Simon Matthews – författare

Before It Went Rotten takes a trip back to the world before punk.When Anarchy in the UK appeared, London enjoyed one of the most vibrant music scenes in the world. A network of mainly Irish owned pubs and clubs provided music every night, much of it free of charge, whilst working as a testing ground for up and coming talent.This book traces the evolution of what was quickly labelled 'pub-rock': from rock and roll revival acts via late blues bands, country rock, funk, soul and art school bands to the sound that eventually burst on the scene as punk rock in 1976. Specific chapters cover the career of Brinsley Schwarz, the Southend bands and the step by step rise of the Sex Pistols.Among those interviewed are former members of Fumble, Darts, the John Dummer Blues Band, Blue Goose, Legend, Eddie and the Hot Rods, Brinsley Schwarz, Bees Make Honey, Ducks de Luxe, Kokomo, Roogalator, Burlesque, Kilburn and the High Roads, GT Moore and the Reggae Guitars, Clancy, the Fabulous Poodles, the Sex Pistols and Meal Ticket.With acts like Dire Straits, Elvis Costello, Ian Dury and Graham Parker all emerging from this terrain, the reader is asked to consider, what, if anything, would have been different if McLaren's band had never been around.Extensively researched, and drawing on contemporaneous reviews and articles from the music press of the time, Before It Went Rotten bids fair to be the definitive study of an overlooked era.

Looking for a New England covers the period 1975 to 1986, from Slade in Flame to Absolute Beginners.A carefully researched exploration of transgressive films, the career of David Bowie, dystopias, the Joan Collins ouevre, black cinema, the origins and impact of punk music, political films, comedy, how Ireland and Scotland featured on our screens and the rise of Richard Branson and a new, commercial, mainstream. The sequel to Psychedelic Celluloid, it describes over 100 film and TV productions in detail, together with their literary, social and musical influences during a time when profound changes shrank the size of the UK cinema industry.

\'Anyone interested in the challenges of housing policy will want to read this methodical analysis of what went well and what did not over much of the last century\' - LORD HESELTINEFor nearly 150 years, living in a house in the country has been what many of us aspire to. This book explores how this idea was imported from the US by Ebenezer Howard, founder of the garden city movement, the impact it has had in the UK and why, on cost and environmental grounds, it\'s time to move on from this approach.House in the Country examines the developments in urban planning and residential architecture from 1815 to the present day and considers the legacy of Howard's garden city movement in twenty-first century Britain.An accessible and informative introduction, House in the Country presents a richly detailed narrative containing much historical, social and cultural commentary as well as interviews with key figures in this field.

Between 1967 and 1970 Italian auteur Giovanni 'Tinto' Brass directed four feature films in London, each starring a woman as the main character.Exploring the political, cultural and sexual ideas of their time, often in a deliberate pop-art style, they contain much priceless footage of now forgotten neighbourhoods, galleries, clubs and events as well as an abundance of contemporary music.Free Your Mind! describes the films, their stars, how they were made, and their influence on the social history, pop culture, cinema, music and TV of the time.

Everything AND the Kitchen Sink analyses 'kitchen sink realism' and the birth of 'pop cinema' in the context of contemporaneous debates surrounding politics, civil liberties, sexuality, race, immigration and urbanisation.Covering the lives and careers of well-known figures such as Alan Sillitoe, Shelagh Delaney, David Storey, Edna O'Brien and Albert Finney, as well as charting the rise of iconic British series like Coronation Street and Z-Cars, Simon Matthews offers a fascinating blend of social history, pop culture, drama and cinema. Matthews also interviews contemporary figures - including Ken Loach - about the kitchen sink era and how it inspired their work.

Every politician's rise to power is a story of success and failure, accompanied by tantalising what-might-have-beens.The career of Winston Churchill was no exception, with his eight months prior to becoming Prime Minister as First Lord of the Admiralty marked by the loss of important warships, the planning of disastrous expeditions and the design of impractical weapons.Based on archival and biographical research, this account argues that Churchill's actions at the Admiralty were for the most part misjudged and dangerous. Much of what happened could have been avoided, with lives saved and the defence of western Europe strengthened had other counsels prevailed.Very much the opposite of a hagiography, A Study in Failure provides an alternative perspective on the man regularly considered the UK's greatest ever leader.