In 1989, The Stone Roses exploded onto the music scene at the forefront of a new wave of music from Manchester. The Roses’ music an exhilarating mixture of sixties’ pop, rock and dance made them the UK’s most talked-about group, while their first album, The Stone Roses, is now revered as one of the finest débuts of all time.The band’s flared trousers, baggy t-shirts and floppy fringes were copied by a generation, and their 1990 gig at Spike Island in front of 30,000 people...

When Elbow won the Mercury Prize in 2008 for their fourth studio album - The Seldom Seen Kid - the accolade followed an organic 17 year long career marked by four classic albums and a cult following that cast them in the role of Manchester's best kept music secret. Elbow started out at a time when great songs and evocative lyrics were not generally recognised. Their music transcended genre, age and image, eventually finding its own distinctive glo...

The story of a world-beating multi-instrumental band with a unique creative dynamic.Their story is compelling – a complex musical collaboration in an eight-piece band that has coalesced around Win Butler and Régine Chassagne. They have triumphed worldwide at festivals and stadiums whilst racking up three award-winning albums: Funeral, Neon Bible and The Suburbs.This is the story of a truly fascinating band whose music has always triumphed over the trappings of success.

In 1989, The Stone Roses exploded onto the music scene at the forefront of a new wave of music from Manchester. The Roses’ music – an exhilarating mixture of sixties’ pop, rock and dance – made them the UK’s most talked-about group, while their first album, The Stone Roses, is now revered as one of the finest débuts of all time.The band’s flared trousers, baggy t-shirts and floppy fringes were copied by a generation, and their 1990 gig at Spike Island in front of 30,000 pe...

The story of a world-beating multi-instrumental band with a unique creative dynamic.Their story is compelling a complex musical collaboration in an eight-piece band that has coalesced around Win Butler and Régine Chassagne. They have triumphed worldwide at festivals and stadiums whilst racking up three award-winning albums: Funeral, Neon Bible and The Suburbs.This is the story of a truly fascinating band whose music has always triumphed over the trappings of success.

Joy Division's vocalist Ian Curtis tragically took his own life in 1980 leaving behind just two haunting albums and a depleted band that would famously evolve into New Order. Over twenty-five years later the cult surrounding Curtis shows no signs of fading. Fans make regular pilgrimages to his hometown of Macclesfield and to Manchester where the legacy of Joy Division and Factory Records has passed into legend. The authors of this new biography are uniquely qualified to reveal the extraord...

Factory Records' fame and fortune were based on two bands - Joy Division and New Order - and one personality - that of its director, Tony Wilson. At the height of the label's success in the late 1980s, it ran its own club, the legendary Haçienda, had a string of international hit records, and was admired and emulated around the world. But by the 1990s the story had changed. The back catalogue was sold off, top bands New Order and Happy Mondays were in disarray, and the Haçienda was shut do...

THERE HAS NEVER BEEN AN ARTIST quite like Chris Sievey or his 'fantastic' comedic alter ego, Frank Sidebottom. Whether pushing for chart action while fronting his former band The Freshies or allowing the bombastic Sidebottom to wreak anarchy and chaos on television, radio or with the Oh Blimey Big Band, Sievey's mischievous muse seemed to obey no boundaries. Yet it was only after Chris's untimely demise in 2010 that the extent of his infl uence became fully apparent. The emergence of Jon Rons...

When Elbow won the Mercury Prize in 2008 for their fourth studio album - The Seldom Seen Kid - the accolade followed an organic 17 year long career marked by four classic albums and a cult following that cast them in the role of Manchester's best kept music secret. Elbow started out at a time when great songs and evocative lyrics were not generally recognised. Their music transcended genre, age and image, eventually finding its own distinctive glo...

The only in-depth biographical account of the legendary lead singer of Joy Division, written by his widow. Includes a foreword by Jon Savage and an introduction by Joy Division drummer, Steven Morris.Revered by his peers and idolized by his fans, Ian Curtis left behind a legacy rich in artistic genius. Mesmerizing on stage but introverted and prone to desperate mood swings in his private life, Curtis died by his own hand on 18 May 1980.Touching from a Distance documents how...

Founding member and guitarist of Joy Division and the lead singer of New Order, Bernard Sumner has been famous over the years for his reticence. Until now… An integral part of the Manchester music scene since the late 1970s, his is the definitive version of the events that created two of the most influential bands of all time.Chapter and Verse includes a vivid and illuminating account of Bernard’s Salford childhood, the early days of Joy Division, the band’s enormous criti...

The SUNDAY TIMES Top Ten Bestseller#1 Book of the Year, UNCUT#1 Book of the Year, ROUGH TRADEBook of the Year, MOJOOver the course of two albums and some legendary gigs, Joy Division became the most successful and exciting underground band of their generation. Then, on the brink of a tour to America, Ian Curtis took his own life.In This Searing Light, the Sun and Everything Else