Never before told stories of the Beatles seven-year rise from teenage dreamers to icons, both the heartbreaks and lucky breaks. From their humble beginnings in Liverpool to the cellars of Hamburg, this includes an eyewitness account of that first meeting between Lennon and McCartney, the inside story of how Ringo replaced Pete Best, a chapter devoted to the brilliant but troubled soul of manager Brian Epstein, the real scoop on their unlucky first...

"Like his songs, Davies's book is alternately poignant, funny, and bawdy . . . indispensable for Kinks fans and recommended for anyone interested in 1960s pop music." —Library Journal
This subversively brilliant, one-of-a-kind rock autobiography is ingeniously styled as a biography, written by a nameless, faceless writer hired by an Orwellian entity called "the Corporation" to capture the essence of Ray Davies, lead singer and...

The Beatles released only ten and a half hours of music during their time together -- a mere fraction of the four hundred hours’ worth of Beatles recordings residing in the Abbey Road archives. For years these archives were completely inaccessible to the public -- until journalist Mark Hertsgaard was able to get inside Abbey Road Studios and listen to these remarkable recordings. What he heard led to the creation of A Day in the Life -- one...

A thoughtfully curated and gloriously illustrated retrospective of the band's studio releases, Queen, comes just in time for the 45th anniversary of their debut LP and biopic. Formed in 1970, Queen went on to become one of the most popular-and most successful-rock bands of all time. Even following the untimely death of beloved and magnetic frontman Freddie Mercury, and nearly 50 years after their formation, interest in the band has continued, evidenced...

A unique visual biography of Robert Smith and company, The Cure, chronicling their 40+ year history with hundreds of entries in an A-to-Z format. A complete and truly unique biography of Robert Smith and company, The Cure, chronicling their 40+ year history with hundreds of entries in A to Z fashion. Definitive and deeply researched, Curepedia will surprise and inform fans everywhere as they await The Cure's highly anticipated next album release....

Acclaimed rock critic Steven Hyden digs deep into the songs, history, legacy, and mystique of Radiohead's groundbreaking, controversial, epoch-defining album, Kid A, outlining the album's pervasive influence and impact on culture, in time for its 20th anniversary. Deploying a mix of criticism, journalism, and personal memoir, Hyden skillfully revisits this enigmatic, alluring LP and investigates the many ways in which Kid A shaped and foreshadowed...

Stealing All Transmissions is a love story. It's the story of how The Clash fell in love with America, and how America loved them back. The romance began in full in 1977, when select rock journalists and deejays aided the band's quest to depose the rock of indolence that dominated American airwaves. This history situates The Clash amid the cultural skirmishes of the 1970s and culminates with their September 1979 performance at the Palladium in New...

How the British rock band Radiohead subverts the idea of the concept album in order to articulate themes of alienation and anti-capitalism is the focus of Marianne Tatom Letts's analysis of Kid A and Amnesiac. These experimental albums marked a departure from the band's standard guitar-driven base layered with complex production effects. Considering the albums in the context of the band's earlier releases, Letts explores the motivations behind this...