Andy Darlington has been interviewing Rock's luminaries and legends for several decades-spurred on as a child in the late-sixties by testosterone, the napalm that was Elvis and hopes to bed hippie chicks. "I Was Elvis Presley's Bastard Love-Child "collects together his timeless and engaging conversations with a diverse selection of artists and band members, amongst whom are included: Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac, Country Joe McDonald, Grace Slick, Kraftwerk, Cabaret Voltaire, The Byrds, Can, The Kinks, Mott The Hoople, The Fall, Siouxie And The Banshees, The Stone Roses, and Skunk Anansie.

Sheffield in the late-1970s was isolated from what was happening in London in the same way that Liverpool had been in 1963. A unique generation of electro-experimental groupings evolved in the former Steel City around Cabaret Voltaire and The Future. The Future split into two factions, Clock DVA and The Human League. Then The Human League split into two further factions, Heaven 17, and The Human League as we now know them, fronted by Philip Oakey with Joanne Catherall and Susan Sulley. Dare became one of the most iconic albums of the eighties; the album by which Human League are most instantly recognised. It is a musically ambitious album, both driven and voracious album, with giddy grenades of shared inventiveness. A triumph of content over considerable style, at once phenomenally commercial and gleefully avant-garde. The American success of 'Don't You Want Me', accelerated by the high-gloss movie-quality video, exploiting the band's extreme visual appeal, heralded what was soon termed the Second British Invasion. It was the first of two Human League singles to top the American charts. This book tells the full story, from the band's origins in Sheffield, through the full arc of Human League and the very early Heaven 17 hits, and the albums - track-by-track, into the twenty-first century...

Everyone loved The Hollies. They were the 'group's group'. Never confrontational or rebellious, always smartly suited, always smiling. The band had an unbroken run of immaculate pop singles which, while they seldom had that must-buy factor of the latest Rolling Stones or Beatles record, was hallmarked by tight harmonies and unfailing chart sensibility. Throughout the sixties and well into the seventies, everyone had - own up - at least one or two Hollies singles in their collection. No-one begrudged The Hollies their hits. When 'He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother' and 'Long Cool Woman In A Black Dress' became global million-sellers, The Hollies were inducted into The Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame. Graham Nash - by then deep into his second career as part of Crosby, Stills and Nash - was reunited with other members of the outfit, all on stage together in the March 2010 ceremony. This book tells the full story, from the band's origins in Manchester, through the full arc of hits, and the albums - track-by-track, into the twenty-first century, then... now... always

There are a million stories that take place within the arc of Derek Taylor's life. He lived a charmed life, which started on Saturday, 7 May 1932, in the Liverpool 17 suburb of Toxteth Park South, and saw him becoming a writer best known as the press agent for the Beatles. He became the band's friend and intimate across thirty years. Indeed, there are no shortage of claimants to the 'honorary' or 'fifth Beatle' status, but Derek's claim is more valid than most. His urbane charm, his easy intelligence, and the value of his contribution to the Beatles' collective story are beyond dispute. He put spin on stories decades before the term 'spin doctor' was concocted, with his droll, idiosyncratic way of speaking. It all began in 1964, when he co-wrote A Cellarful Of Noise, the best-selling autobiography of Brian Epstein. Soon after, he became Epstein's personal assistant and The Beatles' press agent. In 1965 he moved to Los Angeles, where he started his own public relations company, managing PR for bands like Paul Revere And The Raiders, The Byrds, and The Beach Boys. Brian Wilson called him a 'PR whiz' and 'a colourful, slick-talking Brit'. But he could also be a 'theatrical, slightly conspiratorial man' according to Ray Coleman. Derek was co-creator and producer of the historic Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. He's there in song when John rhymes 'Derek Taylor' with 'Norman Mailer' in 'Give Peace A Chance'. He returned to England to work for the Beatles again as the press officer for the newly created Apple Corps. This is the definitive biography of a man that was at the heart of the music world of the 1960s and 1970s. It is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the Beatles of course, but also to anyone yearning for a deep dive into the colourful world of a man who helped define a era.

It's just what it says on the tin. Andy Darlington sounds off about what's wrong (and sometimes right) with the state of the nation with reference to Syd Barrett, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Phil Ochs and numerous inspections of his West Yorkshire environment

Inter-racial. Inter-gender. Into drugs. What is it... this thing called Sly & The Family Stone? It's about time. It's about space. It's about the ups and downs of Funk, Psychedelic Soul and R&B. But more than anything else, it's about music and it's about people who are obsessed by music.
In this first-ever full-length biography of Sylvester 'Sly Stone' Stewart, music-writer Andrew Darlington ('I Was Elvis Presley's Bastard Love-Child') exhaustively details the story, while adding intriguing new slants. Relating the hits-"Dance To The Music," "Stand," "Family Affair" and the seismic album There's A Riot Goin' On, to the Civil Rights protests, the Black Power radicals and the insurrectionary counter-culture politics of their turbulent time. This is the true story of a music legend and the events that shaped the music that defines the moment.
Andrew Darlington is a renowned music journalist and critic whose work has been widely published in newspapers and magazines. He also writes fiction-particularly science fiction-and poetry. He lives in West Yorkshire, England. He is a dedicated blogger and maintains a blog at http: //andrewdarlington.blogspot.co.uk/ where he writes on books, music and anything else that appeals to him.