Showing titles in Music

Jonas Merrick—a legendary intelligence analyst for MI5—has been banished to the Post Room of Thames House. There, he is expected to pass his remaining days before inevitable retirement. In a Russian gulag, an MI6 agent has developed an unlikely passion for a prisoner and has come up with an ingenious plan to free her. The key: a ruthless Albanian gang laundering the dirty money of the Russian elite. Merrick, the only agent with the experience to help, is brought back once again to intercept the Albanian courier until an exchange is organised by the Russians.

When Miranda Sawyer interviewed Liam Gallagher in 1994, his gag wishing Damon Albarn would die of AIDS became front-page news all over the world. This fascinating pop history, exploring the moment British music suddenly meant everything, explains why. Picking out twenty key songs, delving into the surprising stories behind them and their unlikely creators, UNCOMMON PEOPLE takes us back to when Jarvis Cocker became a national hero, films like Trainspotting were international hits, rave became what everybody did - and it felt like the revolution was happening.

The Sick Bag Song chronicles Cave's journey with his band, the Bad Seeds, on a 22-day North American tour. Inspired by John Berryman's 'ream Songs, it is an epic exploration of inspiration, creativity, loss, love and death. The book blends poetry, lyrics, memories, musings, flights of fancy and journal entries. The Sick Bag Song began life scribbled onto airline sick bags acquired during the internal flights taken by Cave during the tour.

Little Girl Blue is an intimate profile of Karen Carpenter, a girl from a modest Connecticut upbringing who became a Southern California superstar. Karen was the instantly recognizable lead singer of the Carpenters. The top-selling American musical act of the 1970's, they delivered the love songs that defined a generation. Little Girl Blue reveals Karen's heartbreaking struggles with her mother, brother, and husband; the intimate disclosures she made to her closest friends; and much more.

A remarkable memoir from the legendary drummer with The Police. Stewart Copeland is a genuine rock legend. As the drummer with The Police he was part of the biggest rock band in the world. They sold over 50 million records, won 2 Brits and 5 Grammys and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of...

The premise of this podcast is very simple - in each episode, we speak to a famous fan of Elliott Smith's to discuss their favourite song of his and how they got into his music.

From lullabies to songs for the dying, this is a fascinating exploration of singing in all its varied forms, from the personal perspective of a music therapist, teacher and performer. In interrogating her own life experience and using the latest scientific research and experiences of other singers and specialists, the author investigates the way singing works and why it is re-establishing itself as an essential aspect of contemporary life, inspiring listeners to participate in the ongoing revolution, doing for singing what The Well-Gardened Mind and Why We Eat did for our diets.

This book traces the entire arc of Ringo's remarkable life and career, from his sickly childhood to his life as the world's most famous drummer to his triumphs, addictions, and emotional battles following the breakup of the Beatles. Born in 1940 as Richard Starkey in the Dingle, one of Liverpool's most gritty, rough-and-tumble neighborhoods, he rose from a hardscrabble childhood marked by serious illnesses, long hospital stays, and little schooling to emerge, against all odds, as a renowned drummer.

Great minds have long sought to understand the relationship between music and mathematics. Both involve patterns, structures, and relationships. Both generate ideas of great beauty and elegance. Music is a fertile testing ground for mathematical principles, while mathematics explains the sounds instruments make and how composers put those sounds together. Understanding the connections between music and mathematics helps you appreciate both, even if you have no special ability in either field....

Told with acclaimed New Yorker writer Ariel Levy, Brothers is seventy-year-old drummer Alex Van Halen’s love letter to his younger brother, Edward (maybe “Ed,” but never “Eddie”), written while still mourning his untimely death.

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Megadeth’s iconic record, Rust in Peace, from the band’s lead vocalist and guitarist. When Rust in Peace was released in 1990, the future of Megadeth was uncertain. Fresh off their performance at the record-breaking Monsters of Rock festival, and...

A TELEGRAPH AND LONDON STANDARD BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024 'Alan is such a wonderful storyteller' Debbie Harry 'If you love music, you should definitely read this book' Nihal Arthanayake, BBC Radio 5 Live 'Alan Edwards is a class act: observant, attentive, always in the right place at the right time...

When Pete's parents moved from Cyprus to Birmingham in the 1960s in the hope of a better life, they had no money and only a little bit of English. They opened a fish-and-chip shop in Acocks Green. The Great Western Fish Bar is where Pete learned about coin-operated machines, male banter and Britishness. Shy and introverted, Pete stopped speaking from age four to seven and found refuge instead in the bittersweet embrace of pop songs, thanks to Top of the Pops and Dial-a-Disc. 

As a young schoolboy, David Essex dreamed of becoming a professional footballer and was signed up by his beloved West Ham United. But as a teenager, he developed a passion for music, which set him on a very different path, and ultimately led to superstardom. It wasn't, however, an easy start. Scraping a living on the edges of show business was a hard slog, and he endured many disappointments. Then, aged 23, he went along to an audition for a new musical called Godspell and won the role (Jesus) that shot him to fame.

“Particularly poignant ... tasteful and compassionate” Shindig Capturing all the pain and glory of this incredible family saga, Surf’s Up is the definitive tribute to a remarkable band - and the genius who made it all possible. If any man in pop history deserved the tag of genius, it was...

Elvis Presley and Graceland were fixtures in Ginger Alden’s life; after all, she was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee. But she had no idea that she would play a part in that enduring legacy—as Elvis Presley’s fiancée and his last great love. For more than three decades Ginger has...

The Beatles are the biggest band there has ever been. James Bond is the single most successful movie character of all time. They are also twins. Dr No, the first Bond film, and 'Love Me Do', the first Beatles record, were both released on the same day - Friday, 5 October 1962. Most countries can...

'Gillespie is rock and roll's Oliver Twist. A punk rock fairytale, razor sharp on class struggle, music, style, and a singular view of the world resulting in one of the world's great bands. Couldn't put down' Courtney Love Born into a working-class Glaswegian family in the summer of 1961...

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER ‘A fascinating perspective on a great pop story.’ Sunday Times ‘A career this packed with highs – and personal lows – makes for dream memoir fodder.’ Daily Telegraph The long-awaited memoir of legendary Lionel Richie. As a storyteller second to none...

Packed with revelations, this is the first complete account of a career built on raw talent, sheer willpower--and criminal connections. Anthony Summers--bestselling author of Goddess: The Secret Lives of Marilyn Monroe--and Robbyn Swan unveil stunning new information about Sinatra’s links to...