Autobiography: arts and entertainment Books

Book SynopsisMichael Bradley joined his school friend's group in Derry, Northern Ireland in the summer of 1974. They had two guitars and no singer. Four years later the Undertones recorded 'Teenage Kicks', John Peel's favourite record, and became one of the most fondly remembered UK bands of the post punk era. Sticking to their punk rock principles, they signed terrible deals, made great records and had a wonderful time. They broke up in 1983 when they realised there was no pot of gold at the end of the rock and roll rainbow. His story is a bitter-sweet, heart-warming and occasionally droll tale of unlikely success, petty feuding and playful mischief during five years of growing up in the music industry. Wiser but not much richer, Michael became a bicycle courier in Soho after the Undertones split. "Sixty miles a day, fresh air, no responsibilities," he writes. "Sometimes I think it was the best job I ever had. It wasn't, of course."

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Book Synopsis`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'.

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Book SynopsisDolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics is a landmark celebration of the remarkable life and career of a country music and pop culture legend. As told by Dolly Parton in her own inimitable words, explore the songs that have defined her journey. Illustrated throughout with previously unpublished images from Dolly Parton’s personal and business archives. Mining over 60 years of songwriting, Dolly Parton highlights 175 of her songs and brings readers behind the lyrics. Packed with never-before-seen photographs and classic memorabilia Explores personal stories, candid insights, and myriad memories behind the songs Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics reveals the stories and memories that have made Dolly a beloved icon across generations, genders, and social and international boundaries. Containing rare photos and memorabilia from Parton’s archives, this book is a show- stopping must-have for every Dolly Parton fan. Learn the history behind classic Parton songs like “Jolene,” “9 to 5,” “I Will Always Love You,” and more. The perfect gift for Dolly Parton fans (everyone loves Dolly!) as well as lovers of music history and country Add it to the shelf with books like Coat of Many Colors by Dolly Parton, The Beatles Anthology by The Beatles, and Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen.

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Book SynopsisIn 1971, Sally Arnold takes a nannying job in Paris that will transform her life. Her charge is Mick Jagger’s daughter Jade and she is soon running more than bath-time… She is working for the giants of rock as the first woman tour manager in the business. What’s it like to prepare Christmas lunch with Mick Jagger? To go clubbing at Tramp with The Who’s crazy drummer Keith Moon? To deal with the WAGs in a band’s entourage? When Sally moves on to organising charity events, she has to manage other larger-than-life personalities such as Billy Connolly and Rowan Atkinson. Sally also handles famous names from Princess Diana and the Duke of Edinburgh, to Mikhail Gorbachev and Poet Laureate Ted Hughes. How did Sally survive in this world of rock and roll? “She is tough and well experienced in dealing with show business egos.” Pete Townshend, The WhoTable of ContentsAuthor Biography List of Photographs A Note from Sally Introduction Prologue Part One: Becoming Chapter 1: My Family – and Other Animals Chapter 2: The 1960s – London and Freedom Chapter 3: Adventures Abroad Chapter 4: Life with the Jaggers Chapter 5: To Los Angeles Chapter 6: New Horizons Part Two: Rock n Roll Nanny Chapter 7: The Who Chapter 8: Duties of a Tour Manager Chapter 9: The Who as People Chapter 10: Lynyrd Skynyrd Chapter 11: The Love of my Life Chapter 12: The Rolling Stones Chapter 13: Lynyrd Skynyrd Again Chapter 14: The Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash Chapter 15: Crawler Chapter 16: The Rossington Collins Band Part Three: Giving Back Chapter 17: Festivals and Charities Chapter 18: The Double O Charity Chapter 19: Down to Earth Chapter 20: Around the World Chapter 21: Friends and Unsung Heroes Chapter 22: Sally Arnold Events Management Chapter 23: I am one of the Women of the Year 1997 Chapter 24: Wonderful World Travel Chapter 25: Cancer, and Recovery Chapter 26: Life’s Lessons Epilogue Final Word Appendix 1: From Professional Builder 24th May 2019 Appendix 2: Brian Croft’s history of the technical information in the early days of rock and roll Acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisWhen Billy J. Kramer’s record of Lennon and McCartney’s “Do You Want To Know A Secret?” topped the New Musical Express charts in 1963, he became the first singer in the world to have a number one hit with a Beatles song, apart from the Fab Four themselves. This success propelled the teenage Kramer into the fast lane, and he followed it with another five top twenty singles within the space of two years. In this autobiography Billy J. Kramer (born William Ashton) tells his rags to riches story, from his working class childhood in Liverpool, via a British Rail engineering apprenticeship in the dying days of steam, to the racy world of international pop music. Managed by Brian Epstein, produced by George Martin, engineered by Hurricane Smith, and friend, confidante and colleague of the Beatles, Kramer gives a definitive insider’s account of the birth of the Liverpool sound and also the “British Invasion” of the US. We follow him to the Star Club in Hamburg, to Abbey Road, into the BBC studios, and onto package tours and stage shows with the Beatles, Cilla Black, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Tommy Quickly and other stars of the age. He shares a dressing room with James Brown, and appears alongside other 1960s giants of the American music business. Kramer also brilliantly evokes the world of variety, as he goes behind the scenes with comedian Tommy Cooper, and learns about the stagecraft of artistes from another era. On the surface, Kramer’s career seems like a dream come true, but there are dark secrets in the Kramer story. Even before he’d reached his twenties, he was already in the grip of drugs and alcohol, and there were constant tensions between him and his Mancunian backing band, The Dakotas. When the screaming stopped, he reinvented himself as a cabaret performer, and some of his best records were made during the years he was out of the limelight. He brought up a young family, but the drink and pills made his domestic life, and eventually his professional life, a struggle. In this no-holds-barred account of his life, Kramer evokes the vibrancy of the sixties and reveals how he exorcised his demons and forged a new career in the US. He assembles his current band, shows a growing mastery of songwriting and recording, and returns to national tours, keeping the flame of the Mersey sound alive. The lifetime of experience he brings to his new songs infuses every page of this enthralling read.Table of ContentsForeword Chapter 1: Little Children: 1943-1958 Chapter 2: I’ll Be on My Way: 1958-1962 Chapter 3: Silver Dream: 1963-1964 Chapter 4: It’s Gotta Last Forever: 1964-1967 Chapter 5: Twilight Time: 1967-1971 Chapter 6: Gone Away: 1971 Chapter 7: You Can’t Live on Memories: 1972-1983 Chapter 8: I Won the Fight: 1984-2006 Chapter 9: To Liverpool with Love: from 2006 Recordings List

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Book SynopsisRecorded in England, Denmark and Italy between May and September 1989, Depeche Mode’s seventh studio album ‘Violator’ was a landmark record beloved by fans and universally regarded as the band’s creative highpoint. Eventually selling 7.5 million copies following its release in March 1990, ‘Violator’ gave the cult British band – Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy ‘Fletch’ Fletcher and Alan Wilder – the critical acclaim they finally deserved. The adventurous, highly experimental approach that the band took for ‘Violator’ recording sessions also yielded two of the band’s most recognisable and successful singles in ‘Personal Jesus’ and ‘Enjoy The Silence’. Produced by the band with the influential studio guru Flood and mixed by the legendary François Kevorkian, ‘Violator’ is viewed as a hugely groundbreaking body of work by countless musicians and DJs, such was its progressive synthesis of electronic, rock, dance and pop music. The album revealed a new maturity and sensitivity to Martin Gore’s songwriting and allowed the band’s inquisitive Alan Wilder to come to the fore as a principal architect of the band’s approach to studio production. This period in the band’s history also found them forging a deeply trusted and influential partnership with photographer and designer Anton Corbijn, often viewed as the fifth member of Depeche Mode at this time. Corbijn’s work with the Area creative agency for the ‘Violator’ project delivered iconic, integrated artwork, photography, videos and short films across the album, its singles, and tour design. Written by uber-fans Kevin May and David McElroy, with ‘Halo’ we find ourselves shadowing the band in the studio, on an intense, pivotal worldwide tour and on the sets of arty Super 8 vignettes. We watch as samples and sounds are painstakingly wrought into rhythms, as flights are missed to secure additional seconds of mix time, as label executives in boardrooms deliberate over the order of the album’s singles. We find ourselves in downtown LA at the scene of an apocryphal riot as fans clamour to get their copies of the album signed. We observe the often misunderstood but hugely important role that the late Andy Fletcher played in the band and witness the tumultuous emotional pressures on the band’s frontman, Dave Gahan. During an intense and pivotal two-and-a-half years in the life of the group, we follow Depeche Mode as they complete their metamorphosis into one of the most significant bands of a generation, and place the success and innovations of ‘Violator’ at the dead centre of the rapidly-changing late-80s, early-90s musical zeitgeist. More than an album biography, ‘Halo’ goes deep behind the scenes of the band’s ‘Violator’ period. The book takes the form of a detailed oral history from those who were there in the studio with the band, working behind the cameras, designing sleeves and appearing in the videos; support acts, tour managers, publicists and fans. The book features detailed interviews with central figures involved with the band as they transitioned their sound and image to a stadium-friendly aesthetic, as well as those whose trusted contributions were essential for the creation of ‘Violator’. With ‘Halo’, authors Kevin May and David McElroy have produced an essential guide for Depeche Mode fans and anyone inquisitive about the making of a classic, genre-defining album.

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Book SynopsisVicky and Charlie, twenty-somethings, one the son of a vicar, the other the daughter of a much loved Radio 4 and Times columnist, friends for years but never boyfriend/girlfriend, decide to make a hardcore porn movie. Vicky and Charlie are best friends who used to co-review hardcore porn movies. After a year of fat lechers, bored hookers and clunky dialogue, they said, "Hang on, we could make a better film than this ourselves." What was to stop them? Only their conservative families, stammering English reserve, and total lack of experience. They set off at once. This is the extraordinary and hilarious story of their journey from a sofa in North London, through the heart of the sex industry in California, to their own film set in Amsterdam. What happens when a 'nice girl' falls in love with a rent-boy, and a vicar's son attempts to film a gang-bang? Vicky and Charlie learned to see the world through new eyes, and the sex-workers learned how to play cribbage. And together they produced perhaps the most baffling skinflick in history.Trade Review'An eminently readable account of utter filth. Just my cup of tea.' Griff Rhys Jones 'Funny, insightful and not at all unpleasant. Well, okay, maybe a little bit unpleasant but you can always avert your gaze.' Jonathan Ross 'This is the Springtime For Hitler of porn. It's a gripping adventure, and obviously the funniest book you'll read all year.' Caitlin Moran 'Strangely avoiding the obvious title Hansel and Gretel in Porno Hell, Victoria and Charlie have succeeded in writing a book they are not oldenough to read. Certainly I wasn't.' Clive James ‘Exceedingly funny’ Tatler ‘Extremely funny, surprisingly heart-warming’ GQ 'A satisfyingly prurient read, a hybrid of Eurotrash and Ealing comedy, with added lube.'Ian Thomson, Daily Telegraph ‘You will not read a funnier account of shooting a porn movie.’ Jeanette Winterson 'It is a relentlessly funny book and I couldn't put it down.' Stephanie Merritt, Observer

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Book SynopsisJeff Turner's story is one of bravado, triumph, tears, betrayal and despair. From having the world in his hands at 15 to staring down a barrel at 17 and going from being a star of television to queuing at the job centre in two years. Together with his brother Mickey, Jeff Turner stormed the music scene. The Cockney Rejects' attitude was the real deal. They stood for being young, working class and not taking nonsense from anyone. But the madness couldn't last forever. As violence at their gigs spiralled out of control, so did the band. Jeff was left dazed and penniless. This is his own story.

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Book SynopsisWhen news filtered through the media that Stuart Cable, the drummer with a larger than life personality - and an even larger head of curly hair - had been unceremoniously sacked from one of the biggest rock bands in the UK, the music world was stunned. Stuart Cable has been a fun-loving rocker since he was a young lad, and growing up in the same village in south Wales as his Stereophonics bandmates, Kelly and Richard, it was never going to be long before he began jamming for real. By his early twenties they were performing in local working men's clubs and by the mid-1990s they were signed up by Richard Branson. The rest, as they say, is history, and in this laugj-out-loud autobiography Stuart spills the truth on the unbelievable journey he had with one of the greatest British rock bands of all times. Life hasn't all been a party, though - there were dark and difficult times for Stuart. But now he is launching his quest for superstardom once again, drumming for another band, Killing for Company, and hosting his own radio show.

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Book SynopsisHe is one of the best known faces in television comedy, yet the long-suffering vicar of Walmington-On-Sea is in real life a Christian of deep conviction. Perfectly cast as the eccentric vicar, constantly tetchy at the invasion of his church hall by Captain Mainwaring and the elderly platoon, he appeared in "Dad's Army" throughout its nine-year run and also in many other television and stage dramas. Still in constant demand for public appearances, Frank takes an affectionate view behind the scenes of the series and the world of show business and reveals his personal journey through faith. 2018 will be the 50th anniversary of the television series "Dad's Army", with Frank one of just two original cast members still alive.

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Book SynopsisWhen 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. As drummer for the British group Captain America – one of the two support bands on Nirvana’s Nevermind UK tour – Andy Bollen had a ringside seat at the exact moment that Nirvana went massive. Afforded the sort of access a journalist could only dream of, Andy Bollen wrote up his own personal diary in Nirvana’s dressing room. Here, he spoke candidly to Cobain: from his fears of losing original fans to his love of the Bay City Rollers. He saw firsthand how Nirvana worked, the relationships that made them tick and the dynamic that made them one of the great bands.

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Book SynopsisThe New York Times bestselling debut book of poetry from Lana Del Rey, Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass.“Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass is the title poem of the book and the first poem I wrote of many. Some of which came to me in their entirety, which I dictated and then typed out, and some that I worked laboriously picking apart each word to make the perfect poem. They are eclectic and honest and not trying to be anything other than what they are and for that reason I’m proud of them, especially because the spirit in which they were written was very authentic.” —Lana Del Rey Lana’s breathtaking first book solidifies her further as “the essential writer of her times” (The Atlantic). The collection features more than thirty poems, many exclusive to the book: Never to Heaven, The Land of 1,000 Fires, Past the Bushes Cypress Thriving, LA Who Am I to Love You?, Tessa DiPietro, Happy, Paradise Is Very Fragile, Bare Feet on Linoleum, and many more. This beautiful hardcover edition showcases Lana’s typewritten manuscript pages alongside her original photography. The result is an extraordinary poetic landscape that reflects the unguarded spirit of its creator. Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass is also brought to life in an unprecedented spoken word audiobook which features Lana Del Rey reading fourteen select poems from the book accompanied by music from Grammy Award-winning musician Jack Antonoff.

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