Individual Composer & Musician

A new biography of which paints the most well-rounded and factually accurate portrait of the composer to date Ralph Vaughan Williams ranks among the most versatile, influential, and enduringly popular British musicians of his era. Throughout his...

In the realm of singer songwriters, few have been as influential as Neil Young, whose music has always been creative and relevant throughout six decades. Neil is a chameleon for whom boundaries of genres do not exist. He has delved into folk, country,...

There has never been a band like Pearl Jam. The Seattle quintet has recorded eleven studio albums; sold some 85 million records; played over a thousand shows, in fifty countries; and had five different albums reach number one. But Pearl Jam's story is...

A unique Companion to J S Bach's iconic Cello Suites from internationally-renowned cellist Steven Isserlis.'Isserlis is the master of the material, yet always able to make it accessible . . . It is an absolute treat to be led to this sublime music by...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9780648794721Author R K OwensFormat PaperbackPage Count 320Imprint V.Pisces Publishing & PrintingPublisher V.Pisces Publishing &...

In 1940 Sergei Rachmaninoff, living in exile in America, broke his creative silence and composed a swan song to his Russian homeland. What happened in those final haunted years and how did he come to write his farewell masterpiece, the Symphonic...

Andras Schiff is one of the most important pianists of our time. This stimulating account of his life and work, told in two parts, takes readers on an intimate journey from Schiff's childhood in Hungary through to the present day.In conversationw with...

Jarvis Cocker is widely regarded as one of the most original and memorable lyricists and performers of the last three decades. Here, for the first time, is a selection of sixty-six lyrics, presented with commentary and an introduction by the man...

I've Always Kept a Unicorn tells the story of Sandy Denny, one of the greatest British singers of her time and the first female singer-songwriter to produce a substantial and enduring body of original songs. Sandy Denny laid down the marker for folk-rock...

Back in their ’90s heyday, the Spice Girls were unstoppable. Their individual style choices and Britpop-tastic attitude aimed a defiant kick at the cultural status quo, defining a new era of British creativity and challenging the male-dominated music...

"Without a doubt, it is the most detailed account of the awesome pleasures and perils of rock and roll stardom I have ever read. It is completely compelling, and utterly revolting". ("Rolling Stone"). Ten years ago, Motley Crue's...

Jan Swafford's biographies of composers Charles Ives and Johannes Brahms have established him as a revered music historian, capable of bringing his subjects vibrantly to life. His magnificent new biography of Ludwig van Beethoven peels away layers of...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781784546823Author Christopher NortonPage Count 48Imprint Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers LtdPublisher Boosey & Hawkes Music Publishers LtdWeight(grams)...

"Pinkard's account... brings to light the ambition and artistry, the stress and frustration, and ultimately the joy of making this very special album."-Peter Katis, The National's engineer, and mixer on Boxer "I am spooked by how well [Pinkard] has...

Catherine and Darius Brubeck's 1983 move to South Africa launched them on a journey that helped transform jazz education. Blending biography with storytelling, the pair recount their time at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, where they built a pioneering...

Acclaimed cultural critic Greil Marcus tells the story of Bob Dylan through the lens of seven penetrating songs "The most interesting writer on Dylan over the years has been the cultural critic Greil Marcus. . . . No one alive knows the music that...

***AS READ ON BBC RADIO 4******WINNER OF THE NEW ANGLE PRIZE FOR LITERATURE******LONGLISTED FOR THE HWA AWARDS***A beautifully written exploration of the world of Edwardian folk music, and its influence on the composer Ralph Vaughan WilliamsIn January...

'A delight to read' Philip Pullman'Essential reading ... a genuine landmark publication' Tom ServiceA BBC Radio 4 'Book of the Week'The music of the British composer Michael Tippett - including the oratorio A Child of Our Time, five operas, and four...

***With consultant editor Tony Visconti. David Bowie's story has never been told quite like this.Tracing the star's encounters with fellow icons throughout his life, We Could Be offers a new history of Bowie, collecting 300 short stories that together...

Across five decades and counting, New Zealand-born singer/songwriter and Crowded House founder Neil Finn has become one of the best-loved figures in popular music, crafting enough hits along the way -- Weather With You, Locked Out, I Got You, Fall At...

A riveting look at the transformative year in the lives and careers of the legendary group whose groundbreaking legacy would forever change music and popular culture. They started off as hysteria-inducing pop stars playing to audiences of screaming...

Contradicting assumptions that disco albums are shallow and packed with filler, Donna Summer's double album Once Upon A Time stands out as a piece that delivers on its promise of an immaculately crafted journey from start to finish. A new interpretation...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781250231680Author Miles Marshall LewisFormat HardbackImprint St Martin's PressPublisher St Martin's PressWeight(grams) 1000gDimensions(mm) 243mm * 201mm *...

**A TELEGRAPH BEST MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022** **INDEPENDENT BOOK OF THE MONTH** **GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE DAY** **FINANCIAL TIMES 'BEST SUMMER BOOKS 2022' PICK** 'Incredibly moving.' - Guardian'Funny and humane.' - Telegraph'Most books about pop stars...

"You have the luck of Croesus on stilts (as my Auntie Vi would have said) if you've had the sort of career, ups and downs, warts and all that I have in that wondrous little corner of show business called musical theatre." ...

With Genesis finally drawing a veil over their career with the last concerts taking place in March 2022, the full career is now encapsulated in one hefty tome. Or as the author Alan Hewitt was adamant it should be referred as - the Genesis Reference...

'I was 22 years old, a hard-on with a pulse: wretched, vice-ridden, too much to burn and not enough minutes in a hour to do so'The action begins in West Des Moines, Iowa, where Corey Taylor, frontman of heavy metal bands Slipknot and Stone Sour,...

Erin Osmon presents a detailed, human account of the Rust Belt-born musician Jason Molina-a visionary, prolific, and at times cantankerous singer-songwriter with an autodidactic style that captivated his devoted fans. The songwriting giant behind the...

A miracle of still-plentiful hair, raw sex-appeal, and strutting talent . The frontman of one of the most influential and controversial groups of all time. A musical genius with a career spanning over four decades. He is a testament to British glamour,...

"There's only ever been two English rock 'n' roll singers," Ian Dury said, "Johnny Rotten and Billy Fury." Butter adverts have tainted Johnny's status, but Billy's combination of beauty, sex, innocence, talent, charisma and vulnerability has never been...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781900565660Author Ornella VoltaFormat HardbackPage Count 224Imprint Atlas PressPublisher Atlas PressWeight(grams) 586g

I think the best way to start when somebody says something can t be done, just look at them and say: why not? Frank Zappa, Los Angeles, 1990. Co de Kloet and Frank Zappa were friends for many years, and during that time Co recorded nearly every...

Slade were one of the biggest British bands of the 1970s. One of the early pioneers of gl,am rock they enjoyed an incredible run of six number one singles, four top-ten albums and a succession of sell-out tours. However, after a failed attempt at...

Just Backdated - Melody Maker: Seven Years in the Seventies is a memoir by Chris Charlesworth who, between 1970 and 1977, was a staff writer and editor for Melody Maker, the UK’s best-selling music weekly in an era when rock stars fell over themselves to...

'This collection of timeless photographs gives us an up close inside look at this uniquely complex man and brilliant iconic artist who forever changed the world. One love...' - Lenny KravitzRebel Music is a tribute to one of the greatest legends in world...

Buddy Holly is the best-known yet most elusive and enigmatic of all Rock 'n' Roll legends. Now Philip Norman, who has won international praise for his biographies of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Elton John, has written the definitive story of a...

Apologies but we at Booksplease don't have a full description for this book.Book InformationISBN 9781954118447Author Matti FriedmanFormat PaperbackPage Count 224Imprint Spiegel & GrauPublisher Random House USA Inc

There have been many books written about Johnny Thunders and the Heartbreakers, but only by people who weren't there. Walter Lure was-from the band's chaotic beginnings on New York's Lower East Side, through a now-legendary UK tour with the Sex Pistols...

Tom Waits in his own words: a collection of three decades' worth of interviews with Tom Waits'I've never met anyone who made it with a chick because they owned a Tom Waits album. I've got all three, and it's never helped me,' Tom Waits. Born, seemingly,...

An insightful biography of the great composer, revealing Schubert’s complex and fascinating private life alongside his musical genius   Brilliant, short-lived, incredibly prolific—Schubert is one of the most intriguing figures in music history. While his...