Sean Egan – författare

The Small Faces epitomised the maxim, "Never mind the width, feel the quality." In their brief original lifespan, they released just three official albums and a dozen-and-a-half authorised non-album singles and B-sides. Yet more than five decades after the London quartet's split the phenomenal quality of that compact body of work has ensured a continuing and unassailable musical esteem bordering on legend.Gut-bucket vocalist Steve Marriott brought a bluesy grit to both compositions of gravitas and effervescent pop numbers. Bassist Ronnie Lane collaborated with him to form one of the most formidable songwriting partnerships of the era. Ian McLagan was an exhilaratingly blurred-fingered keyboardist. Kenney Jones brought up the rear with blistering drum patterns, with his rolls often used to provide an explosive fanfare to Small Faces singles. Such a talent-oozing line-up was virtually predestined to conjure excellence. 'Tin Soldier', their exquisitely sophisticated psychedelic-soul release of 1967, regularly appears in polls to decide history's greatest singles. However, the band are just as much loved for rip-roaring power-pop like 'Sha-La-La- La-Lee' and 'All or Nothing' and storming instrumental B-sides such as 'Grow Your Own' and 'Almost Grown'. Their acknowledged masterpiece is Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake (1968), an album that was not only artistically superb but boasted a second-side narrative suite that paved the way for rock operas such as the Pretty Things' SF Sorrow and the Who's Tommy. Regardless of style, quality and innovativeness, the Small Faces' music was characterised by a life-affirming joyousness. All this explains why their catalogue is endlessly recycled and why their oeuvre has been disproportionately inspirational.Long Agos and Worlds Apart covers the Small Faces' full, tumultuous story. The book draws on lengthy new interviews, including ones with Jones, Lane’s close friend Pete Townshend and original Small Faces member Jimmy Winston. It features contributions from many associates and intimates, including managers, agents, publicists, songwriters, auxiliary musicians, fan-club personnel, recording engineers, journalists, friends and wives. It also draws on numerous interviews the author conducted down the years with both Jones and McLagan, much of which material is previously unpublished. It is a revealing, impartial, exhaustive and definitive exploration of the corpus and career of a truly great band.

With over 30 of the most revealing interviews Bowie has given in 45 years, Bowie on Bowie tells the story of Bowie''s restlessly inventive career in his own words. Over the decades Bowie has always answered honestly and articulately in interviews, analysing his own past and trying to explain the motivations behind his latest persona. Bowie was the first artist to regard the interview as a means of artistic expression in itself and this is as close to an autobiography as he has come.In 1973, Martin Amis wrote in the New Statesman, "Bowie himself is unlikely to last long as a cult". The ''cult'' of David Bowie has now lasted for several decades and while Amis''s piece is not included in Bowie on Bowie, there are over 30 interviews and profiles that document his changes.Widely regarded as a revolutionary influence on writers in fashion, art and film, as well as music, he discusses the full extent of his interests in these revealing interviews, drawn from NME, Melody Maker, The Face, Q, Mojo and GQ. Sean Egan has compiled Bowie''s most revealing interviews into a riveting commentary on 50 years of personas and styles, tracing each step from Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane to The Thin White Duke and into the elder statesman that Bowie has become. This essential collection of 50 years of interviews from Rock''s most restlessly creative spirit is as close to an autobiography that Bowie has come. Bowie came to fame at a time when rock journalism came into its own, and he came to see interviews as another opportunity for artistic expression. Some of rock''s greatest writers are included in this collection, Robert Hilburn and Charles Shaar Murray to Allan Jones and Steven Wells alongside an interview with Alexander McQueen, the fashion designer, all of which reveal the extent of Bowie''s interests over the decades with a rare articulacy and thoughtfulness. Few musicians have had the wide-ranging influence Bowie has cast over writers, fashion, art and film as well as music, and here is the ultimate introduction to Rock''s most distinctive voice.

Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Bruce Springsteen’s masterpiece of American rock ’n’ roll with this handsomely produced and stunningly illustrated volume.Bruce Springsteen and Born to Run: 50 Years is the definitive story of a landmark album in American rock music. In 1975, Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band released what would become their breakthrough album and arguably the most lauded album of Springsteen’s long, illustrious career. Born to Run has sold over 9 million copies and counting and continues to inspire musicians and music fans young and old from around the world.In this book, music journalist Sean Egan takes a deep dive into one of the legendary musician’s most famous albums on its 50th anniversary. Chapters cover Springsteen’s career prior to 1975, track-by-track analyses of each side, the studios where it was recorded, the supporting tour, and The Boss’s career after the LP. Illustrated with performance and off-stage photography as well as memorabilia, the book is presented as a slipcased hardcover. Springsteen fans new and old can expect:A deep dive into how the album came together and why it is regarded as a masterpieceTrack-by-track analyses of the studio cut as well as insight into the many disregarded tracks and ideas leading up to its recordingHistorical insight and analysis about the state of rock in the mid-’70s and how Springsteen assembled a wildly talented group of musicians in the E Street BandThe story of the battle between Springsteen and Columbia Records after his previous albums failed to ignite the public’s passionAnd much, much moreThis display-worthy book is a must for every Bruce Tramp’s collection. The Great Albums series presents authoritative explorations of rock’s most revered records, beautifully packaged for fans to treasure. Delve into even more groundbreaking releases with: Pink Floyd and The Dark Side of the Moon, The Who & Quadrophenia, Prince and Purple Rain, and Queen & A Night at the Opera, with more to come.

When considered in a broader social context, The Clash stand as one of the most important musical acts in rock history. Original punks who transcended the music’s minimalist origins, The Clash lived and breathed the idea that they could change the world with their art. In The Clash: The Only Band That Mattered,respected music critic Sean Egan examines The Clash’s career and art through the prism of the uniquely interesting and fractious UK politics of the 1970s and ’80s, without which they simply would not have existed. Tackling such subjects as The Clash’s self-conscious tussles with their record label, the accusations of selling out that dogged their footsteps, their rivalry with the similarly leaning but less purist Jam, the paradoxical quality of their achieving multiplatinum success, and even whether their denunciations of Thatcherism were proven wrong, Egan has come up with new insights into a much discussed group. Clash fans, Clash haters, social historians, and political students will all find themselves entertained by his thought-provoking conclusions.

Planet of the Apes started life in 1963 as a quirky work by Pierre Boulle, the French literary novelist famous for The Bridge over the River Kwai. His concept of a world where humans are ruled over by apes proceeded to become one of the biggest multi-media sensations in history. The 1968 Charlton Heston motion-picture adaptation of Boulle's book was celebrated and successful but was just the beginning. By 1973, said picture had spawned four sequels. It then spun off a live-action TV series, which in turn spun off the animated TV show Return to the Planet of the Apes. With this, comic books, novelizations, and a tsunami of merchandising, the late '60s and first half of the '70s had a distinctly simian flavor. A new generation was introduced to the concept when, in 2001, Tim Burton's updating of the series appeared in cinemas. This itself was rebooted a decade later in the form of Rise of the Planet of the Apes and its two sequels. Yet despite all the fantasy (and money-chasing), the series has always been marked by thoughtfulness, exploring serious themes alien to most franchises. Planet of the Apes: The Complete History explores every aspect of this phenomenon—from books to films, comic books to television shows, and video games to merchandise—providing an overview that is truly definitive. With the help of new and exclusive interviews with Planet of the Apes producers, directors, writers, actors, and makeup artists, Sean Egan attempts to gain an understanding of how a media property changed the world.

Planet of the Apes started life in 1963 as a quirky work by Pierre Boulle, the French literary novelist famous for The Bridge over the River Kwai. His concept of a world where humans are ruled over by apes proceeded to become one of the biggest multi-media sensations in history. The 1968 Charlton Heston motion-picture adaptation of Boulle''s book was celebrated and successful but was just the beginning. By 1973, said picture had spawned four sequels. It then spun off a live-action TV series, which in turn spun off the animated TV show Return to the Planet of the Apes. With this, comic books, novelizations, and a tsunami of merchandising, the late ''60s and first half of the ''70s had a distinctly simian flavor. A new generation was introduced to the concept when, in 2001, Tim Burton''s updating of the series appeared in cinemas. This itself was rebooted a decade later in the form of Rise of the Planet of the Apes and its two sequels. Yet despite all the fantasy (and money-chasing), the series has always been marked by thoughtfulness, exploring serious themes alien to most franchises. Planet of the Apes: The Complete History explores every aspect of this phenomenon—from books to films, comic books to television shows, and video games to merchandise—providing an overview that is truly definitive. With the help of new and exclusive interviews with Planet of the Apes producers, directors, writers, actors, and makeup artists, Sean Egan attempts to gain an understanding of how a media property changed the world.

Many have long found it difficult to take Rod Stewart seriously. However, once we get past the awkward stuff—leopard-skin leggings, bum-wiggling stage schticks, and a hairstyle unseemly for a man of his age—there remains the undeniable fact that the "Caledonian Cockney" is responsible for some of the greatest recordings ever made. Again and again, the combination of his heartwracked songs and gravelly, sensitive vocal delivery have conjured sonic magic. The bulk of Stewart's classic recordings were made in the 1970s. His string of albums for the Mercury label across the first half of that decade sent critics into raptures. His 1971 album Every Picture Tells a Story is considered by some of them to literally be the best album of all time. Said semi-decade also saw Stewart front the Faces, whose often likeably ramshackle albums gave his fans a double dose of their idol each year. On top of this are solo-Stewart classics that are neglected because he released them after a point where his increasingly outlandish image caused some of his original fans to disdain to any longer take him seriously. They include the splendid 1976 LP A Night on the Town and his peerless confessional love songs of 1977 "You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)" and "I Was Only Joking." All of this and more is the subject of Rod Stewart: The Classic Years.Sean Egan has interviewed at length many of Stewart's colleagues, collaborators, and cohabitees from the period, including musicians Micky Waller, Pete Sears, Ray Jackson, Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones, and Jim Cregan, recording engineer Mike Bobak, manager Billy Gaff, and Stewart's then-girlfriend and muse Dee Harrington. The result is a striking and evocative portrait of the most fecund and vital stage in the life and career of one of popular music's most important artists.

Many have long found it difficult to take Rod Stewart seriously. However, once we get past the awkward stuff—leopard-skin leggings, bum-wiggling stage schticks, and a hairstyle unseemly for a man of his age—there remains the undeniable fact that the "Caledonian Cockney" is responsible for some of the greatest recordings ever made. Again and again, the combination of his heartwracked songs and gravelly, sensitive vocal delivery have conjured sonic magic. The bulk of Stewart''s classic recordings were made in the 1970s. His string of albums for the Mercury label across the first half of that decade sent critics into raptures. His 1971 album Every Picture Tells a Story is considered by some of them to literally be the best album of all time. Said semi-decade also saw Stewart front the Faces, whose often likeably ramshackle albums gave his fans a double dose of their idol each year. On top of this are solo-Stewart classics that are neglected because he released them after a point where his increasingly outlandish image caused some of his original fans to disdain to any longer take him seriously. They include the splendid 1976 LP A Night on the Town and his peerless confessional love songs of 1977 "You''re in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)" and "I Was Only Joking." All of this and more is the subject of Rod Stewart: The Classic Years.Sean Egan has interviewed at length many of Stewart''s colleagues, collaborators, and cohabitees from the period, including musicians Micky Waller, Pete Sears, Ray Jackson, Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones, and Jim Cregan, recording engineer Mike Bobak, manager Billy Gaff, and Stewart''s then-girlfriend and muse Dee Harrington. The result is a striking and evocative portrait of the most fecund and vital stage in the life and career of one of popular music''s most important artists.

Take a stunning visual and narrative journey down the “dark desert highway” to explore the creation, legacy, and lasting cultural power of one of rock’s most iconic albums.A milestone celebration of rock history and myth, Eagles and Hotel California: 50 Years offers fans and scholars a richly illustrated and deeply reported look at the Eagles and their landmark 1976 album Hotel California. Alongside 200+ photos and images, including rare studio, stage, and on-the-road photography and band memorabilia, veteran rock historian Sean Egan delivers a fresh analysis, exploring:The tumultuous recording sessions at the Record Plant (LA) and Criteria Studios (Miami) that gave birth to the album.The songs that became generational anthems—“New Kid in Town,” “Life in the Fast Lane,” and the title track with its now-famous guitar duel—and their cultural resonance across rock radio and beyond. The casualties, the excesses, and the contradictions of the L.A./desert-state rock scene: the band’s internal fractures, the golden age of studios, the paparazzi glare, and the trade-off between art and commerce.How the album’s 50th-year legacy plays out today, and how the myth of the “Hotel” gets repurposed for new generations of fans.Presented in a giftable slipcased hardcover format, Eagles and Hotel California: 50 Years is a must-own book for enthusiasts of 1970s rock, delivering an in-depth glimpse into one of the most revered albums of all time and a reading experience that fuses music history with pop-culture myth-making.The Great Albums series presents authoritative explorations of rock’s most revered records, beautifully packaged for fans to treasure. Delve into even more groundbreaking releases with: Pink Floyd and The Dark Side of the Moon, Bruce Springsteen and Born to Run, Prince and Purple Rain, Queen & A Night at the Opera, Run-DMC and Raising Hell, The Who & Quadrophenia, Beastie Boys and Licensed to Ill, and Fleetwood Mac and Rumours … with more to come!

Are you enamored with instant messaging? Would you like to learn how to create your own messaging application? This book shows you how, by dissecting Gaim—the world's most popular open source instant messaging application. Authored by the Gaim maintainer, Sean Egan, you are presented with a thorough overview of Gaim architecture and application programming interface.You'll learn how to make the most of the popular GTK+ graphical user interface toolkit. Egan guides you through the creation and installation of plug-ins, and discusses strategies involved in supporting messaging protocols like MSN Messenger, AIM and IRC. He also covers topics such as multi-platform support and internationalization.

Fleetwood Mac was a triumph from the beginning-their first album was the UK's bestselling album of 1968. After some low points-when founder Peter Green left, some fans felt that the band continuing was sacrilege-Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined, and their 1977 album, Rumours, became one of history's immortals, a true classic that remained on the charts for years and in the public's affection forever. In the press, the ethereal Californian Stevie Nicks, the tormented rocker Lindsey Buckingham, the dignified English rose Christine McVie, the blunt-speaking John McVie, and the loquacious Mick Fleetwood have all regularly been astoundingly candid. This collection of interviews across the entirety of Fleetwood Mac's career features articles from such celebrated publications as Crawdaddy, New Musical Express, Circus, Creem, Mojo, Goldmine, Classic Rock, Blender, and Elle, as well as interviews that have never previously appeared in print. Here is the only place you can learn the Fleetwood Mac story from the band members' own mouths.

Fleetwood Mac was a triumph from the beginning—their first album was the UK''s bestselling album of 1968. After some low points—when founder Peter Green left, some fans felt that the band continuing was sacrilege—Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined, and their 1977 album, Rumours, became one of history''s immortals, a true classic that remained on the charts for years and in the public''s affection forever.In the press, the ethereal Californian Stevie Nicks, the tormented rocker Lindsey Buckingham, the dignified English rose Christine McVie, the blunt-speaking John McVie, and the loquacious Mick Fleetwood have all regularly been astoundingly candid. This collection of interviews across the entirety of Fleetwood Mac''s career features articles from such celebrated publications as Crawdaddy, New Musical Express, Circus, Creem, Mojo, Goldmine, Classic Rock, Blender, and Elle, as well as interviews that have never previously appeared in print. Here is the only place you can learn the Fleetwood Mac story from the band members'' own mouths.

The Who were a mass of contradictions. They brought intellect to rock but were the darlings of punks. They were the quintessential studio act yet were also the greatest live attraction in the world. They perfectly meshed on stage and displayed a complete lack of personal chemistry offstage. Along with great live shows and supreme audio experiences, the Who provided great copy. During the 1960s and '70s, Pete Townshend, messianic about contemporary popular music and its central importance in the lives of young people, gave sprawling interviews in which he alternately celebrated and deplored what he saw in the "e;scene."e; Several of these interviews have come to be considered classic documents of the age. Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon, and John Entwistle joined in. Even when the Who were non-operational or past their peak, their interviews continued to be compelling: changes in allegiances and social mores left the band members freer to talk about sex, drug-taking, business, and in-fighting. By collecting interviews with Who members from across fi ve decades, conducted by the greatest rock writers of their generation Barry Miles, Jonathan Cott, Charles Shaar Murray, John Swenson, and Greil Marcus among them The Who on The Who provides the full, fractious story of a fascinating band.

The Who were a mass of contradictions. They brought intellect to rock but were the darlings of punks. They were the quintessential studio act yet were also the greatest live attraction in the world. They perfectly meshed on stage and displayed a complete lack of personal chemistry offstage. Along with great live shows and supreme audio experiences, the Who provided great copy. During the 1960s and '70s, Pete Townshend, messianic about contemporary popular music and its central importance in the lives of young people, gave sprawling interviews in which he alternately celebrated and deplored what he saw in the "e;scene."e; Several of these interviews have come to be considered classic documents of the age. Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon, and John Entwistle joined in. Even when the Who were non-operational or past their peak, their interviews continued to be compelling: changes in allegiances and social mores left the band members freer to talk about sex, drug-taking, business, and in-fighting. By collecting interviews with Who members from across fi ve decades, conducted by the greatest rock writers of their generation Barry Miles, Jonathan Cott, Charles Shaar Murray, John Swenson, and Greil Marcus among them The Who on The Who provides the full, fractious story of a fascinating band.

The Clash thought they could change the world. They never did, but they created some of the greatest rock music of all time in the attempt. Clash interviews were mesmerizing. Infused with the messianic spirit of punk, the Clash engaged with the press like no rock group before or since, treating interviews almost as addresses to the nation. Their pronouncements were welcomed but were hardly uncritically reported. The Clash's back pages are voluminous, crackle with controversy, and constitute a snapshot of a uniquely thoughtful and fractious period in modern history. Included in this compendium are the Clash's encounters with the most brilliant music writers of their time, including Lester Bangs, Nick Kent, Mikal Gilmore, Chris Salewicz, Charles Shaar Murray, Mick Farren, Kris Needs, and Lenny Kaye. Whether it be their audience with the (mainly) simpatico likes of punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue, their testy encounters with the correspondents of pious UK weeklies like New Musical Express, Melody Maker, and Sounds, or their friendlier but no less eyebrow-raising conversations with US periodicals like Creem and Rolling Stone, the Clash consistently created copy that lived up to their sobriquet "e;The Only Band That Matters."e;

The Clash thought they could change the world. They never did, but they created some of the greatest rock music of all time in the attempt.Clash interviews were mesmerizing. Infused with the messianic spirit of punk, the Clash engaged with the press like no rock group before or since, treating interviews almost as addresses to the nation. Their pronouncements were welcomed but were hardly uncritically reported. The Clash''s back pages are voluminous, crackle with controversy, and constitute a snapshot of a uniquely thoughtful and fractious period in modern history. Included in this compendium are the Clash''s encounters with the most brilliant music writers of their time, including Lester Bangs, Nick Kent, Mikal Gilmore, Chris Salewicz, Charles Shaar Murray, Mick Farren, Kris Needs, and Lenny Kaye.Whether it be their audience with the (mainly) simpatico likes of punk fanzine Sniffin'' Glue, their testy encounters with the correspondents of pious UK weeklies like New Musical Express, Melody Maker, and Sounds, or their friendlier but no less eyebrow-raising conversations with US periodicals like Creem and Rolling Stone, the Clash consistently created copy that lived up to their sobriquet "The Only Band That Matters."

The year 1979 was a seminal watershed moment in rock music. The year saw the release of Pink Floyd's The Wall, David Bowie's Lodger, Led Zeppelin's In Through the Out Door, Bob Dylan's Slow Train Coming, Fleetwood Mac's Tusk, Elvis Costello and the Attractions' Armed Forces, Joe Jackson's Look Sharp! and I'm the Man, Stiff Little Fingers' Inflammable Material, Gary Numan/Tubeway Army's Replicas and the Pleasure Principle, Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures, the Jam's Setting Sons,the Clash's London Calling, and the UK 2-Tone phenomenon. It also saw a slump in album sales, a resurgence in single sales, and the peak and bloody death of disco. Now, with the help of new and exclusive interviews with artists and producers, New Waves, Old Hands, and Unknown Pleasures tells the varied, vibrant, and often unexamined story of popular music in 1979. It reveals the stories behind key recordings, traces the trajectories of commercial and artistic successes, and explains the musical and socio-political context behind the sounds of the day.