The Jam - Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler - were the ultimate 'angry young men' of pop. Leading the Mod Revival of the 1970s in thrilling new directions, their tight live shows, razor-sharp style and perfectly crafted songs earned them a devoted following and a string of number one hits. By 1982 The Jam were bigger than ever, but the pressure of success was taking its toll. At the peak of their powers, Paul Weller made the shock decision that was far from welcomed by the rest of the group, let alone the fans: The Jam were to split up and go their separate ways. This richly illustrated and revealing oral history of their final year, led principally by the voice of drummer Rick Buckler, contains a number of previously unseen images and untold stories, taking us from the recording and release of their final studio album, The Gift, to The Jam's last appearances together. In addition to Buckler's memories of the time, The Jam 1982 also brings together testimonies from Gary Crowley, producer Peter Wilson, A&R manager Dennis Munday, photographer Neil ‘Twink’ Tinning, Eddie Piller, Paolo Hewitt, Mat Osman, Belle Stars singer Jennie Matthias (‘The Bitterest Pill’), touring musicians Jamie Telford and Steve Nichol and others, to tell the tale of a single, fateful year: the year The Jam, for better or worse, went out at the very top of their game.

Florence + the Machine is the recording name of English musician Florence Welch and a collaboration of other artists who provide music for her voice. Florence + the Machine's sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including rock and soul. The Sunday Times described Welch as "the most peculiar and most highly acclaimed female singer of the moment" Tells the story of her upbringing in South London to her thrilling rise to international fame as a singer and also a highly individual fashion icon. Her collaborations and working relationships with Chanel Creative Director Karl Lagerfeld, her manager Mairead Nash and her friend Isabella Summers who to this day forms part of 'the machine'. How her sense of style has captured the imaginations of fans and fashion editors the world over. The stories behind the glittering award ceremonies, TV appearances and international tours.

While she once made headlines with her hedonistic lifestyle, part of Nicks' irresistible appeal is her youthful vulnerability and mystical aura, making her an artist with whom fans have an unbreakable emotional connection. Crowned 'The Reigning Queen Of Rock And Roll' by Rolling Stone, and with gold and quadruple platinum solo albums under her beaded belt, Stevie Nicks has enjoyed the ultimate in rock 'n' roll success in her life as a recording artist - but this charmed life has come as a result of hard graft, self-belief and a devotion to creativity above all; hers has been a journey of intense highs and lows.This book, a celebration of the Stevie Nicks phenomenon, takes us on her journey from peripatetic mid-West childhood to her explosion onto the music scene as chiffon-swathed rock goddess, right up to present day. Including exclusive interviews with some of Stevie's associates and collaborators from over the years, author Zoe Howe explores the mystique while retaining the magic of this modern-day musical sorceress and wise woman of rock. This revised edition will include information about the full line-up Fleetwood Mac tour dates ('On With The Show'), the 24 Karat Gold self-portrait collection exhibition Stevie curated in Hollywood to coincide with her 24 Karat Gold album. Her work with the LA band Haim, coping with the loss of her close friends Glenn Frey and Prince, being a Rolling Stone cover girl again and more.

Poly Styrene was a singer-songwriter, an artist, a free-thinker, a post-modern style pioneer and a lifelong spiritual seeker: a true punk icon. But this rebel queen with the cheeky grin was also a latter-day pop artist with a wickedly perceptive gift for satirising the world around her - her brightly coloured, playful aesthetic sharply at odds with the stark monochrome style and nihilism of punk. Here, for the first time, the vibrant jigsaw of Poly s inspiring and often moving story has been lovingly pieced together by her daughter, singer-songwriter Celeste Bell, and writer/artist Zoë Howe (author of the acclaimed Typical Girls? The Story Of The Slits, amongst many others). From growing up mixed-race in Brixton in the 1960s, to being at the forefront of the emerging punk scene with X-Ray Spex in the 1970s, to finding faith with the Hare Krishna movement, to balancing single motherhood with a solo music career and often debilitating mental health issues, the book honestly and openly explores Poly s exceptional life, up until her untimely passing in 2011. Based on interviews with those who knew and loved Poly whether personally or through music, this oral history book includes testimonies from Vivienne Westwood, Don Letts, Glen Matlock, Jonathan Ross, Neneh Cherry, The Slits Tessa Pollitt, Thurston Moore, Jon Savage, and many others. Heavily illustrated throughout including personal photographs, flyers from the punk scene and hand-drawn artwork and lyrics for X-Ray Spex and beyond the book beautifully captures Poly Styrene s creative and personal legacy, reminding us that if anyone had the power to turn our worlds dayglo, it was her.

Best Blues Book 2014 by Blues Matters magazine. Have you heard about Eel Pie Island? Anyone with an interest in the history of UK rock n' roll is familiar with The Cavern Club and the role that Merseyside played in the story of the British Beat scene. But on a far-less-celebrated, but no less significant path, over a small bridge onto an island in the middle of the Thames, Eel Pie Hotel, another great 60s club night, played host to acts that would later make a global name for themselves. The Rolling Stones, Long John Baldry, Rod Stewart, Pink Floyd, The Small Faces, David Bowie and The Yardbirds are amongst the many acts who performed at the legendary Eel Pie Hotel during its 50s and 60s heyday, as did jazz greats like Ken Colyer, Kenny Ball and Acker Bilk, as well as more avant-garde performers like Ivor Cutler. But how did The Eel Pie Club become such a popular venue? What motivated its founder, Arthur Chisnall to create a space where young people could enjoy the music they wanted to, in an environment free from the usual constraints? Why has this thriving West London scene been omitted from rock history when its influence has spread far and wide? Recently, bands like The Mystery Jets have paid homage to Chisnall's fabulous club, playing gigs on the island that launched careers and cemented rock's infamous relationships. The latest incarnation of the Eel Pie Club is alive and well. This book traces the origins of a scene that is long overdue for recognition.

Celebrating a wide range of punk design in vinyl cover art, posters, flyers, fanzines, and other ephemera, The Art of Punk highlights the movement primarily within graphic design and print, while also considering its impact on wider popular culture. Punk was based on immediacy-an often-inspired amateurism and underground, close-knit communities that burned brightly but were not intended to extend beyond the gig, the event, the scene, the moment. Punk songs by such legendary bands as the Sex Pistols, the Ramones, the Damned, the New York Dolls, the Germs, and the Clash tended to be short, fast, and aggressive, and the oft-repeated credo "If it can't be said in three minutes, it's not worth saying" was adopted as standard practice, extending in turn to an entire ethos for the whole subculture. The book is arranged chronologically, and by genre, and features more than 900 visual examples both by uncredited artists and internationally renowned designers and design groups, alongside interviews with, and commentary by, many of the artists concerned.

Wild, defiant and startlingly inventive, The Slits were ahead of their time. Although they created some unique hybrids - dub reggae and pop-punk, African rhythms, funk and free jazz - they were dismissed as being unable to play. Their lyrics were witty and perceptive while their influential first album challenged perceptions of punk and of girl bands - but they were still misunderstood. And that infamous debut album cover, with the band appearing topless and mud-daubed, prompted further misreadings of the first ladies of punk. Author Zoe Street Howe speaks to The Slits themselves, to former manager Don Letts, mentor and PIL guitarist Keith Levene and many other friends and colleagues to discover exactly how The Slits phenomenon came about and to celebrate the legacy of a seminal band long overdue its rightful acclaim. Too long seen as a note in the margin of the history of rock, The Slits at last get a fair hearing in this revealing biography.