A rich and revealing examination of the legendary pop duo Soft Cell.Soft Cell are not your average pop band. Marc Almond and Dave Ball may be best known for the string of hits they released in 1981, but the powerful first phase of their collaboration embraced a staggering array of sounds, influences and innovations that would change the face of music to come.In Bedsit land, Patrick Clarke plunges into the archives ...

In his own words is the candid, witty, and unvarnished story of the songs and shows, the hits and pans, the marriages and divorces, the ascents to the top of the charts and into the tabloid headlines.As one of only three musicians to sell over 100 million records both in a group and as a solo artist, Collins breathes rare air, but he has never lost his talent for crafting songs that touch listeners around the globe.This is the story of his epic career, from...

I was only sixteen when I bought an electric guitar and joined a band. A year later, I formed an all-girl band called the Marine Girls and played gigs, and signed to an indie label, and started releasing records.Then, for eighteen years, between 1982 and 2000, I was one half of the group Everything But the Girl. In that time, we released nine albums and sold nine million records. We went on countless tours, had hit singles and flop singles, were reviewed and interviewed to within a...

Celebrate 40 years of WHAM! with the Sunday Times bestseller from one half of the world's most famous bands'I couldn't put it down. Such a fantastic book' Chris Evans, Virgin Radio________School mates. Band mates. Soul mates . . .When Andrew Ridgley took George Michael, the new boy at school, under his wing, he discovered a soul mate.In Wham! George and Me, Andrew tells the story of ...

**A SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN & TELEGRAPH MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022****INDEPENDENT BOOK OF THE MONTH****GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE DAY****FINANCIAL TIMES 'BEST SUMMER BOOKS 2022' PICK**'Incredibly moving.' - Guardian'Entertaining.' - Telegraph'Most books about pop stars focus on the way we turn average human beings into dem...

Modern pop began in 1952 when the first British chart was published and the first 7" singles were released. It ended (perhaps) in 1995 when Robson and Jerome reached the top of the charts with the first number one not to be available on vinyl since 1953. The internet age ushered in the death rites of over 40 years of pop.A Complete History Pop describes the journey that leads from 'Rock Around the Clock' to 'Crazy in Love'. Raw, thrilling, surprising and sometimes downrigh...

#2 UNCUT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023In 1979, 2 Tone exploded into the national consciousness as records by The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, The Beat, and The Bodysnatchers burst onto the charts and a youth movement was born.2 Tone was black and white: a multi-racial force of British and Caribbean island musicians singing about social issues, racism, class and gender struggles. It spoke of injustices in society and took fight against right wing extrem...

George Michael is an enigma. While he is one of the most open and vocal pop superstars on the planet, he also fiercely protective of his privacy. From the formation of Wham! In 1981 he immediately found fame and fortune beyond his wildest dreams. His music formed the soundtrack to the 1980s and he achieved all of this despite growing up in a dysfunctional family where his father openly proclaimed that George had no talent.Wham! split in 1986 but Michael went on to greater things as...

With a foreword by MARK KNOPFLER'An uplifting journey through the sheer hard work, pitfalls and thrills of navigating a great rock band to the pinnacle of success. I so enjoyed the ride!' ROGER TAYLOR__________Dire Straits filled giant stadiums around the world and sold hundreds of millions of records. Throughout the eighties they were one of the biggest bands on the planet. Their classic songs - 'Sultans of Swing', ...

Tenement Kid is Bobby Gillespie's story up to the recording and release of the album that has been credited with 'starting the 90's', Screamadelica.Born into a working class Glaswegian family in the summer of 1961, Bobby's memoirs begin in the district of Springburn, soon to be evacuated in Edward Heath's brutal slum clearances. Leaving school at 16 and going to work as a printers' apprentice, Bobby's rock n roll epiphany arrives like a bolt of lig...

**This is a memoir as wry, funny, moving and vivid as its inimitable subject himself. A joy for both lifelong fans and for a whole new generation.'One of Britain's outstanding poets' – Sir Paul McCartney'Riveting' – Observer**'An exuberant account of a remarkable life' – New StatesmanJohn Cooper Clarke is a phenomenon: Poet Laureate of Punk, rock star, fashion icon, TV and radio presenter, social and cultural commentator. At ...

** Shortlisted for the NME Best Music Book Award 2018 **THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERA TIMES BOOK OF THE YEARA GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEARA HERALD BOOK OF THE YEARAN IRISH INDEPENDENT BOOK OF THE YEAR'The definitive book on Bowie' The TimesDrawn from a series of co...