London's rock 'n' roll history is in many ways the world's rock 'n' roll history. It has given birth to some of the most influential rock bands ever -- The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Elton John, The Sex Pistols -- and many popular movements -- psychedelia, mod, punk, ska, and Brit-pop. This meticulously researched and entertaining guide explores London's long and occasionally sordid rock history from the 1950s to the present day, providing the casual traveler with a neighborhood-by-neighborhood look at the venues, clubs, pubs, people, studios, stores, and events that rocked the world. Where was David Bowie brought up? Where did the Beatles play their last gig? Where did Keith Moon spend his last night? Each chapter/neighborhood is accompanied by locator maps and detailed street directions, and is filled to the brim with stunning photographs, ephemera, and rock trivia.
Travelling through London's most influential and key areas from the outer limits of suburbia right through to the heartland of Soho and Carnaby Street, this guide takes an intimate musical journey right to the very core of London's rock 'n' roll heritage. It takes you through the key areas of the city from the skiffle bands of the 50s through the beat, punk, psychedelia, Britpop, mods and rockers and club music - the quintessential bands, venues, places and events that shaped the trail-blazing pop history of the capital of cool.
London teemed with top-rated singers and musicians during the '60s and '70s, whether they were squatting, playing gigs or investing in multi-million pound mansions. Follow McCartney and co. to the quiet flat on Green Street that was their refuge before the Beatlemaniacs sought them out. Wind back time to when Loog Oldham locked Mick and Keith in their flat and demanded they compose a song. From the zany to the tragic - it was in St Mary Abbot's Hospital, Kensington where Jimi Hendrix was pronounced dead - this is a guidebook like no other, a pilgrimage dedicated to the rock 'n' roll greats. AUTHOR: Tony Barrell been a writer and journalist for more than 30 years. From 1998 to 2007 he was Chief Sub-Editor on The Sunday Times Magazine, during which time he wrote many major articles for the newspaper and interviewed many celebrities. Tony is the author of The Beatles on the Roof, the first book about The Beatles' rooftop performance in Savile Row, London, in January 1969. He has also written Born to Drum: The Truth About the World's Greatest Drummers, a book featuring interviews with 40 professional drummers, including Phil Collins (Genesis), Nick Mason (Pink Floyd), Clem Burke (Blondie) and Debbi Peterson (The Bangles). SELLING POINTS: * Discover the London landmarks associated with some of the biggest names in musical history * The culmination of detailed research into where the greats stayed, rehearsed, recorded and died * Forms part of a wider series that explores the UK capital Also in the series: Vinyl London ISBN 9781788840156 200 colour images
It all started in London. More than fifty years ago, a generation of teens created something that would change the face of music forever. London, Reign Over Me immerses us in the backroom clubs, basement record shops, and late-night faint radio signals of 1960s Britain, where young hopefuls like Peter Frampton, Dave Davies, and Mick Jagger built off American blues and jazz to form a whole new sound. Author Stephen Tow weaves together original interviews with over ninety musicians and movers-and-shakers of the time to uncover the uniquely British story of classic rock’s birth. Capturing the stark contrast of bursting artistic energy with the blitzkrieg landscape leftover from World War II, London, Reign Over Me reveals why classic rock ‘n’ roll could only have been born in London. A new sound from a new generation, this music helped spark the most important cultural transformation of the twentieth century. Key interviews include: •Jon Anderson (Yes) •Ian Anderson (Jethro Tull) •Rod Argent (The Zombies) •Chris Barber (Chris Barber Jazz Band) •Joe Boyd (Producer/manager) •Arthur Brown (Crazy World of Arthur Brown) •David Cousins (The Strawbs) •Dave Davies (The Kinks) •Spencer Davis (Spencer Davis Group) •Judy Dyble (Fairport Convention) •Ramblin’ Jack Elliott (Solo folk/blues artist) •Peter Frampton (Humble Pie, solo artist) •Roger Glover (Deep Purple) •Steve Howe (Yes) •Neil Innes (Bonzo Dog Band; Monty Python) •Kenney Jones (The Small Faces; The Who) •Greg Lake (King Crimson; Emerson, Lake & Palmer) •Manfred Mann (Manfred Mann) •Terry Marshall (Marshall Amplification) •Dave Mason (Traffic) •Phil May (The Pretty Things) •John Mayall (The Bluesbreakers) •Jim McCarty (The Yardbirds) •Ian McLagan (The Small Faces) •Jacqui McShee (The Pentangle) •Peter Noone (Herman’s Hermits) •Carl Palmer (Atomic Rooster; Emerson, Lake & Palmer) •Jan Roberts (Eel Pie Island Documentary Project) •Paul Rodgers (Free) •Peggy Seeger (Solo folk artist) •Hylda Sims (Club owner) •Keith Skues (DJ: Radio Caroline, Radio London, Radio One) •Jeremy Spencer (Fleetwood Mac) •John Steel (The Animals) •Al Stewart (Solo folk artist) •Dick Taylor (The Pretty Things) •Ray Thomas (The Moody Blues) •Richard Thompson (Fairport Convention) •Rick Wakeman (The Strawbs, Yes) •Barrie Wentzell (Photographer: Melody Maker)
DIVMudhoney: The Sound and the Fury from Seattle is the first-ever history of Mudhoney, the four-man Seattle band that invented grunge, written with the band’s full cooperation./div
Up close, back stage, tiny gigs, pre-famous - Led Zep to Bowie as you've never seen them. Released to coincide with an exhibition at Proud Central, London (8th December - 28 January), this huge rock treasure chest contains over 250 previously unpublished premium images from the epicentre of London's exploding music scene, from the mid-sixties to the early seventies. Lavishly produced to create a fitting showcase for Alec's extraordinarily rich, until now hidden, private collection, London Rock is a stunning experience.
Drooling fanatic, n. 1. One who drools in the presence of beloved rock stars. 2. Any of a genus of rock-and-roll wannabes/geeks who walk around with songs constantly ringing in their ears, own more than 3,000 albums, and fall in love with at least one record per week. With a life that’s spanned the phonographic era and the digital age, Steve Almond lives to Rawk. Like you, he’s secretly longed to live the life of a rock star, complete with insane talent, famous friends, and hotel rooms to be trashed. Also like you, he’s content (sort of) to live the life of a rabid fan, one who has converted his unrequited desires into a (sort of) noble obsession. Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life traces Almond’s passion from his earliest (and most wretched) rock criticism to his eventual discovery of a music-crazed soul mate and their subsequent production of two little superfans. Along the way, Almond reflects on the delusional power of songs, the awkward mating habits of drooling fanatics, and why Depression Songs actually make us feel so much better. The book also includes: • sometimes drunken interviews with America’s finest songwriters • a recap of the author’s terrifying visit to Graceland while stoned • a vigorous and credibility-shattering endorsement of Styx’s Paradise Theater • recommendations you will often choose to ignore • a reluctant exegesis of the Toto song “Africa” • obnoxious lists sure to piss off rock critics But wait, there’s more. Readers will also be able to listen to a special free mix designed by the author, available online at www.stevenalmond.com, for the express purpose of eliciting your drool. For those about to rock—we salute you!
'The best evocation I've read of London in the '80s' Neil Tennant 'I loved Souvenir . . . it rescued some things for me - a certain aesthetic, a philosophical engagement with time and poignant beauty and lived history that I have found myself looking for, and not finding, elsewhere in recent years . . . the book gave me new hope' John Burnside 'A suspended act of retrieval, a partisan recall; a sustained, subtle summary of our recent past, and an epitaph for a future we never had' Philip Hoare 'Michael Bracewell proves himself to be nothing less than the poet laureate of late capitalism' Jonathan Coe A vivid eulogy for London of the late 1970s and early 80s - the last years prior to the rise of the digital city. An elliptical, wildly atmospheric remembrance of the sites and soundtrack, at once aggressively modern and strangely elegiac, that accompanied the twilight of one era and the dawn of another. Haunted bedsits, post-punk entrepreneurs in the Soho Brasserie, occultists in Fitzrovia, Docklands before Canary Wharf, frozen suburbs in the winter of 1980...
'A must have for Dylan enthusiasts, lovers of London, and anyone with even a passing interest in the history of music. I devoured it in two sittings - and I loved it!' Conor McPherson, playwright, Girl from the North Country This is both a guide and history on the impact of London on Dylan, and the lasting legacy of Bob Dylan on the London music scene. Bob Dylan in London celebrates this journey, and allows readers to experience his London and follow in his footsteps to places such as the King and Queen pub (the first venue that Dylan performed at in London), the Savoy hotel and Camden Town. This book explores the key London places and times that helped to create one of the greatest of all popular musicians, Bob Dylan.
