Andrew Matheson – författare

**MOJO MAGAZINE'S BOOK OF THE YEAR**The Hollywood Brats are the greatest band you’ve never heard of.Recording one near-perfect punk album in 1974, they were tragically ahead of their time.With only a guitar, a tatty copy of the Melody Maker and his template for the perfect band, Andrew Matheson set out, in 1971, to make musical history. His band, The Hollywood Brats, were pre-punk prophets – uncompromising, ultra-thin, wild, untameable and outrageous. But thrown into the crazy world of the 1970s London music scene, the Brats ultimately fell foul of the crooks and heavies that ran it and an industry that just wasn’t ready for them.Directly inspiring the London SS, the Clash, Malcolm McLaren and the Sex Pistols, The Hollywood Brats imploded too soon to share the glory. Punk’s answer to Withnail and I, Sick On You is a startling, funny and brilliantly entertaining period memoir about never quite achieving success, despite flying so close to greatness.

**MOJO MAGAZINE'S BOOK OF THE YEAR**The Hollywood Brats are the greatest band you’ve never heard of.Recording one near-perfect punk album in 1974, they were tragically ahead of their time.With only a guitar, a tatty copy of the Melody Maker and his template for the perfect band, Andrew Matheson set out, in 1971, to make musical history. His band, The Hollywood Brats, were pre-punk prophets – uncompromising, ultra-thin, wild, untameable and outrageous. But thrown into the crazy world of the 1970s London music scene, the Brats ultimately fell foul of the crooks and heavies that ran it and an industry that just wasn’t ready for them.Directly inspiring the London SS, the Clash, Malcolm McLaren and the Sex Pistols, The Hollywood Brats imploded too soon to share the glory. Punk’s answer to Withnail and I, Sick On You is a startling, funny and brilliantly entertaining period memoir about never quite achieving success, despite flying so close to greatness.

For more than 25 years Practical Beekeeping in New Zealand has been the bible for New Zealand beekeepers. The only comprehensive guide to keeping bees in New Zealand, it provides both amateur and professional beekeepers with details on honey bee management throughout the year, advice on handling hive products and information about many other beekeeping subjects. As well as being a guide to beekeepers, Practical Beekeeping in New Zealand appeals to those interested in apiculture and deciding whether to keep bees, and horticulturalists and farmers find it of particular interest for crop pollination. Given New Zealand’s reputation in world beekeeping the book has also been keenly sought after by beekeepers overseas.Three editions of the book have been published since 1984. It has now been comprehensively updated to incorporate the latest information available, particularly on new approaches to beekeeping now the parasitic varroa mite has become established in New Zealand and changed the face of beekeeping forever.

La desastrosa historia de los Hollywood Brats, el grupo de punk que se adelantó a su época pero pereció en el intento.Julio de 1971. Andrew Matheson llega a Londres con dieciocho años desde Canadá, huyendo de un funesto trabajo en una mina de níquel y de un futuro aún más negro, con el sueño de formar un grupo de rock y alcanzar la gloria. Amante de los Rolling Stones y los Kinks, Matheson empieza a reclutar a los músicos con las pintas más fastuosas y provocativas que encuentra a través del tablón de anuncios del ''Melody Maker''. Pronto formará los Hollywood Brats, con Matheson al frente: un pintoresco grupo de melenudos con vestuario barroco comprado en tiendas de segunda mano, carmín y zapatos de plataforma, en la línea de los New York Dolls, a quienes miran de soslayo y con cierta envidia desde el otro lado del océano. Mientras pasan los días en pubs bebiendo como cosacos, sisando en tiendas de ultramarinos y malviviendo en casas okupa infestadas de ratas, consiguen sus primeros conciertos, que interpretarán ante un público atónito que no sabe cómo tomarse su afrenta sonora, atronadora y abrasiva. También llegan los primeros fans, las grupis y los flirteos con el mercado discográfico. Parecen destinados a la fama, pero su sonido, agresivo y protopunk, aparece tan solo unos meses antes de la entrada en escena de los Clash y los Sex Pistols -para quienes los Hollywood Brats son un referente-, y el grupo fracasará estrepitosamente en el intento antes de caer en el olvido.Estas hilarantes memorias, escritas con el mejor sarcasmo y humor británicos, se encuentran entre los más divertidos e intensos relatos del rock jamás escritos.