Music & Musicians

It seems excessive…but that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. The mass of black curls. The top hat. The cigarette dangling from pouty lips. These are the trademarks of one of the world’s greatest and most revered guitarists, a celebrity musician known by one name: Slash. Saul “Slash” Hudson was born in Hampstead to a Jewish father and a black American...

The complete collection of Nick Cave lyrics spanning his entire career, from 1978 until 2020, revised and updated by the cult rock star. Coming Soon

Goodnight and Good Riddance: How Thirty-Five Years of John Peel Helped to Shape Modern Britain is a social history, a diary of a nation's changing culture, and an in-depth appraisal of one of the UK's greatest broadcasters, a man who can legitimately be called the most influential figure in post-war British popular music. Without the support of John Peel, it's...

There has never been a band like Pearl Jam. The Seattle quintet has recorded eleven studio albums; sold some 85 million records; played over a thousand shows, in fifty countries; and had five different albums reach number one. But Pearl Jam’s story is about much more than music. Through resilience, integrity, and sheer force of will, they transcended several eras,...

When Rust in Peace was released in 1990, the future of Megadeth was uncertain. Fresh off their performance at the record-breaking Monsters of Rock festival, and with knockout new albums from Slayer, Anthrax, and Metallica dominating the charts, the pressure to produce a standout statement record was higher than ever. In Rust in Peace: The Inside Story of the Megadeth...

Discover the stories behind the songs, the artists, and the movements that have inspired generations. Sometimes, we are just waiting for a spark. From Billie Holiday to Bruce Springsteen, Bob Marley, John Lennon, or Lady Gaga, from "Bella Ciao" to "Alright": spanning more than half a century, continents, and languages, music in the modern world has shaped moments and movements...

A taut, sultry novel about rivalry, obsession and how far we are willing to go to get what we truly desire, set against the glittering backdrop of 1950s Paris. It's the summer of 1957 and Max, a piano prodigy, is on a sold-out concert tour. His beautiful twin sister, Natasha, serves as his manager and minder. But despite Natasha's careful...

"Touring has been in our blood since the very beginning. There are countless moments and memories that we've shared with fans across the world over the years, and we're thrilled that so many of them have been captured in this book." - The Rolling Stones THIS IS THE OFFICIAL, FULLY AUTHORISED CELEBRATION OF THE GREATEST LIVE BAND OF ALL TIME. SEVEN DECADES....

'To see The Clash on the White Riot tour was like discovering how to be a rock star: you just did it yourself. You didn't wait for someone to come and discover you. That was the most important thing that came out of punk... We came home and we cut our hair and bought skinny trousers. It was year zero....

Don't miss the latest gripping thriller from INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER Rebecca Heath! Pitch perfect! Jo Furniss, author of All the Little Children A REMOTE ISLAND It’s been eighteen years since the accidental explosion that killed The Cedrics Band lead singer, Jonny Rake, and a special documentary is bringing the rest of the band back to play together for the first time....

Dive into Michael Jackson's groundbreaking career and discover how he reshaped music, entertainment, and culture over five decades. In fifty years, forty-five of which were spent on stage, Michael Jackson redefined the rules of the music and entertainment industries. The inventor of the music video and an all-time record-seller, he also broke down racial barriers, notably by becoming the first...

Take your ukulele playing to the next level – fast! – with hundreds of fun exercises, drills, and practice tunes. You have a ukulele, you know just enough to be dangerous, and now you're ready to do something with it. You're in luck: Ukulele Exercises For Dummies helps you become a better player. This practice-based book focuses on the skills...

Create the next big pop hit, bang out a catchy jingle, or write an iconic film score, with music composition skills. Today's composers create music for television, film, commercials, and even video games. Music Composition For Dummies brings you up to speed with the theory and technicality of composing music. With easy-to-understand content that corresponds to a typical music composition...

Become a different drummer Drumming is natural to all of us—after all, it mimics the regular beat of our hearts. But some of us want to go further and really lay down a big beat. And no wonder—whether you want to become the powerful backbone of a band or just learn how to play a hand drum for pleasure, drumming...

A story of becoming an artist, by the godmother of rock'n'roll: the National Book Award-winning author of Just Kids, Patti Smith 'A poet of distinction' New York Times 'Glorious' NPR 'Rare and ferocious' Salon 'Shockingly beautiful' New York Magazine Everything contained in this little book is true, and written just like it was. The writing of it drew me from...

Featuring fresh insights from Mick, Keith, Charlie, and Ronnie, Unzipped digs deeper than ever before into the Stones' archives to present a comprehensive collection of Stones artworks, instruments, stage outfits, and notebooks alongside key work by some of the legends of rock photography. For almost 60 years, the Rolling Stones have helped shape popular culture around the globe. Unzipped captures...

A scintillating journey through the seventies and the extraordinary music it gave rise to - including the new concept of sound that defines music today. After the dense miasma of the sixties, the seventies hit like a hangover. Idealism took a pounding as cynicism began to pervade western culture. Stagflation became a thing. Watergate, environmental disasters, and an oil crisis...

How does one young man survive the deaths of his entire family and manage to make something worthwhile of his life? In Things The Grandchildren Should Know, Mark Oliver Everett tells the story of what it's like to grow up the insecure son of a genius in a wacky Virginia Ice Storm-like family. Left to run wild with his sister,...

'So honest and pure as to count as a true rapture' JOAN DIDION 'A poetic masterpiece' JOHNNY DEPP 'Our St John of the Cross, a mystic full of compassion' EDMUND WHITE 'A roadmap to my life', from the National Book Award-winning author of Just Kids: an unforgettable odyssey of a legendary artist, told through the prism of cafés and haunts...

The New York Times bestselling memoir from legendary rapper Gucci Mane spares no detail in this “cautionary tale that ends in triumph” (GQ). For the first time, Gucci Mane tells his extraordinary life story in his own words. It’s “as wild, unpredictable, and fascinating as the man himself” (Complex). The platinum-selling trap pioneer began writing this remarkable autobiography while serving...

Get your lines word-perfect with Wicked: The Complete Screenplay, which features the complete script of the first film and full-colour stills, celebrating the movie magic that brought the story from page to screen. This stunning hardcover features the complete script to director Jon M. Chu’s smash-hit movie, including the full lyrics to each of the unforgettable songs, from “No One...

Featuring 12 show-stopping looks—from the Love Story music video to the Eras Tour bodysuits—Dress Up Taylor takes you through the very best of Tay-Tay's fashion moments. With beautifully illustrated, press-out outfits and a sturdy Taylor mannequin, this paper doll book is the ultimate collector's item for Swifties and fashionistas alike.

Fasten your seatbelts, darlings, it's been one helluva ride. Liza Minnelli is one of the most iconic and enduring figures in entertainment history. Now, in her first and only memoir, Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!, Liza tells her story in her own words - and what a story it is. Born into Hollywood royalty, Liza was the daughter of...

The rock legend tells the story of his wild ride with Martin Scorsese - as friends, adventure-seekers, and boundary-pushing collaborators - with all the heart of his New York Times bestselling memoir Testimony. For four decades, Robbie Robertson produced music for Martin Scorsese's films, a relationship that began when Robertson convinced Scorsese to direct The Last Waltz, the iconic film...

The bestselling guide now updated with video demonstrations and audio tracks online. The guitar is one of the most versatile instruments in the world, which is why it's so appealing to musicians. Guitar For Dummies, 4th Edition gives you everything a beginning or intermediate acoustic or electric guitarist needs: from buying a guitar to tuning it, playing it, and caring...

Discover the keyboard that's right for you, whatever your budget! Looking for a fun, challenging, and rewarding new instrument to play? Thinking about the piano but don't necessarily have the room or the budget to put one in your home? Then grab a copy of the second edition of Keyboard For Dummies! In the book, acclaimed music technologist and keyboardist...

Yesterday When I Was Young

One of the greatest rock memoirs ever written and a Sunday Times bestseller now out in paperback - the honest, irreverent and powerfully entertaining life story of the U2 front-man. "A brilliant, very funny, very revealing autobiography-through-music. Maybe the best book ever written about being a rockstar" - CAITLIN MORAN Bono - artist, activist and the lead singer of Irish...

In early 1955, Colonel Tom Parker, the manager of the number-one country music star of the day, heard that an unknown teenager from Memphis had just drawn a crowd of more than 800 people to a Texas schoolhouse and headed south to investigate. Within a matter of days, Parker was sending out telegrams and letters to promoters and booking agents:...

Are you ready for it? This one-of-a-kind biography takes you on a visual exploration of Taylor Swift’s groundbreaking career, celebrating every album era, iconic outfit, and unforgettable moment. From singing “Tim McGraw” at the start of it all to her Midnights confessionals, this book is packed with Easter eggs that only her most loyal fans will uncover. Dive into masterfully...

The follow-up to The McCartney Legacy, Volume 1, the most complete work on the life and work of Paul McCartney ever published. Volume 2 continues to paint the portrait of one of the world’s greatest musicians, his work post-Beatles, and his life from 1974 to 1980. This second instalment of the groundbreaking multivolume set, The McCartney Legacy, Volume 2: 1974-80,...

The Philosophy of Modern Song is Bob Dylan’s first book of new writing since 2004’s Chronicles: Volume One—and since winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016. Dylan, who began working on the book in 2010, offers his extraordinary insight into the nature of popular music. He writes over 60 essays focusing on songs by other artists, spanning from Stephen...

The Night Circus meets Lonely Castle in the Mirror in this multi-award-winning Japanese bestseller, now available in an English translation by Philip Gabriel, a renowned translator of Murakami. Highlights: AN FT Best Summer Read 2023 Over a Million Copies Sold in Japan Winner of the Naoki Prize and the Japan Booksellers' Award A Major Movie Released in Japan 'A thrilling...

An intimate conversation about music and creativity, between the internationally bestselling writer Haruki Murakami and world-class conductor, Seiji Ozawa. Haruki Murakami's passion for music runs deep. Before turning his hand to writing, he ran a jazz club in Tokyo, and the aesthetic and emotional power of music permeates every one of his much-loved books. Now, in Absolutely on Music, Murakami...

Taylor is taking the world by storm in this glittering, globetrotting search book. Spot Taylor at a Nashville rodeo, browsing for cat toys at the pet shop, and charming the crowds at a concert stadium. Featuring 17 sensational locations, readers can spot Taylor, her cats, and many other special items hiding in every scene. Join the adventure in Where’s Taylor?...

This new edition includes 11 new interviews and over 30 new profiles of even more incredible musicians, including Blondie, Neko Case, The Urge, Gang of Four, Pogues, Submission Hold, Fastbacks, Teen Idols, and many more. In this far-reaching anthology, David Ensminger delves underground to explore the oft-overlooked community of badass women who shaped the punk scene. There is a common...

Bob Dylan: Mixing Up the Medicine offers an unprecedented glimpse into the creative life of one of America's most groundbreaking, influential, and enduring artists. "The Dylan Center in Tulsa offers a read as endlessly fascinating, as vital to the American story, as its subject himself... Whether you have inhaled this kind of information for decades, as I have, or you're...

An intimate and revelatory memoir from the iconic, acclaimed singer-songwriter. Sinéad O'Connor's voice and trademark shaved head made her famous by the age of twenty-one. Her landmark recording of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U" made her a global icon. She outraged millions when she tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II on American television. Unapologetic and impossible to...

As a member of Big in Japan, The Slits and, most famously, Siouxsie and The Banshees and The Creatures, 'Budgie' became one of the era-defining drummers in the much-mythologised post punk scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Growing up in working-class St Helens in the 1960s, Peter Clarke lost his mum as a young boy and it's her...

Featuring QR code connections to video links for every entry, Ultimate Rock Riffs offers quick access to 100 carefully selected YouTube videos. The ultimate rock riffs are the ones that you recognise from the first chord or bar - they have immediate impact and always bring a smile to the face. They are the identity and the backbone of a...

Tina Turner: My Love Story charts the full, dramatic story of one of the most remarkable women in music history, celebrating Tina Turner's 60th year in the industry. THE SUNDAY TIMES TOP 10 BESTSELLING AUTOBIOGRAPHY FROM THE QUEEN OF ROCK 'N' ROLL 'Astonishing, soul-baring - the must-read memoir by rock's greatest survivor' DAILY MAIL The full, dramatic story of one...

Go beyond the music with the most comprehensive exploration of the life and career of international megastar Taylor Swift. The Taylor Book is the ultimate guide to a generation-defining pop sensation, packed with stunning images and all the context you need to fully immerse yourself in the Swiftiverse. From her humble beginnings as a teen country artist to her record-obliterating...

A raucous, behind-the-scenes account of the year Blur got back together, told in hilarious and heartfelt stories by their ever-cheerful, epicurean bassist. There is nothing that can touch the sound made by a close-knit group of people who have been playing together for years and years and years, playing as though their lives depended on it. For many years, all...

Embrace the magic of pop phenomenon Ariana Grande through her own words of wisdom, alongside funky illustrations and wonderful insights. What Would Ariana Do? Pop princess, whistle-note expert, dangerous woman - we'd all love to be more like Ariana. This excellent guide, packed with Grande wisdom, will show you how. Want to learn how to rock a perfect ponytail, write...

"A formidable free-style book that isn't straight biography but a mix of history, street-level investigative reporting, hagiography, Deep South sociology, music criticism, memoir and some fiery preaching," Rolling Stone magazine A Guardian best music book of 2016 The music of James Brown was almost a genre in its own right, and he was one of the biggest and most influential...

From Sunday Times bestselling author Lesley-Ann Jones Scandalous affairs and public divorce. Addiction and fiery passion. And of course, the iconic songwriting... Christine McVie - born Christine Perfect - was the quintessentially English rock star, as both the backbone and the beating heart of Fleetwood Mac. Straddling the band's incarnations to achieve global fame alongside Stevie Nicks, Mick Fleetwood, Lindsey...

Everything you need to know about Oasis The perfect book to remember the reunion Show your loyalty to the ultimate Rock 'n' Roll Stars with this Supersonic celebration of the Gallagher brothers. Featuring Liam and Noel's most outrageous quotes and the quizzes and questions you need to prove you deserve to be at the concerts more than anyone else, this...

Flea, the iconic bassist and co-founder, alongside Anthony Kiedis, of the immortal Red Hot Chili Peppers finally tells his fascinating origin story, complete with all the dizzying highs and the gutter lows you'd expect from an LA street rat turned world-famous rock star. Michael Peter Balzary was born in Melbourne, Australia, on October 16, 1962. His more famous stage name,...

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER In this intimate and open account – nothing like any rock-and-roll memoir you've ever read – Alex Van Halen shares his personal story of family, friendship, music and brotherly love in a remarkable tribute to his beloved brother and band-mate. Told with acclaimed New Yorker writer Ariel Levy, Brothers is seventy-year-old drummer Alex Van Halen's...

The new book from Jimmy Barnes, the award-winning author of the number-one bestsellers Working Class Boy, Working Class Man and Killing Time. From larger-than-life adventures to vivid and poignant tales of the imagination, Highways and Byways is a collection of stories taking readers on an enthralling tour (complete with the odd detour) through the raucous, well-lived life of one of...

Born to an American myth and raised in the wilds of Graceland, Lisa Marie Presley tells her whole story for the first time in this raw, riveting, one-of-a-kind memoir faithfully completed by her daughter, Riley Keough. In 2022, Lisa Marie Presley asked her daughter to help finally finish her long-gestating memoir. A month later, Lisa Marie was dead, and the...

At last, the unflinching and unforgettable memoir of music and life from the much-loved Australian legend. Growing up in London and Melbourne, music was always part of John Farnham's world. But the young John never dreamed of what was to come. Pop stardom in the 1960s. The release of Whispering Jack, the critically acclaimed and highest-selling Australian album of all...

A deeply moving memoir about growing up in the 90s, written in the wake of the senseless killing of a beloved friend. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Memoir. One of The New York Times 100 Best Books of the 21st Century 'A quiet, occasionally hilarious, ultimately devastating book . . . the most moving and memorable piece of autobiography...

'This is the most glorious of books. I am besotted by the life I never knew he had.' - Elton John 'Orgasmic. Every page of Scattershot is a delight, a joy, a name-dropper fan's delight. Divine. I couldn't put it down.' - Pete Townshend 'In Bernie Taupin's miraculous memoir Scattershot, you'll meet legends, cowboys, geniuses, unforgettable faces in the night,...

In early 1980, 21-year-old Neil Mullane Finn wrote 'I Got You', which became the signature song and biggest hit for the Kiwi band Split Enz, co-founded by Neil's big brother Tim several years earlier. Over the next four decades, Neil not only nurtured one of the finest heads of hair in music, but crafted hit after hit—'Don't Dream It's Over',...

A legendary record-producer-turned-brain-scientist explains why you love the music you do in an antidote to the Spotify algorithm doldrums. Extraordinary insights about music, emotion and the brain...An instant classic – Daniel Levitin, author of This Is Your Brain on Music This Is What It Sounds Like is a journey into the science and soul of music. It's also the story...

From her late-80s beginnings, capturing our hearts as Charlene in Neighbours and singing 'I Should Be So Lucky' in a bubble bath, to her gold-plated hits like 'Spinning Around' and 'Padam Padam' soundtracking the euphoria of dancefloors the world over, there is only one Kylie Minogue. She has sold over eighty-million records internationally, is the best-selling Australian pop star of...

Pop musician Chappell Roan has captured the hearts of millions of fans—and now you can capture some of her magic with this fun colouring-and-activity book! Dive into the life and career of pop superstar Chappell Roan with this colouring-and-activity book that includes 36 cool illustrations to colour in, along with full-colour photos and fun facts about Roan and her music....

'Elvis steps from the pages. You can feel him breathe' BOB DYLAN'Wonderful' RODDY DOYLEThe first volume of Peter Guralnick's critically acclaimed Elvis Presley biographiesLast Train to Memphis is arguably the first serious biography that refuses to dwell on the myth of Elvis. Aiming instead to portray in vivid, dramatic terms the life and career of this outstanding artistic and cultural...

People say to me, if you could do it all again, knowing what you know now, would you change anything? I'm like, f* no. If I'd been clean and sober, I wouldn't be Ozzy. If I'd done normal, sensible things, I wouldn't be Ozzy. Look, if it ends tomorrow, I can't complain. I've been all around the world. Seen a...

THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 'A triumph.' Deborah Levy, New Statesman 'Tremendous.' Alwyn Turner, The Times 'Revelatory.' Simon Schama, Financial Times 'The gold standard of Beatles books.' Anthony Quinn, Observer 'As enthralling and astonishing as their music.' Jon Dennis, Sunday Telegraph 'A masterpiece.' Dylan Jones, Evening Standard '[Ian Leslie]...

Questlove radiates passion, knowledge, wit and profundity as he reflects on this ever-evolving art form GUARDIAN For a young Black kid growing up in a musical family in 1970s Philadelphia, hip-hop was everything. He stayed up late to hear the newest songs on the radio. He saved his money to buy vinyl as soon as it landed. He even started...

This is the first spellbinding volume of the three-volume memoir of one of the greatest musical legends of all time. In Chronicles Volume 1, Bob Dylan takes us back to the early 1960s when he arrived in New York to launch his phenomenal career. This is Dylan's story in his own words—a personal view of his motivations, frustrations, and remarkable...

The bestselling no-holds-barred story of Corey Taylor's life as a sinner, with new chapter. 'I was 22 years old, a hard-on with a pulse—wretched, vice-ridden, too much to burn and not enough minutes in an hour to do so.' The action begins in West Des Moines, Iowa, where Corey Taylor, frontman of heavy metal bands Slipknot and Stone Sour, systematically...

In the manner of George Plimpton's ground-breaking oral biographies of Truman Capote and Edie Sedgwick, this is the definitive oral biography of David Bowie told through over 180 carefully edited and curated original, exclusive interviews with those who knew Bowie best from school friends to global megastars. Shortlisted for the NME Best Music Book Award 2018 THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER...

In Your Area and In Our Hearts – this is the world of BLACKPINK! August 2016: stars are born. A decade later, BLACKPINK are still shooting to dazzling heights, redefining the music landscape globally with no end in sight. Come along and party as we dance through ten years of breaking records, unforgettable tours, play on repeat hits and drop...

The first book in a new series from bestselling, award-winning author Pamela Butchart. This book explores global superstar Taylor Swift's rise to fame written from the perspective of her absolute, number one, biggest child-fan. AAHHHHH!!!! I am going to see TAYLOR SWIFT in concert. And, in case it wasn't obvious, I am Taylor's official biggest fan ever. I don't have...

The definitive biography of one of music history's most beloved, versatile, unforgettable icons—Roy Orbison, the singer-songwriter of legendary hits including "Only the Lonely," "Crying," and "Oh, Pretty Woman"—from his chart-topping highs and tragic lows to his momentous comeback. He didn't look, move, or sound like his contemporaries, but Roy Orbison, king of the emotionally charged, slow-burning, drama-ballad, struck a worldwide...

Celebrate the incredible career of pop music’s biggest star in this sparkling biography. We’re all living in the Taylor Swift Era. Since her 2006 debut album, she’s sold more than 200 million records, sold out countless arenas, and become one of the most influential artists of her generation. Her Eras Tour is on track to gross more than $1 billion...

A raw, fearless memoir from the Grammy Award–winning artist, actor, and designer Kid Cudi about a kid from Cleveland who found purpose in the darkness and became a guiding light for a generation. Cudi: The Memoir is Scott Mescudi’s most personal work yet. Across a trailblazing career, he’s turned pain into poetry with anthems like “Day ’N’ Nite,” “Pursuit of...

1991: XXX years ago, a trailblazing trio made music history blending East Coast hip-hop fundamentals with West Coast chicano swagger to form a sound all their own. Before they became icons, Louis and Senen were just a couple of teenage cholos from around the way, trying to stay out of trouble—until a series of chance encounters with both sides of...

More than any other publication, Guitar World magazine has followed Metallica's rise from underground phenomenon to mainstream metal giant. Guitar World Presents Metallica features every one of the facts and figures, interviews and stories about the band ever to have appeared in the magazine in one self-contained package. Presented in the chronological order in which they appeared in the magazine,...

Dangerous is Michael Jackson's coming of age album. Granted, that’s a bold claim to make given that many think his best work lay behind him by the time this record was made. It offers Jackson on a threshold, at long last embracing adulthood—politically questioning, sexually charged—yet unable to convince a sceptical public who had, by this time, been wholly indoctrinated...

This book charts the emergence of Kate Bush in the early-to-mid-1980s as a courageous experimentalist, a singularly expressive recording artist and a visionary music producer. Track-by-track commentaries focus on the experience of the album from the listener’s point of view, drawing attention to the art and craft of Bush’s songwriting, production and sound design. It considers the vast impact and...

A LOUDER THAN WAR BOOK OF THE YEAR 'A unique insight... An excellent companion for both the casual and obsessive Bowie fan' Louder Than War The life of an icon, in his own words. David Bowie had a unique relationship with the BBC, making more appearances on 'the beeb' than any other broadcaster throughout his career. An anonymous pre-fame teenager,...

If You're Feeling Sinister shows how Belle & Sebastian transformed themselves over the space of a decade, from a slightly shambolic cult secret into a polished, highly entertaining, mainstream pop group. Along the way, the book shows how the internet has revolutionised how we discover new music—often at the cost of romance and mystery.

From the award-winning, bestselling author of classic histories of the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, a groundbreaking reckoning with the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band. What left is there to say about the Stones? A hell of a lot, it turns out... You think you know the story? Think again. Shorn of dulling layers of myth, an irresistible, clear-eyed portrait...

This limited printing, hardcover 40th anniversary edition includes: An exclusive new interview with lead singer Simon Le Bon A Rio timeline A newly designed book cover by Rio album sleeve designer, Malcolm Garrette Vintage Duran Duran photos and ads And much more... In the '80s, the Birmingham, England, band Duran Duran became closely associated with new wave, an idiosyncratic genre...