo debut, All Things Must Pass, as well as to Ringo Starr and Billy Preston appearing on Frampton's own solo debut. By the age of 22, he was touring incessantly and finding new sounds with the talk box which would become his signature guitar effect. Frampton remembers his enduring friendship with David Bowie, growing up as classmates, crossing paths throughout their careers, and playing together on the Glass Spider Tour. He shares fascinating stories of his collaborative work with Harry Nilsson, Stevie Wonder, B. B. King and members of Pearl Jam and reveals the curse and blessing of becoming the cover boy he never wanted to be, his overcoming substance abuse, and how he has continued to play and pour his heart out into his music despite an inflammatory muscle disease and his retirement from the road. 341pp, photos.

With his gravity-defying quiff, outstretched arms, shredded shirt, Dr Marten boots, jeans and bare torso, striding across the stage, the good looking young Morrissey certainly made an entrance onto the music scene. Unapologetically a photography book, Cummins' first photographed Morrissey in 1983 and the book covers the timespan from that year through to 1994, a time during which Morrissey became a prominent cultural figure and The Smiths his band had something different to say and special to offer. Morrissey always collaborated with his photographer fully and would come to the shoots full of ideas and they certainly show the excitement and chaos. There is a text about the portraiture alongside the studio shots of Morrissey, explaining what makes an articulate portrait and sharing some stories of working directly with the musician. The book includes photographs from tours at venues in Dublin and Cologne, Japan and the United States as well as the UK. In a final essay by Gail Crowther the significance of fans using their bodies as sites of devotion accompanies photos of Morrisey-inspired tattoos. Crouching arms outstretched with his reflection in a pond, with his bandmates, lounging artistically beside the same pond, posing under the sign THE QUEEN IS DEAD, at The Smiths Convention September 1988 next to the tour bus, and musing 'The only way to kill death is through photography' as Jean Cocteau said. Fans including grey haired grannies, young teenagers rushing up to hug their idol, roughly half of the images are colour and half artistic black and white. 256pp, 20.3 x 27.3cm.

The Romantic Movement which swept Europe in the 19th century was the inspiration for Beethoven's surging quartets, the introspection of Tchaikovsky, the grandeur of Verdi, the epic vision of Wagner, the mental anguish of Schumann, the quiet genius of his wife Clara and the less dazzling lights of English composers from John Field to Sterndale Bennett. This readable narrative history puts the development of Romantic music into the context of writers and philosophers such as Herder, Schiller and Goethe, and the author, for many years a music critic for the Observer, communicates his erudition in an appealing and engaging style. At the close of the 18th century there was a new freedom of expression in the work of Haydn and C. P. E. Bach, perhaps going back to the demonic finale of Gluck's ballet Don Juan in 1761, or Mozart's spine-tingling version of the same story. Later Romantic composers such as Rossini in William Tell have a "proto-cinematic" range of historical events, human emotion and local colour. Opera was the focus of much early 19th century music, with pianists like Chopin strongly influenced by operatic melodies, while the lieder of both Schubert and Schumann revolutionised music for the solo voice. Meyerbeer and Berlioz dominated the Paris Opera, giving way to the early efforts of the young Wagner, whose version of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure ended after its first performance with a punch-up between the leading lady's husband and her leading man, with whom she was having an affair. After an ignominious nocturnal flit from his creditors, Wagner returned to Germany in 1842 with his mature style now ready to take the world by storm in The Flying Dutchman, while at the same time the success of Verdi's Nabucco heralded a dazzling future. The influence of Balakirev on Mussorgsky, Borodin and Rimski-Korsakov is discussed, while Brahms, Bruckner, Dvorak and Sibelius and even Elgar and Vaughan Williams come into view towards the end of the period. 421pp, colour reproductions.

The definitive portrait with unseen photographs by iconic photographer Terry O'Neill, this is like gazing through a window at the most extraordinary and exciting moments in Elton John's life complete with the madness and style. O'Neill worked for many years and took more than 5,000 photographs of Elton John from intimate back stage shots to huge stadium concerts. See Elton laden with packages leaving the Cartier shop for his Rolls Royce, during a soundcheck at the huge Dodge Stadium in Los Angeles where he truly did rock the world and had a football knockabout during rehearsals, under a huge fluffy rug on a bed reading Esquire and Penthouse magazines, wearing crazy glasses for a photo shoot aboard a plane, working with Gus Dudgeon at Caribou Ranch Recording Studio 1975, sharing a breakfast table with his white cat, signing his Captain Fantastic albums while watching TV at home, multifunctioning riding his stationary bicycle and taking phone calls in the bathroom, in sequin costumes, wearing designer labels, doing his trademark famous jump with hands still on the piano keyboard, with his long term collaborator Bernie Taupin, at home with his dogs in Windsor, dancing with Kiki Dee in 1976 when they released their classic duet, posing with his likeness in Madam Tussauds, with Diana Ross hosting the Rock Music Awards in 1975, posing with many famous names, behind the scenes at Watford Football Club, with his mother and grandmother and posing on locations such as the Palais Garnier Opera House in Paris. Elton John clearly loves the limelight! Truly a superb gallery, colour and atmospheric black and white, 256pp, 20.8 x 26cm.
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