In his own words-from rock's most legendary bad boy.Rock 'n' roll legend and Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has quite a few things to say: about Mick Jagger, the Stones, sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll, and life itself. Sample these nuggets of wit and wisdom chipped from the tablets of Stone:On etiquette: "I've never turned blue in someone else's bathroom. I consider that the height of bad manners."On Mick Jagger: "My aim is alw...

The acclaimed, definitive biography of Pink Floyd, from their iconic beginnings in psychedelic, Swinging London to their historic reunion at the Live8 concert ("The most complete, insightful, and current account of Pink Floyd...nearly as essential as the music itself." -- Austin Chronicle)Mark Blake draws on his own interviews with band members as well as the group's friends, road crew, musical contemporaries, former housemates, and university coll...

'A definitive tome for both Who fans and newcomers alike’ ***** Q MagazinePete Townshend was once asked how he prepared himself for The Who’s violent live performances. His answer? ‘Pretend you’re in a war.’ For a band as prone to furious infighting as it was notorious for acts of ‘auto-destructive art’ this could have served as a motto.Between 1964 and 1969 The Who released some of the most dramatic and confrontational music of the decade, includi...

Queen's success in the 1970s was accompanied by a taste for musical and non-musical excess. Is This the Real Life? draws on eyewitness testimonies -- former producers and managers, ex-girlfriends and boyfriends -- to create a complete picture of one of the world's most ambitiously driven rock bands at work and at play. Revealing Queen's complex dynamic, Blake also explores how Freddie Mercury's sexuality alienated some of the band's fan base, how they reinvented themselves by morp...

The authorized biography of the most notorious rock manager of all time, Peter Grant, best known for his work with Led ZeppelinPeter Grant is the most famous music manager of all time. Often acknowledged as the "fifth member of Led Zeppelin," Grant's story has appeared in fragments across countless Zeppelin biographies, but none has explored who this brilliant and intuitive manager yet flawed and sometimes dangerous man truly was. No one has successfully captured th...

Queen are unique among the great rock bands. It is nearly twenty years since frontman Freddie Mercury’s death brought the band to an end – yet their fanbase remains massive. They appeal equally to men and women. Their fans are just as likely to be teenagers too young to have been born when the band were still touring and making records (thanks not least to the huge success of the musical We Will Rock You). And their musical history is one of constant reinvention – from heavy metal and prog...

Interest in Pink Floyd remains as intense as ever even 40 years after the release of Dark Side of the Moon, with lavish box-sets collecting demos and out-takes, and Roger Waters’ world tours of The Wall playing to packed stadiums.Now, Mark Blake’s superbly comprehensive and engrossing history of the group, rightly acclaimed as the definitive book on the band, has been fully revised and extended with new interviews to bring the story up to date with the recent appearances of David Gi...

Freddie Mercury was rock’s most dazzling showman, a legendary entertainer who in 1991, at the age of just forty-five, became the first major music star to die of AIDS. Mercury’s soaring four-octave voice was a defining element in Queen’s unique sound, crucial to the success of the band’s fifteen studio albums, from Queen (1973) to Made in Heaven (1995). He was also a supremely talented songwriter and musician who wrote many of the band’s greatest hits, including ‘Killer Queen’, ‘We Are the...

Mark Blake draws on his own interviews with band members as well as the group's friends, road crew, musical contemporaries, former housemates, and university colleagues to produce a riveting history of one of the biggest rock bands of all time. We follow Pink Floyd from the early psychedelic nights at UFO, to the stadium-rock and concept-album zenith of the seventies, to the acrimonious schisms of the late '80s and '90s. Along the way there are fascinating new revelations about Syd Barrett...

The authorized biography of the most notorious rock manager of all time, Peter Grant, best known for his work with Led ZeppelinPeter Grant is the most famous music manager of all time. Often acknowledged as the "fifth member of Led Zeppelin," Grant's story has appeared in fragments across countless Zeppelin biographies, but none has explored who this brilliant and intuitive manager yet flawed and sometimes dangerous man truly was. No one has successfully captured t...

A compelling narrative biography of the legendary drummer John Bonham, his wild ride with iconic rock band Led Zeppelin, and the highs and lows that made up his wild (and tragically short) life.John Bonham is considered by many to be one of the greatest drummers of all time. He was recruited to join the band who would eventually become known as Led Zeppelin–and before the year was out, Bonham and his bandmates would become the richest rock band in the world.

“I don’t think I’m easy to talk about. I’ve got a very irregular head. And I’m not anything that you think I am anyway” (Syd Barrett, Rolling Stone, 1971).Roger Keith “Syd” Barrett was the definition of a golden boy. With good looks and an aptitude for music, he was a charismatic child who fast became a teenage leader in 1960s England. Along with three school chums—Roger Waters, Richard Wright, and Nick Mason—he formed what would become Pink Floyd. Starting as a British co...