Simon Spence

Draws on interviews and insider materials to provide an account of the British pop band's rise to fame after the release of its 1989 eponymous album, its acrimonious breakup in 1996, and its 2011 reuinion.

War and Peace

The Stone Roses

This biography is drawn from over 125 interviews with those who knew Marriott intimately: his wives, children, bandmates, and closest friends, managers, record producers, record label bosses, and his fellow musicians

The Story of Steve Marriott

All Or Nothing

PETER. SPENCE DOHERTY (SIMON.)

A Likely Lad

The Stone Roses captures the magic—and chaos—behind the UK band's rise, fall, and recent resurrection. The iconic Brit pop band The Stone Roses became an overnight sensation when their 1989 eponymous album went double platinum. It was a recording that is still often listed as one of the best albums ever made. Its chiming guitar riffs, anthemic melodies, and Smiths-like pop sensibility elevated The Stone Roses to a cult-like status in the UK and put them on the map in the U.S. But theirs is a story of unfulfilled success: their star imploded as their sophomore effort took years to complete and the band broke up acrimoniously in 1996. Sixteen years later, they reunited and have been playing sold out gigs, thrilling fans around the globe, and working on new material. In 2013, they nabbed the coveted headline spot at the Coachella Festival. With one hundred interviews of key figures, forty rare photographs, and exclusive insider material including how they created their music, The Stone Roses charts the band's rise from the backwaters of Manchester to becoming the stars of the "Madchester" scene to their successful comeback years later. Going beyond the myths to depict a band that defined Brit pop, Simon Spence illustrates their incandescent talent and jaw-dropping success while contextualizing them in the 90s music scene. This is the definitive story of The Stone Roses.

This book looks to construct a detailed portrait of the myth of the Greek hero, Jason.This involves examining all extant evidence, both literary and iconographical, for this hero up until the end of the fifth century B.C.

An Examination of Iconographical and Literary Evidence of the Myth of Jason Up Until the End of the Fifth Century B.C.

The Image of Jason in Early Greek Myth

***Winner of the bronze medal at the international Moonbeam Children's Book Awards*** "Perseus" is the first book in the Early Myths collection, a series of children's picture books about Greek myth. Each book tells the tale of a character from mythology and brings the story to life through the inspiration from art and literature. The books are aimed at 4 to 8 year olds, are beautifully illustrated and easy to read. Perseus is the tale of a young boy who has to flee his home with his mother and grows up in a foreign land. To prove his worth he claims he can take on the magical Gorgon, Medusa. With the help of the gods he flies across the lands and faces his greatest challenge, rescuing princess Andromeda along his journey and coming home to claim his throne. This book joins the award winning Early Myths collection. Our second book was Jason & the Golden Fleece. The third book, Odysseus, has received two awards- an honourable mention at the 2015 Royal Dragonfly Books Awards and a finalist position in the 2015 Wishing Shelf Children's Book Awards. Our latest release is "Atalanta" and our fifth book will be launched in late 2016.

Book 1- Early Myths: Kids Books on Greek Myth

Perseus

Englische Originalausgabe/ Original English Edition.

Just Can't Get Enough - the Making of Depeche Mode

Nobody who saw Depeche Mode in 1980 could have predicted that those four fresh-faced, synth-pop innocents would transform themselves into stadium-filling rock gods within a few years. Yet Depeche Mode went on to become one of the ten bestselling British acts of all-time, ranked alongside such exalted company as The Beatles, the Stones, Led Zeppelin, and David Bowie. And, after three decades together, the group continues to thrive, both critically and commercially. In Just Can't Get Enough, published to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the group's debut album, Speak & Spell, author Simon Spence charts that transformation. From a tiny nightclub residency in their native Essex to facing tens of thousands in huge stadiums in Europe and America in the mid 80s, Spence examines a musical journey that took the band from early 'ultra-pop' hit singles to the stark Black Celebration album. Hailing from Basildon, an experimental post-war New Town, the all-electronic Depeche Mode were, in the words of singer Dave Gahan, a "new sort of band from a new sort of town". And Basildon itself, Spence argues, defined them - its brutal Modernist architecture imposed on a rural landscape dotted with primitive shacks a mirror for the angular sound and dark loneliness of the band's music. Part musical odyssey, part cultural history, Spence draws on dozens of firsthand interviews to give us an inside view of one of the most unlikely stories in pop and rock.

The making of Depeche Mode

Just Can't Get Enough

'We didn't know what the film was about. We didn't know there was a conflict of image that could perhaps hurt us later on. It sort of grew, blew out of proportion.' - Barry Gibb In the late 70s, the Bee Gees spectacularly revived their career and, with their soundtrack to the Saturday Night Fever film, became the biggest disco group in the world. But when the disco boom crashed they went from icons to punch lines overnight. The band was inescapably frozen in time: all long, flowing manes, big teeth, falsettos, medallions, hairy chests, and skintight satin trousers, one finger forever pointing in the air. The Bee Gees would spend the next forty years trying to convince people there was more to them, growing ever more resentful of their gigantic disco success. 'We'd like to dress "Stayin' Alive" up in a white suit and gold chains and set it on fire,' they said. Stayin' Alive finally lifts that millstone from around their necks by joyfully reappraising and celebrating their iconic disco era. Taking the reader deep into the excesses of the most hedonistic of music scenes, it tells how three brothers from Manchester transformed themselves into the funkiest white group ever and made the world dance. No longer a guilty pleasure but a national treasure.

The Disco Inferno Of The Bee Gees

Staying Alive

Colin Salter

Chris Charlesworth

Eddi Fiegel

Daryl Easlea

Bryan Reesman

Thirty homes are featured inside and their stars homeowners are history?s best from the 1950s through today. Elvis Presley, the Beatles, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Prince, Sonny & Cher, Elton John plus more.

Rock Stars at Home

"Jason and the Golden Fleece" is the second book in the Early Myths collection, a series of children's picture books about Greek mythology. Each book tells the tale of a character from myth and brings the story to life through inspiration from art and literature. The books are aimed at 4 to 8 year olds, are beautifully illustrated and easy to read. The story of Jason tells one of the oldest stories from Greek myth. Our hero tries to win back the throne, stolen from his father, but is challenged to a great adventure to prove his skills. He gathers to greatest of the heroes and sails to the edges of the world to win the fabled Fleece. He returns to Greece with princess Medea to claim his prize but faces many obstacles along the way. Jason and the Golden Fleece followed Perseus, which won a bronze medal at the Moonbeam Children's Awards 2014. Our third book, Odysseus, has received two awards- an honourable mention at the 2015 Royal Dragonfly Books Awards and a finalist position in the 2015 Wishing Shelf Children's Book Awards. Our latest book is "Atalanta" which was released at the end of 2015 and our fifth book will be released in late 2016.

Book 2- Early Myths: Kids Books on Greek Myth

Jason and the Golden Fleece

Based on 400 hours of interviews with over seventy of The Stone Roses' closest associates, including six former band members, War and Peace is the first major biography of the band that defined a generation. Originally planned in collaboration with Reni, the reclusive drummer, this book had been a year in the making when the Roses, against all odds, announced their re-formation. It is a remarkable coda to an astonishing story. In 1989 their debut album and the single 'Fools Gold' made them the most exciting British export since the Sex Pistols. With their incendiary aura the Roses became figureheads of the 'Madchester' movement War and Peace traces the band's genesis, studded with violent gigs and abandoned recordings, and shaped by their infamous manager Gareth Evans. As their jeans grew wider and their songs more anthemic, the Roses' legendary gigs culminated in the era-defining Spike Island show in 1990. From this pinnacle the unravelling was spectacular. With the band refusing to play in America, arrested for vandalizing a record company and dragged through the High Court, the epic recording of their dark second album is the stuff of legend. They disbanded in turmoil in 1996. Since then the Roses myth has grown even bigger. 'I Wanna Be Adored', 'She Bangs the Drums', 'Waterfall', 'This Is the One' and 'I Am the Resurrection' have become national anthems, and their first album is widely recognized as one of the best ever made. But the true story behind their rise and fall - and resurrection - has never been told. Until now. From the Manchester backwaters to the worldwide 2012 tour, War and Peace lays bare the irresistible tale of the last of the great bands. * With 40 unseen photos, including from renowned rock photographer Dennis Morris

Winner of honourable mention at 2015 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards (Picture Book category) Finalist at the Wishing Shelf Children's Book Awards 2015 Odysseus is the third book in the Early Myths collection, a series of children's picture books about Greek myth. Each book tells the tale of a character from mythology and brings the story to life through the inspiration from art and literature. The books are aimed at 4 to 8 year olds, are beautifully illustrated and easy to read. Our picture book of Odysseus tells one of the greatest stories from Greek mythology. Our hero sails away to take part in a great War, but his success at the battle is followed by encounters with monsters, nymphs, gods and heroes, and result in a long journey home. Learn about his adventures and his quest to rejoin his beloved family, followed by his troubles with the guests at his palace and his aim for a quieter family life. This book joins the award winning Early Myths collection. In 2014, Early Myths won a bronze medal at the Moonbeam Children's Awards for the first book in the series, Perseus. Our second book was Jason & the Golden Fleece, and our latest release is Atalanta. Our fifth book will be released in late 2016.

Kids Books on Greek Myth

Odysseus

'Their story is a vindication for every northern hooligan rock band out there. Happy Mondays sparked a British guitar pop renaissance.' ÿÿAlan McGee In 1985, when the Happy Mondays exploded onto the Manchester music scene like a Molotov cocktail, no one had heard anything like them before. As they developed into the face of the Acid House `Madchester' movement, critics ranked them alongside The Velvet Underground and the Sex Pistols as cultural lightning rods, and that was just for the music. The stories of their excesses are the stuff of rock 'n' roll legend: the overdoses, fights on stage, the death threats, the gangsters, the stabbings and shootings in the studio. Yet this seemingly unhinged and uncontrollable band - encouraged by their equally crazed benefactors at Factory Records - transformed British music forever, leaving behind five infectious albums of unparalleled dirt and delight. Twenty-five years after their breakthrough appearance on Top of the Pops, in November 1989, Simon Spence, the acclaimed biographer of The Stone Roses: War and Peace, tells the story of how the Happy Mondays came to provide the soundtrack to Britain's last great youth movement. Based on extensive interviews with the band and key associates, he reveals the truth behind the mythic stories that have ensured their outlaw reputation, and unravels the chaos that led to the group's ultimate implosion and the tragic collapse of Factory Records. A riotous mix of pills, thrills and joyous chart hits, this is the untold story of Britain's greatest rock 'n' roll gang.

Excess All Areas

Happy Mondays

**With a special foreword by award-winning comedian, actor, presenter and director, Stephen Fry** Persephone is the seventh book in the Early Myths collection, a series of children's picture books on Greek myth. Each book covers a character from mythology and brings the tale to life through illustrations and story-telling, with inspiration from ancient art and literature. The books are aimed at 4 to 10 year olds, are beautifully designed and easy to read. Persephone is the daughter of the goddess of nature who grows up in the forests of Greece only to be whisked away by Hades, the love-struck god of the Underworld. Persephone's mother, Demeter, roams across the lands in search of her daughter and a solution must be found. Should Persephone return to her old life or can there be a balance between her role as goddess of nature above and her new responsibilities below? For teachers and parents, we have a notes section at the back, describing how our illustrations have been inspired by ancient Greek vase-painting, sculptures, and early literature. The kids don't need to know this aspect to enjoy the tale, but the grown-ups can learn about how we have taken time and care to construct our book, using the early historical sources, rather than simply repeat a generic version of the myth. Awards for our Early Myths collection: - Perseus: bronze medal winner at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2014 - Odysseus: honourable mention at the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards 2015 - Odysseus: finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2015 - Atalanta: silver medal at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2016 - Atalanta: honourable mention at Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2016 - Atalanta: finalist at the Readers' Favorite Awards 2016 - Herakles: 1st prize for illustrations and 6+ picture book at the Dragonfly Books Awards 2017 - Herakles: gold award at the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards 2017 - Herakles: silver medalist in the Wishing Shelf Children's Books Awards 2017 - Theseus: best illustrations at Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2018 - Theseus: honourable Mention in Picture Books (5 and younger category) at the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2018 - Theseus: silver medalist at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2018

Book 7- Early Myths: Kids Books on Greek Myth

Persephone

Anthony Donnelly

Christopher Donnelly

Brothers Anthony and Christopher Donnelly were raised in, and grew up surrounded by, what was allegedly one the UK's most legendary and elusive crime families - Manchester's Quality Street Gang. How they found riches and fame as celebrated fashion kings is one of the most astonishing stories in the history of the rag trade. In their early twenties, as Acid House and street clothing pioneers, they were called both 'ambassadors for a generation' by Vivienne Westwood and 'a menace to society' by Parliament. Their fashion label, Gio-Goi, became a worldwide hit at the height of the 'Madchester' phenomenon, sported by the Happy Mondays, New Order, The Stone Roses and many more. Then, in 1994, Anthony and Chris were arrested as part of a huge police investigation into the Quality Street Gang, and the Donnelly Brothers lost everything amid lurid 'drugs and guns' headlines. After years in the wilderness, they made a remarkable comeback in 2005 with Pete Doherty (then dating Kate Moss) designing a high-profile collection for the re-launched Gio-Goi. Further attention-grabbing headlines featuring Robbie Williams, Arctic Monkeys, Liam Gallagher, Kasabian, Rihanna, Amy Winehouse, Plan B, Calvin Harris and Deadmau5 emphasised the label's runaway success. The Donnelly Brothers were more notorious than ever as Gio-Goi hit the top of The Sunday Times Fast Track 100 in 2009 with a £19 million turnover (and would peak at £40 million annual turnover). They bought a pub, promoted club nights in Ibiza with Cream, made award winning pop videos and launched new fashion label, Your Own [YO]. Gio-Goi was hit by further scandal in 2013 and a spectacular crash saw investors, including The Donnelly Brothers, lose millions. The saga of the brand continues. Anthony and Christopher's journey from creeping and rifling safes, ticket touting and bootlegging pop merchandise to the front page of Vogue is told here for the first time - in their own words.

The True Adventures of the Donnelly Brothers - From Organised Crime to Kings of Fashion

Still Breathing

What happened to the Bay City Rollers is one of the greatest scandals in music industry. When The Screaming Stops reveals the dark truth behind 'rollermania', the pioneering boy band fad which gripped the UK in the seventies, exposing the sinister undercurrents which underpinned the band's phenomenal success. Dazzled by sudden global fame and under the grip of their Svengali manager Tom Paton, the Bay City Rollers descended into a world of depravity, victimhood, crime and psychosis. Whilst promoting his young lads as clean-living teetotalers, Tom Paton subjected them to various forms of sexual abuse; band members became hooked on drugs and their fall was almost as rapid as their rise, leaving them penniless and emotionally destroyed. In 1979, Paton was finally convicted of gross indecency with teenage boys. That such exploitation could have happened to one of the world's most famous boy bands is a brutal reminder that conspiracies of silence about sexual exploitation were once the norm in the music and entertainment business. The Dark History Of The Bay City Rollers is a no-holds-barred expose of sex, drugs and financial mismanagement based on over 500 hours of interviews with many of the band's closest associates, including former members. When The Screaming Stops includes curated music. Whilst you read the book, hear the classic songs of the Bay City Rollers and surround yourself with the music that surrounded them.

Simon Spence

Books

Your next favorite book is out there