For the last 50 years, Clive James has been writing remarkable songs - witty, moving, sometimes satirical, often thrillingly poetic - with his musical partner, Pete Atkin. They've written more than 200 together, releasing the first album of their work in 1970 and the last in 2015. John Peel loved them. So did Kenny Everett. Stephen Fry is a huge fan. And Clive himself believes these songs are the best things he's ever done. Loose Canon explores the sparkling lyrics and brilliantly memorable tunes that have won Clive and Pete a fanatical cult following but still managed to remain the British music industry's best-kept secret. Stephen Fry has written an incredibly generous and enthusiastic foreword.

Winner of the 2010 Non-Fiction National Book Award Patti Smith's definitive memoir: an evocative, honest and moving coming-of-age story of her extraordinary relationship with the artist Robert Mapplethorpe 'Sharp, elegiac and finely crafted' Sunday Times 'Terrifically evocative ... The most spellbinding and diverting portrait of funky-but-chic New York in the late '60s and '70s that any alumnus has committed to print' New York Times 'Render, harrowing, often hilarious' Vogue In 1967, a chance meeting between two young people led to a romance and a lifelong friendship that would carry each to international success never dreamed of. The backdrop is Brooklyn, Chelsea Hotel, Max's Kansas City, Scribner's Bookstore, Coney Island, Warhol's Factory and the whole city resplendent. Among their friends, literary lights, musicians and artists such as Harry Smith, Bobby Neuwirth, Allen Ginsberg, Sandy Daley, Sam Shepherd, William Burroughs, etc. It was a heightened time politically and culturally; the art and music worlds exploding and colliding. In the midst of all this two kids made a pact to always care for one another. Scrappy, romantic, committed to making art, they prodded and provided each other with faith and confidence during the hungry years--the days of cous-cous and lettuce soup. Just Kids begins as a love story and ends as an elegy. Beautifully written, this is a profound portrait of two young artists, often hungry, sated only by art and experience. And an unforgettable portrait of New York, her rich and poor, hustlers and hellions, those who made it and those whose memory lingers near.

Chapel Royal meets country choir in this collection of eleven strophic psalm-settings, one anthem and two Christmas hymns, for four-part choir without organ. These elaborate settings with fugal passages are suitable for a reasonably competent choir and could provide useful material for evensongs and concerts. The introduction attempts to explain how this London composer, who was trained in the Chapel Royal, came to write music for a country church in Hertfordshire.

Founded in 1915 by the musicologist William Gillies Whittaker, the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Bach Choir is one of the oldest Bach choirs in the United Kingdom. This book celebrates the centenary of the choir with a multi-author account of the choir's contributions to musical life and the many personalities who made that possible. It contains almost 200 illustrations, many of them not previously seen.

THE SUNDAY TIMES MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR A DAILY TELEGRAPH BEST MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR A TELEGRAPH BEST MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR A NEW STATESMAN BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR Faith, Hope and Carnage is a book about Nick Cave's inner life. Created from over forty hours of intimate conversations with Seán O'Hagan, it is a profoundly thoughtful exploration, in Cave's own words, of what really drives his life and creativity. The book examines questions of faith, art, music, freedom, grief and love. It draws candidly on Cave's life, from his early childhood to the present day, his loves, his work ethic and his dramatic transformation in recent years. From a place of considered reflection, Faith, Hope and Carnage offers ladders of hope and inspiration from a true creative visionary.

Jonathan G. Laniyan is privileged to study music up to Higher National Diploma level (H.N.D.) at the Polytechnic Ibadan Nigeria. He also holds Royal Schools of Music Grade 5 in Jazz Piano, Theory and Grades 7 and 8 in Practical Musicianship. He is a composer and arranger of works in Western and African Idiom, hoping to go for further studies to complete a Master's Degree (in music) in the near future.

In The Eyeline of Furtherance, charts John Howard's rise from 70's pop idol to a career in A & R and marketing. The '90s opened up new vistas, ever bigger and better opportunities, working with Elkie Brooks, Madness, Barry Manilow and rock 'n' roll heroes Lonnie Donegan and The Crickets. As John puts it, "I was propelled onwards and upwards, not this time by my own ambition, but by the plans of others who had clearly decided that I was going places in a direction I would never have imagined twenty years earlier." John Howard's first book, Incidents Crowded With Life, followed the ambitions of a young gay singer-songwriter in London in the '70s which were realised after being signed by CBS Records and recording his debut LP at Abbey Road studios. En route, he wrote the theme song for a Peter Fonda movie and was heralded as The Next Big Thing. And all the while navigating a series of disastrous personal events, not least when he broke his back in 1976.

Carl Ruggles (1876-1971) was the epitome of the New England iconoclast. A composer of the American avant-garde movement, he wrote, in a very concise and dissonant style, a small body of truly unique musical works. He lived to be 95, composing to the very end of his life, but left behind a mere eight sanctioned works which he had rewritten and refined over decades. In the 1920s, he was at the focal point of ultra-modern music-making. Since there is currently a renewed interest in his work, this bio-bibliography is timely and needed, and of interest to scholars, students, and performers.

During the 1920s, had Edgard Varese or Charles Ives been asked to name America's greatest living composer, the response would have been Carl Ruggles. Forty years later, such eminent experts on American music as Nicolas Slonimsky, Virgil Thomson, and Aaron Copland would each describe Ruggles as our most technically refined composer. Ruggles, with Varese and Ives, was the standard-bearer of the atonal movement in this century's third decade. With the rise of American realism, he slipped out of the public eye. Recent years have seen a resurgence of performances of his works and research on his music; consequently, there is a need for this timely bio-bibliography.

Musical director to some of the biggest names in showbusiness, Johnny Harris is also a distinguished composer and arranger in his own right. Flamboyant and energetic as a conductor, he has earned countless accolades for his dynamic stage performances with Sir Tom Jones, Dame Shirley Bassey, Englebert Humperdinck, Lulu, Liza Minelli and Lynda Carter to name but a few. This biography, written by his daughter Julie Pearce-Martin, takes you on a journey from his student days at London's Guildhall and the Swinging Sixties to the present day and the star-studded Palm Springs Follies in the USA.

This second updated edition of Notes from a Jazz Life includes Digby Fairweather's career since the year 2000 as a jazz cornetist, band leader, educator and broadcaster, working with George Melly and leading his band the Half-Dozen. The book has much to offer to people who are even marginally interested in jazz in all its wide variety of forms as well as providing insights for regular jazz readers. The author provides revealing reflections on the personal life and career of a musician and, with a wealth of warm, hilarious anecdotes, he writes honestly about all the challenges, frustrations and rich rewards of being part of the jazz world.

Having spent many years teaching and inspiring others, Rachel M Davis has fulfilled one of her ambitions as a professional musician, with the worldwide release of her first CD of moving and original solo piano music called 'Dreamcatcher'. Recorded on a Steinway piano under studio conditions Rachel has produced an incredibly beautiful sound. Working with a team of recording specialists, the production is truly world class and has been described as 'The type of music that makes you wish you kept up those piano lessons...' The CD and the book of sheet music will be of enormous interest to a broad section of classical and popular music lovers with a style reminiscent of Enya (Orinoco Flo) Andrew Lloyd-Webber (Phantom of the Opera), Einaudi, and John Barry(Dances with Wolves). You can listen to samples of all 10 tracks at www.rachelmdavis.co.uk where you can also find links to buy the CD and sheet music or download the tracks from digital music sites like iTunes or Amazon.

The Dead C’s Clyma est mort (1993) is the record of a live gig for one person. Tom Lax was running the Siltbreeze label in Philadelphia and had come to New Zealand to meet the artists he was releasing. He heard The Dead C at their noisy, improvised best, turning rock music on its head with a free-form style of blaring, loosely organised sound. Leading a second wave of music from Dunedin, New Zealand, The Dead C were an assault against the kind of jangly pop that had made the Dunedin Sound famous during the 1980s. This book uses The Dead C and in particular their album Clyma est mort (1993) to offer insights into the way the best of rock music plays vertigo with our senses, illustrating a sonic picture of freedom and energy. It places the album into the history of independent music in New Zealand, and into an international context of independent labels posting, faxing and phoning each other.

Metallica formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, California, their original line-up consisted of Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, and bassist Ron McGovney. Mustaine and McGovney subsequently left and were replaced by Kirk Hammett and Cliff Burton. Burton sadly died when the band's tour bus crashed in 1986 and Jason Newsted stepped in as a replacement staying until 2001. Robert Trujillo later joined as the band's regular bassist in 2003. With a growing fan base on the underground music scene, the band was also to achieve critical acclaim in 1986 with the release of their "Master of Puppets" album, widely regarded as one of the most intense and influential of all thrash metal recordings. Fortune followed fame when their eponymous 1991 album (known to fans as "The Black Album") went straight to No 1 on the Billboard 200. It has since sold over 15 million copies in the United States, which makes it the 25th highest selling album in the country. Metallica has released nine studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, twenty-two music videos, and forty-three singles. The band has won seven Grammy Awards, and has had five albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200. They had sold over 100 million records worldwide by the time their latest album, "Death Magnetic", was released in 2008.

THE POWERFUL AND UPLIFTING NUMBER ONE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER In March 2022, much-loved pop star, father and son Tom Parker died from incurable brain cancer. This story is his legacy, in his own words. A proud working-class lad from Bolton, he rose to chart-topping fame with The Wanted and even took America by storm. A loving father to Aurelia and Bodhi and a devoted husband to Kelsey, his life after pop superstardom was all about family, friends and finding new purpose. After his diagnosis in 2020, he become a prominent campaigner for brain cancer research, appearing in the House of Commons as well as holding a massively successful concert in aid of Stand Up to Cancer in the Royal Albert Hall. Throughout it all, Tom had hope. This inspirational memoir shows how far hope and daring to dream can carry you, no matter what cards you're dealt.

Dana Gillespie, the award-winning first lady of the Blues has enjoyed an incredible life and career. Now, she has chronicled her exploits, and as anyone who knows Dana would expect, it is intelligent, insightful, outrageous, and funny. Detailing high points, low points and everything in-between, the book covers, amongst many other things, liaisons with David Bowie, Bob Dylan, Keith Moon, and the cream of 1960's rock royalty; Recording with Jimmy Page and Elton John; Performing as Mary Magdalene in the original London production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and as the Acid Queen in Tommy; Acting in films directed by Nicholas Roeg, Ken Russell and Mai Zetterling; Performing Shakespeare with Sir John Gielgud and Arthur Lowe; Topping the pop charts across Europe; Performing to an audience of one million people in India; And... oh yes... Being British junior waterski champion for 4 years!

Rick Bucklers autobiography is the first from a member of The Jam, who some considered were the ultimate Mod band. Rick tells The Jam story from growing up in Woking and meeting fellow members Paul Weller and Bruce Foxton at school, through their formation in 1972 and tells of the band's early years before signing to Polydor records. He provides a year by year account of The Jam's progress whilst describing what it was like being a part of the music industry during the 70's and 80's and some of the characters who he met along the way including the Ramones, John Enwistle, Sid Vicious, Blondie, Boy George and Paul McCartney. Rick shares his own experiences and thoughts about what it was like to be in one of the UK's most successful bands who spent a great deal of time recording, performing and touring. Following The Jam's split in 1982, Rick gives a candid account of how he coped and his subsequent relationship with Paul and Bruce. All three members of The Jam stayed within the music industry and Rick takes the reader through his years in Time UK and various other bands up until forming From the Jam. A must read for any Jam fan.

The first scholarly discussion on the band, Pearl Jam and Philosophy examines both the songs (music and lyrics) and the activities (live performances, political commitments) of one of the most celebrated and charismatic rock bands of the last 30 years. The book investigates the philosophical aspects of their music at various levels: existential, spiritual, ethical, political, metaphysical and aesthetic. This philosophical interpretation is also dependent on the application of textual and poetic analysis: the interdisciplinary volume puts philosophical aspects of the band's lyrics in close dialogue with 19th- and 20th-century European and American poetry. Through this widespread philosophical examination, the book further looks into the band's immense popularity and commercial success, their deeply loyal fanbase and genuine sense of community surrounding their music, and the pivotal place the band holds within popular music and contemporary culture.

Midge Ure is one of the most successful musicians of his generation, selling more than 20 million albums over the last five decades. During the 1970s he played in various rock and pop bands around Scotland before moving to London to join ex-Sex Pistol Glen Matlock's Rich Kids, later playing guitar for Thin Lizzy, forming Visage and joining Ultravox. In the 1980s he had phenomenal worldwide success with Ultravox and as a solo artist. He also co-wrote one of the best-selling singles of all time, Band Aid's 'Do They Know It's Christmas'. He co-founded the Band Aid charity and is still involved with it today. This book is a stunning collection of photographs taken by Midge on his travels between 1980 and 1985. Travelling with a Canon A-1 camera, he documented his work in the recording studio, on tour with Ultravox, behind the scenes whilst directing promotional videos (for Ultravox and other artists such as Phil Lynott, Fun Boy Three, Bananarama) and holidays in far-flung places and road trips. This is a fascinating travelogue of a working musician. All photographs have been carefully scanned and retouched from the original negative to show the images in their glorious best, and every element of this book has been produced to the highest specification. Midge is still active today writing and recording music, touring around the world as well as presenting TV and Radio programs.

Traces the life and career of the great Czech composer, examines the influence of Bohemian music on Dvorak's works, and assesses his contributions to modern music.