Popular music

What made Bowie special? What made him the cultural icon he is today? And what made millions of people around the world tune into his peculiar wavelength and find exactly what they'd been looking for all along? These are the questions asked by Simon Critchley in this keen-eyed, moving and texture...

For some an art-school type who produces 'instrumental doodles' or 'jazz that nobody asked for'; for others a lightning rod or touchstone for directions in popular music and culture over the last three decades. Whichever, what's certain is that Brian Eno's address book is a who's who of rock and ...

Tim Burgess is lead singer of one of the defining bands of the '90s, The Charlatans. In 'One Two Another', he presents and annotates his lyrics - from The Charlatans to The Chemical Brothers - allowing an insight into a very idiosyncratic and creative song-writing process.

John Updike compared them to 'the sun coming out on an Easter morning'. Bob Dylan introduced them to drugs. The Duchess of Windsor adored them, Noel Coward despised them, and successive Prime Ministers have sucked up to them. One fact is common amongst us all: no one has remained unaffected by th...

April 10th 2020 marks 50 years since Paul McCartney announced the break-up of the Beatles. At that point, we will be at the same distance in time from 1970 as 1970 was from 1920, the year Al Jolson's 'Swanee' was the bestselling record and Gustav Holst composed The Planets. The Beatles continue t...

Music can inspire our greatest creations, salve our deepest wounds, make us fall in - or out of - love. It can also be a window into another's soul. Based on the popular live storytelling series, 'OneTrackMinds' is a collection of 25 compelling answers to the question, 'What was the song that cha...

With a new introduction by the author, this single volume contains three memoirs from George Melly. The three parts describe Melly's childhood in Liverpool, his National Service experiences and his immersion in the world of jazz.

It is an unequivocal fact that in terms of rock bands, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and The Who represent Year Zero; the beginning of all things, ground-breakers all. To that incontrovertible end, John Entwistle, The Who's beloved bassist, is also without question one of the most important an...

It is an unequivocal fact that in terms of rock bands, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and The Who represent Year Zero; the beginning of all things, ground-breakers all. To that incontrovertible end, John Entwistle, The Who's beloved bassist, is also without question one of the most important an...

Christine McVie - born Christine Perfect - was the quintessentially English rock star, as both the backbone and the beating heart of Fleetwood Mac. And yet, as the 'engine' of the band during their Rumours era - an album which charted the complete romantic disintegration within the band - Christi...