Bee Bearhorn had a number-one hit single in 1985 – and was never heard of again. Fifteen years later she is found dead in her flat and nobody seems to care ... But Ana Wills always day-dreamed about the exotic half-sister she hasn’t seen in years. And when she comes to London to clear Bee’s flat, she uncovers a life more exotic than she imagined: a secret country cottage, mysterious weekends away, and even a missing cat. With Bee’s closest friends – mad Lol and strong, silent Flint – Ana sets out to discover exactly what did happen to Bee Bearhorn, the one-hit wonder ...
The ultimate book for anyone who loves pop music and one-hit wonders, 99 Red Balloons profiles and ranks all the greatest musical flashes in the pan. Each chapter spotlights a specific one-hit wonder, including sample lyrics and chart position. Controversial, informative and entertaining, this is a book that no music lover should be without.
Until recently, the odd thought Margaret Mitchell had only one story to tell: Gone With the Wind. Now meet a heroine to match Scarlett: Courtenay Ross, a feisty, independent-minded woman, and the two men -- one a cool-headed, well-heeled gentleman, the other a hot-blooded, pugnacious sailor -- who adore her. A tale of yearning, valor, and devotion, Lost Laysen enthralls from its delightful beginning to its unforgettable end. Equally intriguing is the story behind the story -- the real-life romance that inspired Mitchell: how she gave the original manuscript as a gift to her beau. Henry Love Angel, and how the manuscript, along with Mitchell's intimate letters and treasured photographs, were lovingly safeguarded only to be discovered decades later in a shoebox Lost Laysen is pure magic, a gift for us to cherish from America's most beloved storyteller.
Here begins an extraordinary alliance—and a brutal and tender, shocking, and electrifying adventure to end all adventures. It starts with a simple note. Roger Bascombe regretfully wishes to inform Celeste Temple that their engagement is forthwith terminated. Determined to find out why, Miss Temple takes the first step in a journey that will propel her into a dizzyingly seductive, utterly shocking world beyond her imagining—and set her on a collision course with a killer and a spy—in a bodice-ripping, action-packed roller-coaster ride of suspense, betrayal, and richly fevered dreams.
The one-hit wonder has a long and storied history in popular music, exhorting listeners to dance, to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony, to ponder mortality, to get a job, to bask in the sunshine, or just to get up and dance again. Catchy, memorable, irritating, or simply ubiquitous, one-hit wonders capture something of the mood of a time. This collection provides a series of short, sharp chapters focusing on one-hit wonders from the 1950s to the present day, with a view toward understanding both the mechanics of success and the socio-musical contexts within which such songs became hits. Some artists included here might have aspired to success but only managed one hit, while others enjoyed lengthy, if unremarkable, careers after their initial chart success. Put together, these chapters provide not only a capsule history of popular music tastes, but also ruminations on the changing nature of the music industry and the mechanics of fame.
A “hugely entertaining” history of the 1980s New Wave music scene told through new interviews with its biggest artists (Rolling Stone). Mad World is a compelling oral history that celebrates the New Wave music phenomenon of the 1980s via new interviews with 35 of the most notable artists of the period. Each chapter begins with a discussion of their most popular song and leads to stories of their history and place in the scene, ultimately painting a vivid picture of this colorful, idiosyncratic time. Mixtape suggestions, fashion sidebars, and quotes from famous contemporary admirers help fill out the fun. Participants include members of Duran Duran, New Order, The Smiths, Tears for Fears, Adam Ant, Echo, and the Bunnymen, Devo, ABC, Spandau Ballet, A Flock of Seagulls, Thompson Twins, INXS, and more. “One addictive chapter after another.” —Rob Sheffield, author of Talking to Girls About Duran Duran “Tells the tale of some of the decade’s most unforgettable songs . . . in fascinating detail, letting the architects of these memorable records shine a light on how the sound of a generation came to be.” —The Hollywood Reporter “The new wave era is often dismissed for its one-hit wonders and silly haircuts, but [Mad World] examines the period with a great deal of love and reverence.” —Buzzfeed “A really informative and insightful read.” —People
It's 1988 and radios across the land blast out the Top Ten hit 'Stutter Rap' by Morris Minor and the Majors. The man behind the fake moustache is Tony Hawks. Fast forward to the 21st century and those heady days of pop stardom are a distant memory. That is, until it is suggested that Tony is just another One Hit Wonder. Really? We'll have to see about that ... For two years Tony struggles to have a hit somewhere, anywhere, in the world, changing acts and styles with a bewildering lack of integrity. From Nashville to Amsterdam, from Eastern Europe to Africa, he travels the globe in search of that elusive hit. But it's only after a chance encounter with Norman Wisdom that things get really strange. Is it really possible that together they could storm the Albanian charts? In One Hit Wonderland anything can happen ...
A classic underdog story about a local band that almost hits the big time. Everyone knows the price of fame. Hitless Wonder measures the price of obscurity. What happens when you chase a dream into middle age and, in doing so, risk losing the people you love?
When a race of elegant, superintelligent dogs arrives in twenty-first-century New York, they become instant celebrities, but, unable to adjust to the modern world and confronted with an incurable disease, they construct a fantastic castle and barricade themselves inside.
