The only way to appreciate the legendary musician Mark E. Smith is to encounter the man in his own words.'May be the funniest music book ever written' ObserverThe Fall are one of the most distinctive British bands, their music - odd,spare, cranky and repetitious - an acknowledged influence on The Smiths, The Happy Mondays, Nirvana and Franz Ferdinand.And Mark E. Smith IS The Fall.

The first ever publication of Mark E. Smith's supernatural film treatment, co-authored with Graham Duff.In 2015 Mark E. Smith of The Fall and screenwriter Graham Duff co-wrote the script for a horror feature film called The Otherwise. The story involved The Fall recording an EP in an isolated recording studio on Pendle Hill. The Lancashire landscape is not only at the mercy of a satanic biker gang, it's also haunted by a gaggle of soldiers who have slipped...

Over the years, The Fall have given me more pleasure than any other band and, when people ask me why I always say, 'they are always different, they are always the same' John Peel.The first ever authorised biography of this most inscrutable of bands! Together music writer Mick Middles and Fall leader Mark E. Smith have written an exhaustive biography of The Fall. Spanning their years on the fringe of the Manchester punk scene, three dozen albums, n...

Without the Sex Pistols there would be no punk. And without Steve Jones there would be no Sex Pistols. It was Steve who, with his schoolmate Paul Cook, formed the band that eventually went on to become the Sex Pistols and who was its original leader. As the world celebrates the 40th anniversary of punk -- the influence and cultural significance of which is felt in music, fashion, and the visual arts to this day--Steve tells his story for the very first time.Steve J...

From their 1974 debut at New York's premier punk dive through the classic albums and blistering live sets The Ramones cut an unforgettable swathe through two decades of pop setting the scene for punk and hardcore with honed-down songs and ferocious 20 minute sets but always putting the music first. Seen through the eyes of the people who were there at the time including musicians managers producers publicists and New York punk scenesters this book shows the heroic Ramones staying faithful ...

'Enlightening' - Stephen KingTHE FINAL WORD ON THE GENIUS AND MISCHIEF OF THE RAMONES, TOLD BY THE MAN WHO KEPT THE BEAT – AND LIVED TO TELL ABOUT IT.When punk rock reared its spiky head in the early seventies, Marc Bell had the best seat in the house. Already a young veteran of the prototype American metal band Dust, Bell took residence in artistic, seedy Lower Manhattan, where he played drums in bands that would shape rock music for decades to come, including Wayne County, ...

Black Flag were the pioneers of American Hardcore, and this is their blood-spattered story.Formed in Hermosa Beach, California, in 1978, for eight brutal years they made and played brilliant, ugly, no-holds-barred music on a self-appointed touring circuit of America’s clubs, squats, and community halls. They fought with everybody: the police, the record industry and even their own fans. They toured overseas on pennies a day and did it in beat-up trucks and vans.Spray Pa...

When Nirvana first exploded onto the music scene in 1991 with the anthemic 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', few people could've predicted their subsequent global impact. No one knew then that Nevermind would become one of the seminal albums of the decade, selling over 30 million copies worldwide and spearheading a whole new 'grunge' movement. In so doing, the band's lead singer Kurt Cobain was transformed into one of music's most enduring and iconic figures.As drummer for the British group Capta...

Of all the straight talking bands thrown up in the Seventies punk explosion, none talked straighter than The Clash. Fiercely proud of their rebel status, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon rarely wavered in their commitment to spreading a message of social justice through their music. Here’s what they said at the time, and after it was over.Author Nick Johnstone presents The Clash, in their own words...Parental advisory note: Explicit contents....

A fascinating insider's account of the notorious three months that turned the British music industry on its head.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 £40,000 the richer thanks to manager Malcolm McLaren's cunning business strategy.Author Brian Southall is the former EMI PR executive who was there during the whole infamous Sex Pistols/EMI affair. For the first time, he now tells the w...

Crass was the anarcho-punk face of a revolutionary movement founded by radical thinkers Penny Rimbaud and Steve Ignorant.When punk ruled the waves, Crass waived the rules and took it further, putting out their own records, films and magazines and setting up a series of situationist pranks that were dutifully covered by the world's press. Not just another iconoclastic band, Crass was a musical, social and political phenomenon.Commune-dwellers who were rarely photographed and...

As lead singer of The Pogues and as a solo artist, Shane MacGowan is a defining figure of modern Irish music. Among the greatest songwriters of his generation, he has infused traditional Irish folk with the spirit of punk and a bleary-eyed romanticism to create a compelling and unique musical brew. Joe Merrick's biography is an incredible story, sometimes sad, sometimes wonderful, and often soaked in a mixture of alcohol and genius.