Paul Rees

Robert Plant is a living legend. The front man of Led Zeppelin, one of the biggest and most influential rock bands of all time, Plant defined the very notion of what it means to be a rock god. The sheer scale of Led Zeppelin's success is extraordinary. In the United States alone they have sold seventy million records—a figure surpassed only by the Beatles—while "Stairway to Heaven," the band's most famous song, has been played more times on American radio than any other track and is frequently referred to as one of the greatest rock 'n' roll songs ever. But Robert Plant's legacy stretches far beyond Led Zeppelin. Robert Plant: A Life is the story of the forces that shaped Plant: from his boyhood in England's Black Country to the ravaging highs and lows of the Zeppelin years; from his relationship with Jimmy Page and John Bonham to the solo career that today, at the age of sixty-two, has him producing some of the most acclaimed work of his career. Author Paul Rees, former editor of Q and Kerrang!, who has in the past interviewed Plant at length, paints a rich, complicated portrait of a man who was only nineteen when he changed the face of rock 'n' roll. Told with tenacity, emotion, and the spark of brilliance that befits such an enigmatic front man, Robert Plant: A Life is the definitive story of a musical icon.

A Life

Robert Plant

The definitive no-holds-barred biography of John Entwistle, The Who's legendary bass guitarist It is an unequivocal fact that in terms of rock bands, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Who represent Year Zero; the beginning of all things, ground-breakers all. To that end, John Entwistle - the Who's beloved bassist - is also without question one of the most important and influential figures in the annals of rock. He is also among an even more rarefied few by virtue of his being such a fascinating, transfixing and gloriously oversized character. However, Entwistle has not been the subject of a major biography. Likely, this was due to no-one being able to gain close access to the subject himself: the still in many other respects enigmatic Entwistle's enduring legacy has been carefully guarded by his surviving family. With the full co-operation of the Entwistle family, The Ox will correct this oversight and in doing so, shine a long overdue light on one of the single greatest, and most impactful figures in rock history. Drawing on his own notes for an unfinished autobiography that he started before his death in 2002 (and which will be quoted from extensively), as well as his personal archives and interviews with his family and friends, The Ox will give readers a never-before-seen glimpse into the two very distinct poles of John Entwistle. On the one hand, he was the rock star incarnate, being larger than life, self-obsessed to a fault, and proudly and almost defiantly so. Extravagant with money, he famously shipped two vintage American cars across the Atlantic without having so much as a driver's license, built exponentially bigger and grandiose bars into every home he owned, and amassed an extraordinary collection of possessions, from arachnids, armor, and weaponry, to his patented Cuban-heeled boots. But beneath this fame and flutter, he was also a man of simple tastes and traditional opinions. He was a devoted father and family man who loved nothing more than to wake up to a full English breakfast, or to have a supper of fish, chips, and a pint at his local pub. After his untimely death, many of these stories were shuttered away into the memories of his family, friends, and loved ones, but now, for the first time, The Ox will introduce us to the man behind the myth-the iconic and inimitable John Entwistle.

The Last of the Great Rock Stars: The Authorised Biography of The Who's John Entwistle

The Ox

When Cyrille Regis became one of the first black players to be selected for the full England team, he was sent a package in the mail. Inside it was a silver bullet and a note that read: ‘You’ll get one of these through your knees if you step on our Wembley turf.’ In the 1978/79 football season Regis' club West Bromwich Albion, an unglamorous and little publicised club from the West Midlands, became the first British football team to field three black players: Cyrille Regis, Laurie Cunningham and Brendon Batson. They did so against the backdrop of the most divisive and poisonous racial tension in the UK’s history – a time when the National Front movement was at its most virulent. This book will tell the story of a defining and groundbreaking chapter in the history of British football and the country as a whole. The story is one about sport but also as much one about social change.

The Men Who Changed British Football Forever

The Three Degrees

2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the 1996 European Cup, hosted in England, when the national football team reached the semi-finals to be knocked out, on penalties, by Germany. It was also the end of a generation – these were the last footballers to be brought up on beer and sweat. In September '96 Arsene Wenger arrived at Arsenal with his ‘continental’ philosophy of diets and training, and by 1998 Beckham had arrived, changing the face of football the world over. 1996 was also a significant date across the British spectrum. It was the year that Brit-Pop went global. The Lad culture of the 90’s peaked in 1996 when James Brown turned Loaded Magazine from a 100k readership into a 1 million+ readership, and Simon Fuller of 19 Management was making his first steps into turning footballers into the next celebrities. And, of course, Skinner and Baddiel wrote that song, which became an anthem for a generation who seemed to have never had it so good. The Tories were on their way out, although unemployment was at a record low, Blair could do no wrong, and it was a glorious summer, where everything seemed possible. Though it wasn’t all a haze of a halcyon summer, it was the first time that England had played a unified Germany since before the war, old prejudices reared their heads and the marginalised hooligans of the game were hidden only by a lick of paint that the old Wembley stadium got ahead of the tournament. Starting with Gazza's goal against Scotland and ending later that summer when the dream was over, but the belief remained that this really was a great time for Britain. Through that narrative will be woven a portrait of an England which was proud to wear Three Lions on the Shirt.

Euro 96 and the Last Great British Summer

When We Were Lions

Offers a glimpse into the rock icon's life, from his years as the front man for Led Zeppelin and his relationship with Jimmy Page and John Bonham to the solo career that sees him producing some of his career's most acclaimed work.

The definitive biography of John Mellencamp, the iconic American rock and roll original, featuring exclusive in-depth interviews and never-before-told details. Perfect for fans of Janis and Born to Run. John Mellencamp is not your typical rock star. With music inspired by the work of William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, and other giants of American literature, he has experienced a colorful career unlike any other. Now, this fascinating biography fully charts the life of one of this country’s most important voices in American music. Mellencamp’s story is also the story of the American heartland. His coming of age as an artist and evolution into legendary status directly reflected the major changes of the last fifty years. From the Summer of Love to the growing divisiveness of American politics and beyond, his music has served as the backdrop to this evolving country for millions of fans. Featuring exclusive interviews with friends, family, and colleagues, and exploring everything from the founding of Farm Aid to his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this is a fresh and expansive look at a true original.

Mellencamp

Neil Jenkins

Neil Jenkins is the most prolific goal-kicker in the history of British international rugby. A match-winner with Pontypridd and Wales, a veteran of the Lions Tours – including the 2001 Tour of Australia – his crowning moment came with the Lions in South Africa in 1997 when his unerring accuracy with the boot earned the tourists only their second series victory against the Springboks. Capped by Wales when he was just 19, Jenkins helped to turn Pontypridd from the Cinderellas of Welsh rugby into the league champions and one of the most feared teams in the country. After just 28 internationals he broke the Welsh points-scoring record. First published in 1998, Life at Numer 10 is a fascinating account of how Jenkins, a boy from the tip of the Rhondda Valley, started his working life as a scrap merchant – only to become one of the most sought-after players in Britain and the most-capped player for Wales. He tells how the pressure of being the Wales outside-half, following in the footsteps of legends such as Cliff Morgan, David Watkins, Barry John, Phil Bennett and Jonathon Davies, took its toll; and his frustration at being moved by Wales to centre full-back. He reveals the secrets behind Pontypridd's rise to prominence, the reasons why he left them in 1999 to join Cardiff, and his fears for the future of the Welsh game.

An Autobiography

Life At Number 10

"John Mellencamp is not your typical rock star. Not only has he absorbed into his own work the influence of Faulkner, Williams, Steinbeck, and other such literary giants, but he himself could have stepped straight from the pages of any of their great American novels. A complex, colorful, and larger than life character, Mellencamp, like Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash before him, walks to the beat of his own drum. Or, as he told author and veteran music journalist Paul Rees: 'I just refuse to take shit off anyone.' [This book charts] the life of one of the most fascinating characters in all of American music"--

Pete Way

'They call me a madman but compared to Pete Way, I'm out of my league.' - Ozzy Osbourne There are rock memoirs and then there is this one. A Fast Ride Out of Here tells a story that is so shocking, so outrageous, so packed with excess and leading to such uproar and tragic consequences as to be almost beyond compare. Put simply, in terms of jaw-dropping incident, self-destruction and all-round craziness, Pete Way's rock'n'roll life makes even Keith Richards's appear routine and Ozzy Osbourne seem positively mild-mannered in comparison. Not for nothing did Nikki Sixx, bassist with LA shock-rockers Motley Crue and who 'died' for eight minutes following a heroin overdose in 1988, consider that he was a disciple of and apprenticed to Way. During a forty-year career as founding member and bassist of the venerated British hard rock band UFO, and which has also included a stint in his hell-raising buddy Ozzy's band, Pete Way has both scaled giddy heights and plunged to unfathomable lows. A heroin addict for more than ten years, he blew millions on drugs and booze and left behind him a trail of chaos and carnage. The human cost of this runs to six marriages, four divorces, a pair of estranged daughters and two dead ex-wives. Latterly, Way has fought cancer, but has survived it all and is now ready to tell his extraordinary tale. By turns hilarious, heart-rending, mordant, scabrous, self-lacerating, brutally honest and entirely compulsive, A Fast Ride Out of Here will be a monument to rock'n'roll debauchery on an epic, unparalleled scale and also to one man's sheer indestructability.

Confessions of Rock's Most Dangerous Man

A Fast Ride Out of Here

Steve Lukather

No one explodes one of the longest-held misconceptions of music history better than Steve Lukather and his band Toto. The dominant pop-culture sound of the late-1970s and '80s was not in fact the smash and sneer of punk, but a slick, polished amalgam of rock and R&B that was first staked out on Boz Scaggs' Silk Degrees. That album was shaped in large part by the founding members of Toto, who were emerging as the most in-demand elite session muso-crew in LA, and further developed on the band's self-titled three-million-selling debut smash of 1978. A string of hits followed for the band going into the '80s and beyond. Running parallel to this, as stellar session players, Lukather and band-mates David Paich, Jeff Porcaro and Steve Porcaro were also the creative linchpins on some of the most successful, influential and enduring records of the era. In The Gospel According to Luke, Lukather tells the Toto story: how a group of high school friends formed the band in 1977 and went on to sell more than 40 million records worldwide. He also lifts the lid on what really went on behind the closed studio doors and shows the unique creative processes of some of the most legendary names in music: from Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks and Elton John to Miles Davis, Joni Mitchell, Don Henley, Roger Waters and Aretha Franklin. And yet, Lukather's extraordinary tale encompasses the dark side of the American Dream. Engaging, incisive and often hilarious, The Gospel According to Luke is no ordinary rock memoir. It is the real thing . . .

Paul Rees

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