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Books > Language & Literature > Biography & autobiography > Film, television, music, theatre
Roger Daltrey is the voice of a generation. That generation was the
first to rebel, to step out of the shadows of the Second World
War... to invent the concept of the teenager. This is the story
from his birth at the height of the Blitz, through tempestuous
school days to his expulsion, age 15, for various crimes and
misdemeanours within a strict school system. Thanks to Mr
Kibblewhite, his authoritarian headmaster, it could all have ended
there. The life of a factory worker beckoned. But then came rock
and roll. He made his first guitar from factory off-cuts. He formed
a band. The band became The Who - Maximum R&B - and, by luck
and by sheer bloody-mindedness, Roger Daltrey became the frontman
of one of the biggest rock bands on the planet. This is the story
of My Generation, Tommy and Quadrophenia, of smashed guitars,
exploding drums, cars in swimming pools, fights, arrests and
redecorated hotel rooms. But it is also the story of how that
post-war generation redefined the rules of youth. Out of that, the
modern music industry was born - and it wasn't an easy birth.
Money, drugs and youthful exuberance were a dangerous mix. This is
as much a story of survival as it is of success. Four years in the
making, this is the first time Roger Daltrey has told his story. It
is not just his own hilarious and frank account of more than 50
wild years on the road. It is the definitive story of The Who and
of the sweeping revolution that was British rock 'n' roll.
The definitive biography of country legend Merle Haggard by the New
York Times bestselling biographer of Clint Eastwood, Cary Grant,
The Eagles, and more.Merle Haggard was one of the most important
country music musicians who ever lived. His astonishing musical
career stretched across the second half of the 20th Century and
into the first two decades of the next, during which he released an
extraordinary 63 albums, 38 that made it on to Billboard's Country
Top Ten, 13 that went to #1, and 37 #1 hit singles. With his ample
songbook, unique singing voice and brilliant phrasing that
illuminated his uncompromising commitment to individual freedom,
cut with the monkey of personal despair on his back and a chip the
size of Monument Valley on his shoulder, Merle's music and his
extraordinary charisma helped change the look, the sound, and the
fury of American music.The Hag tells, without compromise, the
extraordinary life of Merle Haggard, augmented by deep secondary
research, sharp detail and ample anecdotal material that biographer
Marc Eliot is known for, and enriched and deepened by over 100 new
and far-ranging interviews. It explores the uniquely American life
of an angry rebellious boy from the wrong side of the tracks bound
for a life of crime and a permanent home in a penitentiary, who
found redemption through the music of "the common man."Merle
Haggard's story is a great American saga of a man who lifted
himself out of poverty, oppression, loss and wanderlust, to
catapult himself into the pantheon of American artists admired
around the world. Eliot has interviewed more than 100 people who
knew Haggard, worked with him, were influenced by him, loved him or
hated him. The book celebrates the accomplishments and explore the
singer's infamous dark side: the self-created turmoil that
expressed itself through drugs, women, booze, and betrayal. The Hag
offers a richly anecdotal narrative that will elevate the life and
work of Merle Haggard to where both properly belong, in the
pantheon of American music and letters.The Hag is the definitive
account of this unique American original, and will speak to readers
of country music and rock biographies alike.
An American drummer, a bass player from Newcastle and a guitarist a
decade older than the other two, with little in common other than
their musical brilliance and towering ambition, formed one of the
most successful bands in history. Covering the years 1977-1986 and
the brief reincarnation in 2007-2008, acclaimed biographers
Caroline and David Stafford chronicle the rise and fall of the
Police. Much like Reservoir Dogs but without the light relief, it's
a tale of jealousy, anger and attrition both on the road and in the
studio. And yet, despite - or perhaps because of - the battles,
these three musicians, Sting, Andy and Stewart, each supremely
talented in his own right, together achieved a symbiosis that
produced music of soaring magnificence.
In this fully revised and richly illustrated edition, author and
journalist Will Ellsworth-Jones pieces together a complete picture
of the life and work of Banksy, perhaps the most iconic, enigmatic
and controversial artist of modern times. For someone who shuns the
limelight so completely that he conceals his name, never shows his
face and gives interviews only by email, Banksy is remarkably
famous. This fully updated and illustrated story of Banksy's life
and career builds an intriguing picture of his world and unpicks
its contradictions. Whether art or vandalism, anti-establishment or
sell-out, Banksy and his work have become a cultural phenomenon and
the question 'Who is Banksy?' is as much about his career as it is
'the man behind the wall'. From his beginnings as a Bristol
graffiti artist, his artwork is now sold at auction for
seven-figure sums and hangs on celebrities' walls. The appearance
of a new Banksy is national news, his documentary Exit Through the
Gift Shop was Oscar-nominated and people queue for hours to see his
latest exhibition. Now moreNational Treasure than edgy outsider,
who is Banksy and how did he become what he is today? This book
charts Banksy's journey from the graffiti-scrawled streets of
Barton Hill, the working class neighbourhood of Bristol where he
and others covered the walls with vibrant pieces while trying to
avoid the police, through to some of the most prestigious galleries
of the world, where his daring acts of guerilla art have forced us
to reconsider how we define as art. From the artist's own words to
recollections of friends and colleagues, this book also examines
the contradictions of Banksy's life: charting how a privately
educated boy from a middle class area of Bristol reinvented himself
as a rogue and an outlaw who would take the art world by storm.
With beautiful reproductions of some of his most controversial and
recognisable works, this detailed study is a truly indispensible
guide to understanding the ultimate art rebel whose work is no less
relevant today than it was when he first started out some thirty
years ago.
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Will
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Will Smith; As told to Mark Manson
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Now a limited Netflix series starring Zoe Saldana! This Reese
Witherspoon Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller is "a
captivating story of love lost and found" (Kirkus Reviews) set in
the lush Sicilian countryside, where one woman discovers the
healing powers of food, family, and unexpected grace in her darkest
hours. It was love at first sight when actress Tembi met
professional chef, Saro, on a street in Florence. There was just
one problem: Saro's traditional Sicilian family did not approve of
his marrying a black American woman. However, the couple,
heartbroken but undeterred, forged on. They built a happy life in
Los Angeles, with fulfilling careers, deep friendships, and the
love of their lives: a baby girl they adopted at birth. Eventually,
they reconciled with Saro's family just as he faced a formidable
cancer that would consume all their dreams. From Scratch chronicles
three summers Tembi spends in Sicily with her daughter, Zoela, as
she begins to piece together a life without her husband in his tiny
hometown hamlet of farmers. Where once Tembi was estranged from
Saro's family, now she finds solace and nourishment-literally and
spiritually-at her mother-in-law's table. In the Sicilian
countryside, she discovers the healing gifts of simple fresh food,
the embrace of a close knit community, and timeless traditions and
wisdom that light a path forward. All along the way she reflects on
her and Saro's romance-an incredible love story that leaps off the
pages. In Sicily, it is said that every story begins with a
marriage or a death-in Tembi Locke's case, it is both. "Locke's raw
and heartfelt memoir will uplift readers suffering from the loss of
their own loved ones" (Publishers Weekly), but her story is also
about love, finding a home, and chasing flavor as an act of
remembrance. From Scratch is for anyone who has dared to reach for
big love, fought for what mattered most, and those who needed a
powerful reminder that life is...delicious.
LONGLISTED FOR THE 2020 BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE CHOSEN AS A BOOK OF
THE YEAR BY THE GUARDIAN, OBSERVER, THE TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES, DAILY
TELEGRAPH, MAIL ON SUNDAY, FINANCIAL TIMES, NEW STATESMAN,
SPECTATOR THE SUNDAY TIMES ART BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020 'Explosively
enjoyable, bursting with life and art ... A central figure as wild
and beguiling as any character in literature' CRAIG BROWN William
Feaver, Lucian Freud's collaborator, curator and close friend, knew
the unknowable artist better than most. Over many years, Freud
narrated to him the story of his life, 'our novel'. Fame follows
Freud at the height of his powers, painting the most iconic works
of his career in a constant pursuit of perfection, just outrunning
his gambling debts and tailor's bills. Whether tattooing swallows
at the base of Kate Moss's back or exacting a strange revenge on
Jerry Hall and Mick Jagger, Freud's adventures were always
perfectly characteristic. An enfant terrible till the end, even as
he was commissioned to paint the Queen, what emerges is an artist
wilfully oblivious to the glitter of the world around - and
focussed instead on painting first and last. 'A dazzling tour de
force' THE TIMES 'A wonderfully vivid chronicle' OBSERVER 'Does
justice to Freud's pitiless genius' DAILY MAIL
A Sunday Times Book of the Year 'For anyone interested in Lee's
legacy, this is a roundhouse kick of a biography' - Sunday Times
'At last, Bruce Lee has the powerful biography he deserves... It
will thrill Lee's fans and fascinate the unfamiliar' - Jonathan
Eig, author of Ali: A Life and Luckiest Man: The Life and Death of
Lou Gehrig 'Meticulously researched' - Jimmy McDonough, author of
Shakey: Neil Young's Biography and Soul Survivor: A Biography of Al
Green 'You won't find a better match for a biographer with his
subject than Matthew Polly and Bruce Lee... A definitive biography,
told with passion and punch' - Brian Jay Jones, author George
Lucas: A Life and Jim Henson: The Biography. More than forty years
after Bruce Lee's sudden death at age 32, journalist and author
Matthew Polly has written the definitive account of Lee's life.
It's also one of the only accounts; incredibly, there has never
been an authoritative biography of Lee. Following a decade of
research that included conducting more than one hundred interviews
with Lee's family, friends, business associates and even the
mistress in whose bed Lee died, Polly has constructed a complex,
humane portrait of the icon. There are his early years as a child
star in Hong Kong cinema; his actor father's struggles with opium
addiction and how that turned Bruce into a troublemaking teenager
who was kicked out of high school and eventually sent to America to
shape up; his beginnings as a martial arts teacher, eventually
becoming personal instructor to movie stars like Steve McQueen; his
struggles as an Asian-American actor in Hollywood and frustration
seeing role after role he auditioned for go to white actors in eye
makeup; his eventual triumph as a leading man; his challenges
juggling a sky-rocketing career with his duties as a father and
husband; and his shocking end that to this day is still shrouded in
mystery. Polly breaks down the myth of Bruce Lee and argues that,
contrary to popular belief, he was an ambitious actor who was
obsessed with martial arts-not a great kung-fu master who just so
happened to make a couple of movies. The book offers an honest look
at an impressive yet flawed man whose personal story was even more
entertaining and inspiring than any fictional role he played
on-screen. Praise for Matthew Polly 'Hypnotic...Tapped Out manages
to humanize a sport once demonized as "human cockfighting" by
deconstructing the stereotype of the martial-arts tough guy.' - New
York Times 'Tapped Out is a knockout for MMA fans, who will laugh
at the intimate portraits Polly sketches of some of the sport's
most famous personalities. But it also works for those not familiar
with the sport...You won't be disappointed.' - OpposingViews.com 'A
delight to read.' - TheFightNerd.com 'Polly's self-deprecation in
the painful learning process stands out as much as the witty prose.
His delivery is Plimpton-esque.' - ESPN.com 'Smoothly written . . .
Polly has a good eye for characters.' - Publishers Weekly
When Simon Cadell announced to the world that he may have only days
to live, it signalled the end of a twenty-year stage career that
had just seen its finest hour-winning an Olivier Award for `Travels
With My Aunt'. The British public had fallen in love with the
charms of Cadell as Jeffrey Fairbrother, part of the hugely
successful sitcom `Hi-de-hi!', constantly dodging the amorous
advances of Ruth Madoc's Gladys Pugh. But behind the lop-sided
smile lay a man full of nerves and insecurity about the looks that
ultimately defined his television career. As the hapless civil
servant Mr Dundridge, in `Blott on the Landscape' he displayed
perfect incompetence played to perfection, brought to triumph by
his naked escape from the clutches of Lady Maud as played by
Geraldine James. Equally adept at Shakespeare and Chekhov as he was
with Whitehall-style farces, Cadell's was a highly respected stage
career achieved via a relentless workload. His many appearances as
Noel Coward earned him a reputation as the definitive Coward
interpreter, something he had first turned his hand to at the
Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. With access to family photographs
and documentation, and sourced by numerous interviews, `Simon
Cadell: The Authorised Biography' tells for the first time the
story of a fourth generation actor who oozed charm and had a zest
for a life that was cut tragically short at the peak of his powers.
With his topical jokes and his all-American, brash-but-cowardly
screen character, Bob Hope was the only entertainer to achieve
top-rated success in every major mass-entertainment medium of the
century, from vaudeville in the 1920s all the way to television in
the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He virtually invented modern stand-up
comedy. Above all, he helped redefine the very notion of what it
means to be a star: a savvy businessman, an enterprising builder of
his own brand, and a public-spirited entertainer whose Christmas
military tours and unflagging work for charity set the standard for
public service in Hollywood. As Richard Zoglin shows in this
"entertaining and important book" (The Wall Street Journal), there
is still much to be learned about this most public of figures, from
his secret first marriage and his stint in reform school, to his
indiscriminate womanizing and his ambivalent relationships with
Bing Crosby and Johnny Carson. Hope could be cold, self-centered,
tight with a buck, and perhaps the least introspective man in
Hollywood. But he was also a tireless worker, devoted to his fans,
and generous with friends. "Scrupulously researched, likely
definitive, and as entertaining and as important (to an
understanding of twentieth- and twenty-first-century pop culture)
as its subject once genuinely was" (Vanity Fair), Hope is both a
celebration of the entertainer and a complex portrait of a gifted
but flawed man. "A wonderful biography," says Woody Allen. "For me,
it's a feast."
The Sunday Times bestselling hit memoir from Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker.
What if the things we keep hidden say more about us than those we put on display? We all have a random collection of the things that made us - photos, tickets, clothes, souvenirs, stuffed in a box, packed in a suitcase, crammed into a drawer. When Jarvis Cocker starts clearing out his loft, he finds a jumble of objects that catalogue his story and ask him some awkward questions:
Who do you think you are?
Are clothes important?
Why are there so many pairs of broken glasses up here?
From a Gold Star polycotton shirt to a pack of Wrigley's Extra, from his teenage attempts to write songs to the Sexy Laughs Fantastic Dirty Joke Book, this is the hard evidence of Jarvis's unique life, Pulp, 20th century pop culture, the good times and the mistakes he'd rather forget.
This is not a life story. It's a loft story.
A household name, an Australian rock icon, the elder statesman of
Ozrock - there isn't an accolade or cliche that doesn't apply to
Jimmy Barnes. But long before Cold Chisel and Barnesy, long before
the tall tales of success and excess, there was the true story of
James Dixon Swan - a working class boy whose family made the
journey from Scotland to Australia in search of a better life.
Working Class Boy is a powerful reflection on a traumatic and
violent childhood, which fuelled the excess and recklessness that
would define, but almost destroy, the rock'n'roll legend. This is
the story of how James Swan became Jimmy Barnes. It is a memoir
burning with the frustration and frenetic energy of teenage sex,
drugs, violence and ambition for more than what you have. Raw,
gritty, compassionate, surprising and darkly funny - Jimmy Barnes's
childhood memoir is at once the story of migrant dreams fulfilled
and dashed. Arriving in Australia in the Summer of 1962, things
went from bad to worse for the Swan family - Dot, Jim and their six
kids. The scramble to manage in the tough northern suburbs of
Adelaide in the 60s would take its toll on the Swans as dwindling
money, too much alcohol, and fraying tempers gave way to violence
and despair. This is the story a family's collapse, but also a
young boy's dream to escape the misery of the suburbs with a
once-in-a-lifetime chance to join a rock'n'roll band and get out of
town for good.
Pretty Mess meets #Girlboss in this part memoir, part
entrepreneurial manifesto from The Real Housewives of New Jersey's
"Powerhouse in Pigtails." Margaret Josephs is a hustler. She's a
tough cookie. She speaks her mind. She never leaves the house
without lipstick on. She's also a devoted wife, mother, daughter,
businesswoman, lifestyle expert, and fan-favorite star of the
reality TV series The Real Housewives of New Jersey. Sounds pretty
glamorous, right? Well, things are never exactly as they seem.
Before she arrived where she is today, "The Marge" was born to
young immigrant parents. Raised by a single party-girl mother who
left her physically abusive father when she was one and a half, she
was taught that it was more important to look good than to feel
good. No structure. No rules. No blueprint for future success or
stability. But like most people who struggle through atypical
childhoods, destructive relationships, and career challenges, she
forced herself to wake up every morning and put one high heel in
front of the other, even if she didn't know where she was going.
Margaret took the cards she was dealt and eventually turned them
into a winning hand, and she wants to arm fans with the ability to
do the same. In Caviar Dreams, Tuna Fish Budget, she'll talk about
how to launch a lifestyle brand, how to work with family members,
and how to be an uncompromising woman in a man's world. She also
spills stories from her personal life about the son Real Housewives
viewers don't know exists, the time Joan Rivers gave her the best
advice she ever got, the rendezvous she had with a famous rock
star, and the affair with her contractor that ended her marriage
but gave her the happily ever after. Caviar Dreams, Tuna Fish
Budget takes fans along Margaret's wild, bumpy journey to
entrepreneurial success and reality TV fame, written in her
trademark no-nonsense, tongue-in-cheek voice with the perfect
combination of grit and glitz.
Between 1995 and 1999, Patton Oswalt lived with an unshakable
addiction. It wasn't drugs, alcohol, or sex: it was film. After
moving to Los Angeles, Oswalt became a huge film buff (or as he
calls it, a sprocket fiend), absorbing classics, cult hits, and new
releases at the famous New Beverly Cinema. Silver screen celluloid
became Patton's life schoolbook, informing his notion of acting,
writing, comedy, and relationships. Set in the nascent days of LA's
alternative comedy scene, Silver Screen Fiendchronicles Oswalt's
journey from fledgling stand-up comedian to self-assured sitcom
actor, with the colorful New Beverly collective and a cast of
now-notable young comedians supporting him all along the way.
"Clever and readable...Oswalt's encyclopedic knowledge and frothing
enthusiasm for films (from sleek noir classics, to gory B movies,
to cliche-riddled independents, to big empty blockbusters) is
relentlessly present, whirring in the background like a projector"
(TheBoston Globe). More than a memoir, this is "a love song to the
silver screen" (Paste Magazine).
SHORTLISTED FOR THE IRISH BOOK AWARDS 2021 AND THE PENDERYN MUSIC
BOOK PRIZE 2022 THE LANDMARK MEMOIR OF A GLOBAL MUSIC ICON Sinead
O'Connor's voice and trademark shaved head made her famous by the
age of twenty-one. Her recording of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U
made her a global icon. She outraged millions when she tore up a
photograph of Pope John Paul II on American television. O'Connor
was unapologetic and impossible to ignore, calling out hypocrisy
wherever she saw it. She has remained that way for three decades.
Now, in Rememberings, O'Connor tells her story - the heartache of
growing up in a family falling apart; her early forays into the
Dublin music scene; her adventures and misadventures in the world
of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll; the fulfilment of being a mother;
her ongoing spiritual quest - and through it all, her abiding
passion for music. Rememberings is intimate, replete with candid
anecdotes and full of hard-won insights. It is a unique and
remarkable chronicle by a unique and remarkable artist. 'Inspiring,
liberating, hilarious and fascinating' Irish Times 'Beautifully
observed ... lyrical, funny and anguished' Guardian 'Her voice on
the page is as fearless, riveting and unforgettable as her voice in
song. The cadence alone is hypnotic, her story essential.
Rememberings is a must-read' Michael Stipe 'So good, you'll want to
read it twice' Sunday Independent 'A soul-bearing, brutally honest
account of an extraordinary life' BBC Online 'Tremendous . . .
fierce and funny' Sunday Times Books of the Year
This groundbreaking biography of a brilliant but disturbed
performer explores the paradox of the man and the artist. Based on
more than 100 interviews, this intelligent profile explores
Morrison's roots; the hard times he went through in London, New
York, and Boston; the making of his seminal albums "Moondance" and
"Astral Weeks"; and the disastrous business arrangements that left
Morrison hungry and penniless while his songs were topping the
charts. Detailed are the breakdown of Morrison's marriage, the
creative drought that followed, and his triumphant reemergence. In
addition, this biography attempts to explain the forbidding aspects
of Morrison's persona, such as paranoia, hard drinking,
misanthropy, as well as why, in the words of his one-time singing
partner Linda Gail Lewis, Morrison's music "brings happiness to
other people, not him." Also included is a Van Morrision
sessionography that spans 1964 to 2001.
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