Omnibus Press – serie

"Of all the books I have read on the story of the Velvet Underground, Richie’s is probably the best. He brings us the voices of the people who were also important to those times, but who either go unmentioned, unheard, or not written about in a balanced way. I also like the way he writes, and some of the many reviews of recordings and live shows were insightful in a way l have not come across in the work of anyone else. Bravo, Richie!" Jonathan RichmanNo band has reshaped the possibilities of popular music like The Velvet Underground. Formed in New York in 1965, the Velvets emerged from the nexus of art, fashion, politics, music and counterculture.Although widespread popularity and acclaim evaded them during their four-album lifespan, their enduring, cross-generational appeal meant the Velvets could count iconic contemporaries like Leonard Cohen, David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix as fans, alongside future legends such as Roxy Music, the Pretenders and Sonic Youth.Do What You Fear Most chronicles how an unlikely group of upstarts came to define the musical zeitgeist. In a sprawling and engrossing narrative, Richie Unterberger follows the group from their disparate origins to their ascendancy as Andy Warhol's Factory house band in New York City. It explores the creative alchemy between the core trio of Lou Reed, John Cale and Nico, the shocking exits and ever-changing lineups, as well as the wider New York cultural scene of the period.Rigorously researched and packed with previously undocumented insights, this book features many first-hand interviews with the group's associates, as well as material newly unearthed from the Lou Reed Archive and the Andy Warhol Archive, alongside never-before-seen images and ephemera. This is the most complete story of The Velvet Underground to date.'A tome finally worthy of Lou Reed's gang. Do What You Fear Most is the most comprehensive and compelling yet on the stealthy, stupendously influential band' Record Collector, 5*****

'Cognitive Dissident is an evocative, often sad, but properly fascinating story' Bob Stanley, Saint EtienneCognitive Dissident may begin in the music biography tradition, but it quickly becomes something deeper. Borne out of years of conversation and collaboration between Matt Johnson (the creative force behind THE THE) and writer Jason Wood (Executive Director at the BFI), it expands into a work that is philosophical, cultural, and socio-political in scope.The story traces Johnson's childhood growing up above one of East London's most famous pubs, his early international success in music, followed by his sudden disappearance for decades. Then in 2017, The Inertia Variations project brought about an extraordinary creative rebirth, leading to THE THE's return: The Comeback Special World Tour, live album and film, the release of Ensoulment - their first new album in 25 years - and the acclaimed Ensouled World Tour. Along the way, it illuminates Johnson's evolution from the post-punk DIY scene to his many collaborations with producers, musicians, and cultural icons, as well as the influence of literature, art, and cinema that has always shaped his vision.Through these conversations with Matt Johnson - a working-class auto-didact who achieved success and ultimately career control on his own terms - this book by extension is also a meditation on family, friendship, creativity, conservation, gentrification, geopolitics, love and loss.'Matt Johnson will always be the intrepid London boy with a music soul & and the man of many worlds with a writer's heart' Johnny Marr

Marc Bolan was the very first superstar of the Seventies. As the seductive focus of "T Rex", he revelled in fame and fortune, released a string of classic records, but then lost his way, bingeing on cocaine and booze and apparently heading for obscurity. But the fatal 1977 car crash that cut short his planned comeback as a punk rocker was also to fix him forever as the classic icon of Glam Rock. Today, almost 30 years after his death, the legend of Marc Bolan lives on and not just for the image. His music and chameleonic style were to influence many future bands. Mod, Beatnik, Hippie, Glam and Punk Rocker - Bolan's numerous guises offer a fascinating glimpse into the man himself as well as British pop history. This classic biography of a pop obsessive draws from interviews with many friends and colleagues including the late John Peel, brother Harry and band members Mickey Finn and Bill Legend.

More than a band, the Cramps are a uniquely special rock'n'roll phenomenon that has endured for over 35 years. Formed in the creative maelstrom of late 1970's New York by Ohio natives Lux Interior (Erick Purkhiser) and Poison Ivy Rorschach (Kirsty Wallace), the Cramps not only originated the psychobilly subgenre but also left behind an unsurpassable legacy of blisteringly good, primal rock'n'roll.Based upon work and materials compiled for the acclaimed and now much sought after 2007 Cramps biography 'A Short History of Rock'n'Roll Psychosis', Journey to the Centre of the Cramps goes far beyond being a revised and updated edition: Completely overhauled, rewritten and vastly expanded, it now represents the definitive work on the group.In addition to unseen interview material from Ivy, Lux and other former band members, Journey to the Centre of the Cramps also sees the Cramps' story through to its conclusion, recounting Lux's unexpected death in 2009, the subsequent dissolution of the group and their enduring legacy. The Cramps' history, influences and the cast of characters in and around the group are likewise explored in far greater depth.Features unseen first-hand interview material from Lux Interior and Poison Ivy. A wealth of new interview material with former band members and other key players in the band's history and never before seen/rare photographs and ephemera to help illustrate the book.

Despite just a three-year tenure with the band, co-founder Syd Barrett's influence on Pink Floyd was profound and long-lasting. If his guitar gave the early Pink Floyd a distinctive hallucinatory sound, his often obscure and surreal lyrics were perhaps even more intoxicating. The complete lyrics of Syd Barrett - 52 songs written for Pink Floyd and during his subsequent solo career - are presented together for the first time, along with rare photos and artwork, to form this beautifully illustrated book. Compiled in collaboration with the Syd Barrett estate, and featuring a foreword from former Pink Floyd manager Peter Jenner and a comprehensive introduction by biographer Rob Chapman, The Lyrics of Syd Barrett delves deep into one of rock'n'roll's most imaginative and searing minds.

He starts the decade a teenage pop idol. But the one-hit wonder who sang 'Space Oddity' is still very far from becoming the star who will one day define the 1970s. Not when he still has a band to find, a manager to sack, a mentally ill brother to save, a wife to marry and a rival called Marc Bolan to beat. Not when David Bowie still has no idea who or what David Bowie is.Starting at the beginning of Bowie's incredible ten-year odyssey changing the course of pop music, Simon Goddard's bold and expressionistic biography weaves time, space, rock'n'roll and social history to relive Bowie's 1970 - moment by vivid moment.

'All the fun youthful dreams and the poignancy of disappointment...magnificent'. Phil Harrison, The GuardianA coming-of-age story about pursuing your dreams and what happens when reality gets in the way.It's 1992 and Andy (aka Horace) dreams of becoming a rockstar with his band, the Pointy Birds. The only problem is that his day job (mis)filing vinyl in a Soho record store is stealing all his time and energy, plus rival bands like Suede, Blur, Pulp and Radiohead are moving on to bigger and better things.But everything changes when someone called Ricky Gervais offers his services as a band manager, and at last the dream can start.Anoint My Head is the tale of a band who didn't become rich or famous, but had a manager who did. It is also the story of a musical era, documenting the rise of some of the biggest Britpop bands of the nineties, plus a comedian who went on to write quite a successful sitcom about a paper merchants in Slough.

Here is the story of how the Sex Pistols shocked and shamed EMI - the UK's most revered and profitable record company - and ended up GBP40,000 the richer thanks to manager Malcolm McLaren's cunning business strategy.

Britain, 1971. Strange land of hot pants, moral outrage, anarchist bombs and sexual revolution. As Marc Bolan is hailed as the nation's teenage saviour, the forgotten hope called David Bowie searches for the spark to relight his fire. He finds it in London's gay clubland and the stoned fields of Glastonbury, the speedy streets of New York City and his new rock'n'roll allies Lou Reed and Iggy Pop. The ignition for songs about life on Mars and cosmic messiahs, starry alter-egos and bold fashions fit for the ultimate Seventies superstar...In the sequel to Bowie Odyssey 70, Simon Goddard continues his groundbreaking immersive narrative of the world around Bowie, through the second year of the decade he changed pop forever.

A new year for David Bowie means new clothes, new boots, new hair and a new name: Ziggy Stardust. To the gloomy blacked-out Britain of powercuts and three-day weeks he may as well be from outer space - if that's what it takes to make him famous, far be it from him to tell anyone he isn't. Bowie's success as the bisexual Starman soon rubs off on his new friends Mott The Hoople and his hero Lou Reed as 1972 becomes Annus Glamrockus. Music, fashion and the old codes of gender will never be the same again. But as his runaway fame quickly blurs all lines between fantasy and reality, neither will David.The third volume of the Bowie Odyssey series offers a wild and revelatory snapshot of the year of Ziggy as Simon Goddard continues his vivid real-time journey through the decade Bowie changed pop forever.

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason found early success with the band Traffic, establishing himself as a skilled guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter who penned the classic "Feelin' Alright?". Departing the band for a solo career, Mason earned three gold albums-Alone Together, Dave Mason, and Mariposa De Oro - and a platinum album, Let it Flow, which included the hit single "We Just Disagree." In addition to his prolific solo work, Dave has been a member of Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, the original lineup of Derek & The Dominoes, a duo with Mama Cass Elliott, an ill-fated version of Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, and the legendary Fleetwood Mac.Along the way, he appeared on some of the most acclaimed recordings in music history, including The Spencer Davis Group's "Gimme Some Lovin,'" George Harrison's All Things Must Pass, The Rolling Stones' "Street Fighting Man," and close friend Jimi Hendrix's classic "All Along the Watchtower." Additionally, he has recorded with Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, David Crosby, Leon Russell, and Paul McCartney, who recruited Dave to play guitar on Wings' first number one hit, "Listen to What the Man Said."From sell-out performances at Madison Square Garden to touring arenas with Peter Frampton, Dave was riding high as a bona fide rock star by the mid-1970s. But the successes didn't come without challenges. Bad business deals, cocaine, and a seemingly endless touring schedule began to take their toll. Workmanlike in his dedication, however, the determined craftsman never gave up.Here, for the first time, Dave shares some of the great untold tales in rock and roll- his complicated relationship with Traffic, his wild legal episodes with record companies, his battle with addiction and the loss of a child, and his eventual induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Traffic. He dives deep into the music and shares inside stories featuring a cast of characters that includes Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Gram Parsons, Eric Clapton, and many others.Dave Mason's reputation as a "quiet giant" has long been one of music's great mysteries. Featuring over 150 photographs-as well as guest contributions from family members and friends such as Bonnie Bramlett, Mick Fleetwood, and Graham Nash-one of rock's true heroes finally shares his colorful, unique, and ultimately triumphant journey through a life in music.

Pressure Drop chronicles reggae's most tumultuous and influential decade. Beginning in 1970 and unfolding both in Britain and Jamaica, reggae flourished against a backdrop of political upheaval, gang warfare, Black Nationalism, racial and class discrimination and grinding poverty.The music that developed as rocksteady and early reggae gave birth to deejays, dub, rockers, lovers rock, early dancehall and 2 Tone was by turns brutal and revelatory. Including an extensive analysis of the decade's major singles and albums, Pressure Drop includes eyewitness accounts and experiences of the decade from the likes of Burning Spear, Chris Blackwell, Gregory Isaacs, Bunny Wailer, Jimmy Cliff, Black Uhuru, U-Roy, Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Augustus Pablo, Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Dekker, Sly & Robbie, Dennis Bovell, Don Letts and members of the Specials, as well as first-hand anecdotes of Bob Marley and Peter Tosh.

Whether in Yes, Asia, GTR, ABWH, Tomorrow or the Steve Howe Trio and – there's more – Steve Howe has continually proved himself to be one of the world's greatest guitarists. Here, for the first time, he looks back on his five-decade long career. From jamming onstage with Jimi Hendrix to sharing Abbey Road studios with The Beatles, Steve's stories are steeped in rock 'n' roll history. Including a number of unseen photographs and a full discography, All My Yesterdays is a must-read for fans of Yes, one of prog rock's most legendary bands.

A Rough Trade Book of the Year 2022Some of the most beautiful, era-defining music has been co-composed by Karl Bartos. 'The Robots', 'Computer Love', 'Neon Lights', 'Tour De France' and Kraftwerk's 1982 number one single 'The Model' all contain his deft musical touch. For the first time, in The Sound of the Machine, Bartos speaks candidly and with wit and humour about his life in Kraftwerk, a band widely acknowledged as being one of the most important in modern music.In The Sound of the Machine, Karl vividly recalls what it was like to be in the Kling Klang studios during recording, describing the process and perfectly capturing the joy and passion of three people composing and recording.Now, with a successful solo career of 30 years, Karl Bartos recalls his post-war childhood, the amazement he felt on first hearing The Beatles, his first bands, his parallel career as a musician and teacher, his years with Kraftwerk, and his hopes and fears for today's musical culture.'Full and frank disclosure of life in the world's most influential electronic band... Karl Bartos' enjoyable tome.' Record Collector, 4*'A full-blooded insider's account of life inside the Kling Klang studio. This is a must read for the robots' fans.' Prog Magazine'Funny, cultured, detailed.' Classic Rock, 8/10

Fusing blues, jazz and psychedelia with an outrageous personal style and image, Hendrix is still revered as the most important instrumentalist in the history of rock. He died aged 27 from drugs and alcohol. Capturing the essence of Hendrix's intense, apocalyptic and ultimately tragic life, the author covers Hendrix's boyhood in Seattle, his years in the US Air Force, his reputation as the best sideman around, his manic trip to London and superstardom, the songs, the concerts, the flaming guitars, the drugs, the booze, the women and most important, the incomparable legacy he left behind.

Leonard Cohen: A Remarkable Life tells the story of the life, loves and work of Leonard Cohen, the poet, songwriter and singer 'born with the gift of a golden voice.' As the man himself once dryly put it.Anthony Reynolds' fascinating and detailed biography draws on scores of new interviews conducted with Cohen's band members past and present, his business associates, editors, friends, fans, producers, colleagues, enemies and peers. As well as their revealing accounts, the author has gained access to hours of previously unpublished interviews with Cohen as well as video archive recordings from several decades. The book also includes an authoritative summary of every Cohen album, with insights and recollections supplied from the musicians who appeared on the recordings. Gradually, despite Cohen's own good-natured evasiveness over the past 40 years, a surprisingly frank portrait begins to emerge of the legendary figure who commands unparalleled loyalty from his fans and followers, young and old.From the distant days of his penniless beginnings as a much-praised poet in Montreal, through the travels, affairs and religious crisis to his latest tours, Cohen's extraordinary life and body of work is examined as never before. The book includes many previously unpublished photographs.

Diagnosed with a type of malignant melanoma in 1977, Marley died on11 May 1981 in Miami at the age of 36. He was a committed Rastafari who infused his music with a sense of spirituality. He is considered one of the most influential musicians of all time and credited with popularizing reggae music around the world, as well as serving as a symbol of Jamaican culture and identity.

By the time The Fall released `I Am Damo Suzuki’ in the mid-1980s, the elusive legend to which the song paid tribute had returned to music. Since making his name as the vocalist of the great German band Can, Kenji `Damo’ Suzuki has united a vast range of musicians across the globe through The Damo Suzuki Band and Damo Suzuki’s Network.Now in his seventh decade, Damo is as contemporary a figure as ever. I Am Damo Suzuki encompasses his personal travelogue, his spiritual journey and the life-force that has allowed him to twice rise above life-threatening illness. Paul Woods’ narrative – drawing on interviews with Suzuki himself, family members, bandmates and friends – evokes the decades-long odyssey of a musical enigma.

John Mayall’s story is like no other in the annals of rock and blues. Born in the UK in 1933, he laid the foundations of British blues, nurtured a generation of future superstars and then took the music back to the land of its birth. This extraordinary autobiography offers a vivid glimpse of Britain well before the rock revolution of the sixties, at a time when young men like John found themselves conscripted for national service that, in his case, included eighteen months in Korea. What followed when he returned was an odyssey of musical trail-blazing.From Manchester to Laurel Canyon and many points in between, John’s account of his long life is both affectionate and compelling – a guided tour through more than sixty years of the music business and its stars, brought to vivid life by one of its undisputed pioneers.

Drawing upon extensive new first hand interview material from Debbie Harry, Chris Stein and many other significant players in the band's long history, a huge archive of personal materials and unpublished interviews, Blondie: Parallel Lives is the definitive eye-witness account of the group's long and often tumultuous existence.Beginning with their childhoods, backgrounds and influences, the book is also an evocative homage to the unique New York scene of the 1970s. It charts the development of Blondie to their massive popular success and eventual break up. How Debbie Harry set her career aside to nurse Chris through a debilitating and life-threatening genetic disease. It recounts the group's 1997 reformation, subsequent renaissance with their No Exit album, the controversies surrounding the 2006 induction to the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, ending in the present with the release of Panic of Girls.Co-author Kris Needs established a friendship with Harry, Stein and the rest of the band that endures to this day. As a trusted confidante, he now recounts the full story.

While she once made headlines with her hedonistic lifestyle, part of Nicks' irresistible appeal is her youthful vulnerability and mystical aura, making her an artist with whom fans have an unbreakable emotional connection. Crowned 'The Reigning Queen Of Rock And Roll' by Rolling Stone, and with gold and quadruple platinum solo albums under her beaded belt, Stevie Nicks has enjoyed the ultimate in rock 'n' roll success in her life as a recording artist - but this charmed life has come as a result of hard graft, self-belief and a devotion to creativity above all; hers has been a journey of intense highs and lows.This book, a celebration of the Stevie Nicks phenomenon, takes us on her journey from peripatetic mid-West childhood to her explosion onto the music scene as chiffon-swathed rock goddess, right up to present day. Including exclusive interviews with some of Stevie's associates and collaborators from over the years, author Zoe Howe explores the mystique while retaining the magic of this modern-day musical sorceress and wise woman of rock.This revised edition will include information about the full line-up Fleetwood Mac tour dates ('On With The Show'), the 24 Karat Gold self-portrait collection exhibition Stevie curated in Hollywood to coincide with her 24 Karat Gold album. Her work with the LA band Haim, coping with the loss of her close friends Glenn Frey and Prince, being a Rolling Stone cover girl again and more.

'Delightfully overwhelming in the amount of music to investigate . . . a late-night voice if I ever heard one'. Gideon Coe, Late Night Book Club, BBC 6MusicIf there's a cultural artefact capable of withstanding the vagaries and fickleness of the digital age as well as the printed book, it's the vinyl record . . .In Listening to the Wind, Ian Preece sets out on an international road trip to capture the essence of life for independent record labels operating in the twenty-first century. Despite it all - from algorithms and streaming to the death of the high street and the gutting of the music press - releasing a record to serve its 'own beautiful purpose', as 4AD's Ivo Watts Russell once said, is a flame that still burns through these pages. With countless labels, albums and artists to be discovered, this book is for those who share that inextinguishable love for music.**Features extensive, original interviews with the likes of Analog Africa, Light in the Attic, Thrill Jockey, International Anthem, Dust-to-Digital, Pressure Sounds, Heavenly, Touch, Mississippi, Sublime Frequencies and more!**

While many books, films and documentaries claim to have captured the phenomenon that was Swinging London, just one magazine was present in the capital during the 1960s to illustrate this extraordinary moment as it unravelled. London Life emerged in October 1965 and, over the next fifteen months, would document the capital's action at its absolute zenith.With imagery from the likes of David Bailey, Duffy and Terence Donovan, designs from Peter Blake, David Hockney, Gerald Scarfe and fledgling artist Ian Dury plus words and opinions from those riding high on the city`s cutting-edge, London Life remains the coolest document from the capital's most exciting period.

"Nobody knows Dolly like Dolly," declares Dolly Parton. Dolly's is a rags-to-riches tale like no other. A dirt-poor Smoky Mountain childhood paved the way for the buxom blonde butterfly's metamorphosis from singer-songwriter to international music superstar. The undisputed "Queen of Country Music," Dolly has sold more than 100 million records worldwide and has conquered just about every facet of the entertainment industry: music, film, television, publishing, theater, and even theme parks. It has been more than fifty years since Dolly Parton arrived in Nashville with just her guitar and a dream. Her story has been told many times and in many ways, but never like this. Dolly on Dolly is a collection of interviews spanning five decades of her career and featuring material gathered from celebrated publications including Rolling Stone, Cosmopolitan, Playboy, and Andy Warhol's Interview magazine. Also included are interviews which have not been previously available in print. Dolly's feisty and irresistible brand of humor, combined with her playful, pull-up-a-chair-and-stay-awhile delivery, makes for a fascinating and inviting experience in down-home philosophy and storytelling.Much like her patchwork "Coat of Many Colors," this book harkens back to the legendary entertainer's roots and traces her evolution, stitching it all together one piece at a time..

`On the stage, Jake Shears is a triumphant explosion of unembarrassed carnality and charm. On the page, he's very much the same. Boys Keep Swinging is one courageous joyride of a memoir. It should be illegal for rock stars to write so beautifully.'– Armistead Maupin`The purpose of my life is to entertain. It's a constant feedback loop.'Before becoming lead singer in the fabulous Scissor Sisters, Jake Shears was Jason Sellards, just a kid with an unfathomable imagination and a love of He-Man dolls. Splitting life between Arizona and the Pacific West Coast, his childhood was marked by school bullies and the terror of the rise and misunderstanding surrounding the AIDS virus. With changes in age and geography Shears gradually found a sense of belonging - first in Seattle, then in the street life and lights of New York City in the late 90s where, with friends and musicians also thirsting for freedom and the stage, he would form Scissor Sisters and go on to sell out venues worldwide.This is a wide-eyed and determined coming-of-age story from a world famous LGBTQ+ icon, but its heartbeat is Shears' friendship with Mary Hanlon, who he met via The Edge, a prehistoric chatroom, when he was 15 and she was 21. For years Shears lived in New York with a landline for which only Mary knew the number. Although long-distance, self-absorption and changing circumstances would take their toll on the friendship, this was the safe-house that sheltered a pair of misfits from the unthinking prejudices of a fearful world, a haven to which both would always return, and for which Shears wrote the song 'Mary'.