What do Postman Pat, Tommy Cooper, Norman Wisdom and George Best have in common with being abandoned in a Costa Rican jungle after a severe bout of flatulence? Indeed, how are they also connected to trying to buy an Australian brewery just to get a beer, owning twenty-two cars, an American soccer team and a Swiss mail-order pornography company? The common feature is of course a certain Richard Wakeman. The Further Adventures of a Grumpy Old Rock Star takes you, the privileged reader, on a trip of absurd excess, a cultural car crash of side-splitting hilarity and an unforgettable glimpse (again) into the life of one of Britain's most legendary showmen, rock stars and all-time great raconteurs.
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.
"Mark Ribowsky has written one king hell of a book about one king hell of a band. Buy that man a drink!" —Mick Wall, author of When Giants Walked the Earth This book tells the intimate story of how a band of lost souls and self-destructive misfits clawed their way to the very top of the rock'n'roll peak, writing and performing as if beneficiaries of a deal with the devil—a deal fulfilled by a tragic fall from the sky. The rudderless genius behind their ascent was a man named Ronnie Van Zant, who guided their five-year run and evolved not just a new country/rock idiom but a new Confederacy. Whiskey Bottles and Brand-New Cars is based on interviews with surviving band members and others who watched them. It gives a new perspective to a history of stage fights, motel-room destructions, cunning business deals, and brilliant studio productions, offering a greater appreciation for a band that, in the aftermath of its last plane ride, has sadly descended into self-caricature as the sort of lowbrow guns-'n'-God cliché that Ronnie Van Zant wanted to chuck from around his neck. No other book on Southern rock has ever captured the "Free Bird"–like sweep and significance of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Mark Ribowsky has written twelve books, including widely praised biographies of Tom Landry, Howard Cosell, Phil Spector, and Satchel Paige. He has also contributed extensively to magazines including Playboy, Penthouse, and High Times. He lives in Boca Raton, Florida.
The life and times of the No.1 bestselling author of ON THE EDGE. The wry, honest and often hilarious chronicles of a very brave and clever TV presenter, Arctic Explorer and general drawer of the Short Straw. As one third of the BBC's Top Gear team, Richard Hammond's year since his near-fatal accident has been full of stunts and drama. From a race to the North Pole (with skis and dog-sled) to a journey through Botswana in a car named Oliver, and a seventeen-mile run through floods to his Gloucestershire home, in order to get to his daughter's birthday party, the year has been eventful, to say the least . . .With his boundless optimism in the face of certain failure, Richard Hammond has become one of our funniest writers about a life (and a job) which constantly present a challenge.
Renowned guitarist Steve Howe tells his own story in his own words, often unflinchingly as he recounts times of triumph and torment amidst the cream of the UK's prog rock bands. Best known for his work with Yes, a group prone to sudden upheavals, and AOR supergroup Asia, Steve Howe's passage through these and other bands is a roller-coaster ride of constant touring, tense recording sessions, and frequent trips to all corners of the globe. A workaholic, he soon realised that the temptations of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle weren't for him and instead dedicated his life to excellence in musicianship. Born in North London in 1947, Steve got his first guitar at the age of 12 and thereafter devoted himself passionately to mastering its intricacies. After spells in psychedelic bands of the late sixties, he was invited to join Yes in 1970, thus finding himself in a spotlight that shines to this day. In the meantime he raised a family, adopted vegetarianism as a lifestyle, and watched as many of his peers succumbed to the impulses he managed to avoid. As well as Yes and Asia, Steve has led bands of his own, released numerous solo recordings in many different musical styles and amassed a legendary collection of priceless stringed instruments.
Since its release in 1971, Don McLean's song "American Pie" has become an indelible part of U.S. culture. It has sparked countless debates about the references within the lyrics; been celebrated as a chronicle of American life from the late 1950s through the early 1970s; and has become iconic itself as it has been remade, parodied, and referenced within numerous texts and forums. This volume offers a set of new essays that focus on the cultural and historical significance of the song. Representing a variety of perspectives and fields of study, the essays address such topics as historical and literary interpretations of the song's lyrics, its musical qualities, the commentary the song offers on rock and roll history, the continuing significance of the song, and the ways in which the song has been used by various writers and artists. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.
“IN THIS THIRD ACT OF MY LIFE, MUCH HAS BECOME CLEARER. SO MUCH IS OVER, AND I AM OVER SO MUCH . . .” At a certain time in life, we all come to realize what is truly important to us and what just doesn’t matter. For Shirley MacLaine, that time is now. In this wise, witty, and fearless collection of small observations and big-picture questions, she shares with readers all those things that she is over dealing with in life, in love, at home, and in the larger world . . . as well as the things she will never get over, no matter how long she lives. Among the things that Shirley is over: people who repeat themselves (“when you didn’t care what they said the first time”); conservatives and liberals; ill-mannered young people; the poison of celebrity (“Why do so many people want to be famous when they see how it can destroy your life?”); being polite to boring people (“If they won’t stop talking, I go into a trance and meditate”); getting older in Hollywood (“How peaceful it is not to have to look particularly pretty anymore or to wear a size 6”). In the opposite camp, there are some things Shirley will never get over: good lighting (“Marlene Dietrich taught me how to light myself”); gorgeous costars (“The vanity of male actors is an impossible wall to scale”); performing live (“Yes, it is better than sex”); and above all, brave people with curious minds (“Fear is the most powerful weapon of mass destruction”). Along the way, she recalls stories of some of the true greats she has known—Alfred Hitchcock, Elizabeth Taylor, Frank Sinatra, the two Jacks (Lemmon and Nicholson)—and ruminates on the state of Hollywood past and present. She recollects her relationships and romances with politicians (including two prime ministers), scientists, journalists, and costars. An unabashed seeker of truth and unrepentant free spirit, Shirley looks squarely at a world that can irritate, confuse, and provoke her, but that can also delight her with its beauty, humor, and future promise. Reading I’m Over All That will make you feel you have been reunited with an old friend who tells it like it is but never takes herself too seriously. Shirley MacLaine may be over all that, but this irresistible book ensures that we will never get over her.
Journalist Ian Plenderleith's Rock 'n' Roll Soccer presents the raucous history of the hype and chaos surrounding the rapid rise and cataclysmic fall of the NASL. The North American Soccer League - at its peak in the late 1970s - presented soccer as performance, played by men with a bent for flair, hair and glamour. More than just Pelé and the New York Cosmos, it lured the biggest names of the world game like Johan Cruyff, Franz Beckenbauer, Eusebio, Gerd Müller and George Best to play the sport as it was meant to be played-without inhibition, to please the fans. The first complete look at the ambitious, star-studded NASL, Rock 'n' Roll Soccer reveals how this precursor to modern soccer laid the foundations for the sport's tremendous popularity in America today. Bringing to life the color and chaos of an unfairly maligned league, soccer journalist Ian Plenderleith draws from research and interviews with the men who were there to reveal the madness of its marketing, the wild expectations of businessmen and corporations hoping to make a killing out of the next big thing, and the insanity of franchises in scorching cities like Las Vegas and Hawaii. That's not to mention the league's on-running fight with FIFA as the trailblazing North American continent battled to innovate, surprise, and sell soccer to a whole new world. As entertaining and raucous as the league itself, Rock 'n' Roll Soccer recounts the hype and chaos surrounding the rapid rise and cataclysmic fall of the NASL, an enterprising and groundbreaking league that did too much right to ignore.
Today's workers spend upwards of 80% of their time collaborating and teams have become the fundamental unit within organizations. Creative Success in Teams summarizes for practitioners and researchers what drives team creativity. Utilizing research from psychology, organizational behavior/management, business, and education, the book discusses how best to start, manage, and foster creativity in team environments, how to encourage participation and collaboration, what makes for the most creative team, and how best to lead and evaluate creative teams. - Summarizes creativity research from psychology, education, and business - Identifies how best to form a team for creative output - Discusses how to foster team participation and collaboration - Includes multicultural, interdisciplinary, and diverse teams
