Biography: arts and entertainment Books
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Why Bob Dylan Matters
Book Synopsis
£999.99
Chicago Review Press Miles on Miles
Book SynopsisGathering the 30 most vital Miles Davis interviews—on his music, his life, and his philosophy—this collection reveals the jazz icon as a complex and contradictory man, secretive at times but extraordinarily revealing at others. Miles was not only a musical genius, but an enigma, and nowhere else was he so compelling, exasperating, and entertaining as he was in his interviews, which vary from polite to outrageous, from straight-ahead to contrarian. Many were conducted by leading journalists like Leonard Feather, Stephen Davis, Ben Sidran, Mike Zwerin, and Nat Hentoff; while others have never before been printed, and are newly transcribed from radio and television shows—making this the definitive source for anyone wanting to really encounter the legend in print.Trade ReviewIt's pleasurable to have [these interviews] in this one handy and thoughtfully edited volume." —Library Journal"Here is Miles Davis's less familiar voice, his speaking voice. . . . Maher and Dorr gather together Davis's greatest hits in Q & A, and they make compelling reading." —Jack Chambers, author, Milestones: The Music and Times of Miles Davis"Most worthy . . . illustrative." —Jazztimes"Effectively portrays what the editors call the 'myriad mirrors to his life.'" —Sacramento News & Review"Miles [presented] in all his glory . . . fascinating." —popmatters.com"Provides startling insight." —Star Tribune"[A] telling book…gripping from beginning to end. You will not be able to put it down." —examiner.com"Everybody should read at least one book about Davis' life and music, and Miles on Miles is the perfect place to start." —Winston-Salem Journal
£16.10
Helter Skelter Publishing Natural Born Man: The Life of Jack Johnson
Book SynopsisCompelling biography of the breakthrough singer/songwriter, hailed as the 'Dylan for the 21st century'.
£13.49
HarperCollins Publishers Woke Up This Morning The Definitive Oral History
Book SynopsisTHE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERWho made the phone call that got HBO to launchthe show? What's the significance of all those eggs? And, what the hell ever happened to the Russian? In Woke Up This Morning, Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripahave all the answers and they're revealing where all the bodies are buried.Inspired by the incredibly successful Talking Sopranos podcast, The Sopranos stars Michael Imperioli (Christopher Moltisanti) and Steve Schirripa (Bobby Baccalieri) finally reveal all the Soprano family secrets in a surprising, funny, and honest new book. Woke Up This Morning is the definitive behind-the-scenes history of the groundbreaking HBO series that became a worldwide cultural phenomenon, ushered in a new Golden Age of Television, and to this day continues to be one of the most binged shows of all time.Michael and Steve tell all the incredible stories that The Sopranos fans have been waiting to hear for over twenty years. The book covers the entire history of The SopranTrade Review‘I will be reading and rereading Woke Up This Morning ….These rollicking gabfests… bring together nearly everyone, on screen and off, who made the series a creative and cultural landmark. The freely offered admiration expressed by so many for their missing comrade and unofficial cast captain, Gandolfini, makes these stories about playing tough guys all the more tender’ New York Times ‘Ever wished you could hang out with the cast and crew of The Sopranos and just listen to them trade stories? … There are plenty of tantalizing bits of trivia—Tony was Tommy Soprano in the pilot script; producers wanted Lorraine Bracco to play Tony’s wife, but she said she would only consider playing Melfi, the psychiatrist—but this isn’t just a trivia collection. Mostly it’s about friends and colleagues getting together to pay tribute to one another and to a series that rewrote many of the rules of television. Love and respect for the show’s star, the late James Gandolfini, permeates the book, as does admiration for the show’s creator, David Chase, who started with a vague idea about a crook and his mother and built it into something that’s almost Shakespearean in its thematic scope. For Sopranos fans this one is an absolute must-read’ Booklist ‘Essential for fans, with a revelation on every page … Devotees will revel in the stroll into series minutiae’ Kirkus Reviews ‘A spectacular tell-all about the making of the Emmy-winning hit television series … What makes this sing is the passion and energy brought by Imperioli and Schirripa and its indelible tribute to the late James Gandolfini. As Aida Turturro (Janice Soprano) recalls, 'He was there for you no matter what.' This is the ultimate book on The Sopranos, made by the people who lived it’ Publishers Weekly
£15.00
HarperCollins Publishers Welcome to Motherhood Bitches
Book SynopsisThe real guide to pregnancy, birth and beyond.I'm assuming you've picked up this book because you're either curious about having kids, you're currently up the duff, or you're stumbling through the early days of parenthood with a mattress-sized sanitary towel between your legs wondering what the hell has just happened. That, or you're killing time in WHSmith, waiting for your flight to Ibiza. You lucky bastard.Either way, this book is your pregnancy, birth and postpartum BFF.Welcome to Motherhood, Bitches is your one-stop, no-filter guide to everything from swollen vulvas and dinner-plate areolas; from shitting in labour to the horror of postpartum haemorrhoids; from mindless sleep deprivation to salvaging a sex life when your pelvic floor has hit the floor. But mainly, it's a reassuring reminder that feeling slightly (or shockingly) out of control with a newborn baby human is entirely normalwe promise.Trade Review‘Nobody – and I mean nobody – has a way with words quite like Victoria. Candid, reassuring and laugh-out-loud hilarious, this book feels like a friend giving a series of pep talks during the hurricane season of pregnancy and new motherhood.’ Sarah Turner, The Unmumsy Mum ‘Striding confidently into all the topics the antenatal and baby groups tiptoe around. This gritty, honest, useful and at times, hilarious guide needs to be handed out with pregnancy notes. Victoria is the foul-mouthed, taboo-embracing, funny-anecdote-sharing, wildly-knowledgeable mate I needed through pregnancy and beyond. Laugh, gasp, learn lots and feel shoulder-dropping relief that you’re not alone.Your parenting bookshelf may be rammed, but nudge them down. Make space for this one, trust me.’Anna Mathur, psychotherapist and bestselling author
£15.86
Plexus Publishing Ltd No One Here Gets Out Alive
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£15.29
Simon & Schuster Is This Anything?
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£17.09
Ebury Publishing Billy Bragg
Book Synopsis''Love me or hate me. It''s a great read' - Billy Bragg He was a punk. He was a soldier. He was a flag-waver for the Labour Party and the miners. He is Billy Bragg, passionate protest folk singer and tireless promoter of political and humanitarian causes around the world. His life encapsulates so much about his generation: born in the late '50s, passions forged by punk, politics shaped by Thatcherism, career inspired by engagement, hope provided by the end of the Cold War and ideology galvanised by what he sees as a post-ideological' twenty-first century. He adapts to survive: serious about compassion and accountability, he likes a laugh too, and has never forgotten where he comes from.Still Suitable for Miners is the official Billy Bragg story, tracing his life, family and career at close range from Barking to the present day. This 20th anniversary edition has been updated to include the rise of Corbyn, the unfolding of Brexit, BTrade ReviewLove me or hate me. It's a great read. * Billy Bragg *
£16.14
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Guitar World Presents Van Halen
Book SynopsisNo musical entity has been more closely associated with ÊGuitar WorldÊ magazine over the years than Edward Van Halen ä the man who in the late seventies and early eighties changed the course of guitar history. This collection of classic and new interviews with the great Edward tells the real story behind his earth-shaking technique brilliant songwriting and relationship with both David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar. This is the authoritative book ä revised and updated with new exclusive interviews and information on one of the greatest rock bands of all time and the guitar god at the center of it all.
£15.60
Penguin Putnam Inc Toughness
Book SynopsisESPN basketball analyst and former Duke player Jay Bilas looks at the true meaning of toughness in this New York Times bestselling book that features stories from basketball legends.If anyone knows tough, it’s Jay Bilas. A four-year starter at Duke, he learned a strong work ethic under Coach Mike Krzyzewski. After playing professionally overseas, he returned to Duke, where he served as Krzyzewski’s assistant coach for three seasons, helping to guide the Blue Devils to two national championships. He has since become one of basketball’s most recognizable faces through his insightful analysis on ESPN’s SportsCenter and College GameDay.Through his ups and downs on and off the court, Bilas learned the true meaning of toughness from coaches, teammates, and colleagues. Now, in Toughness, he examines this misunderstood—yet vital—attribute and how it contributes to winning in sports and in life. Featuring nev
£17.00
John Blake Publishing Ltd Brian Cox: The Unauthorised Biography of the Man
Book SynopsisProfessor Brian Cox is among the best-known physicists in the world. As presenter of hit television series Human Universe, Wonders of the Solar System and Wonders of the Universe, his affable charm and infectious enthusiasm have brought science to a whole new audience. Born in Lancashire in 1968, Cox was a bright but not brilliant pupil at school. He flourished at university, however, gaining a first-class honours degree and an MPhil in Physics from Manchester University before being awarded his PhD in particle physics in 1998. Alongside his studies, he played keyboards in the band D:Ream, who topped the charts in 1994 with 'Things Can Only Get Better', which was famously used by the Labour Party for its 1997 election campaign. Although an award-winning celebrity TV presenter, Brian Cox remains devoted to scientific research. He is a Royal Society University Research Fellow, an advanced fellow at the University of Manchester, and also works on the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland. In 2010 he was awarded the OBE for his services to science. Featuring exclusive interviews and in-depth research, this book delves into the fascinating universe of the man who single-handedly made physics cool.
£13.26
WW Norton & Co Toscanini: Musician of Conscience
Book SynopsisArturo Toscanini (1867–1957) was famed for his dedication, photographic memory, explosive temper and impassioned performances. At times he dominated La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, the New York Philharmonic, and the Bayreuth, Salzburg and Lucerne festivals. His reforms influenced generations of musicians, and his opposition to Nazism and Fascism made him a model for artists of conscience. With unprecedented access to the conductor’s archives, Harvey Sachs has written a new biography positioning Toscanini’s musical career and sometimes scandalous life against the currents of history. Set in Italy, across Europe, the Americas and in Palestine, with portraits of Verdi, Puccini, Caruso, Mussolini and others, Toscanini soars in its exploration of genius, music and moral courage.Trade Review"'Monumental’ is surely the mot juste to describe the book’s length... but equally the combination of thoroughness, clarity, psychological perspicacity and deep human feeling which distinguishes every page... for all its massiveness the book proves unputdownable." -- BBC Music Magazine"Harvey Sachs has written the definitive biography of this great, and colourful, character... [His] writing style is precise, fluent and gripping... As a study of the life and times of one of the greatest conductors of all time, this book will not soon be bettered." -- The Economist"It is without doubt the most engaging, the best-written and certainly the most comprehensive Toscanini biography yet to be published..." -- Gramophone"... magnificent biography... To read about him [Toscanini] at this length—and there will surely be no need for another biography—is to be simultaneously inspired and bewildered." -- The Spectator"This book of more than 900 pages, full of personal recollections and testimony... is vastly comprehensive, balanced and indispensable... Sachs’ own dedication to this force of nature has been fulfilled in a book which ranks among the best of 2017." -- Classical Music"Drawing on a wide range of new evidence, including unknown letters and the archives of many of the opera houses that Arturo Toscanini worked with, including La Scala, Harvey Sachs has written a weighty and highly enjoyable account of one of the greatest conductors, a man still renowned for his pursuit of perfection." -- Books of the Year 2017 - The Economist"Harvey Sachs has provided a compendious chronicle of Toscanini's astonishing achievement across almost a century, and it makes for compelling reading." -- Times Literary Supplement"I am currently reading two excellent books: the new Harvey Sachs biography of one of the finest conductors of all time – Arturo Toscanini..." -- Something For The Weekend - Finghin Collins' Cultural Picks - RTÉ"...marvellously researched and continually fascinating...[a] superb book..." -- Stephen Walsh - The Oldie
£30.39
Plexus Publishing Ltd The Lizard King
Book Synopsis
£13.49
Boydell & Brewer Ltd Gustav Mahler
Book SynopsisThis volume concentrates on the composer's vocal music, including the late Rueckert Lieder, the 8th Symphony and Das Lied von der Erde.A monument in Mahler studies, this volume concentrates on the composer's vocal music and, in particular, on some of his most famous, most original and best loved compositions: the late Rueckert orchestral songs and Kindertotenlieder; Das Lied von der Erde, one of the composer's supreme masterpieces, and the vast Eighth Symphony. Much new ground is broken but the author bases his conclusions on a meticulous examination of the principal manuscript sources, especially those for Das Lied. He offers an unprecedented exploration of the original Chinese texts for that work and indeed of the whole Oriental dimension of Mahler's last and greatest song-cycle. Time and time again, the composer's sketches back up the author's reading of these massive scores and there will be few among this book's readers who will not find a familiar passage or movement sharply illuminated by fresh insights and information. The scope of the book, despite its concentration, is immensely wide; and so is the readership it addresses: Mahler scholars, performers, and general readers. DONALD MITCHELL was Founder Professor of Music at the University of Sussex. He is currently Visiting Professor at Sussex and York, and formerly at King's College, London.Trade ReviewHe is...an enthusiast, and his enthusiasm, which lights up every page, is reinforced by an unsurpassed knowledge of his subject. However well one thinks one knows Das Lied von der Erde, one's knowledge and understanding of it will be enhanced by reading this book. -- Michael Kennedy * MUSICAL TIMES *Anyone genuinely interested in this composer should acquire this book at the earliest opportunity. It is magnificently produced, as befits the depth of scholarship the author continues to impart to his subject. * MUSIC AND MUSICIANS *No book I have read on any composer brings one closer to the act of composition itself, to imagining the creative decisions that occupied Mahler, especially in Das Lied... If ever a book forced one to reconsider every detail of a masterpiece it is this. * NEW STATESMAN *
£31.49
Plexus Publishing Ltd Bob Marley
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£13.49
Random House USA Inc Out on a Limb
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£7.99
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Black Sabbath FAQ All Thats Left to Know on the
Book SynopsisBLACK SABBATH FAQ: ALL THAT'S LEFT TO KNOW ON THE FIRST NAME IN METAL
£18.57
Random House USA Inc Walt Disney
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£22.50
Wallflower Press Superstar – The Karen Carpenter Story
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£12.34
Penguin Putnam Inc Where the Heart Beats John Cage Zen Buddhism and
Book SynopsisA “heroic” biography of John Cage and his “awakening through Zen Buddhism”—“a kind of love story” about a brilliant American pioneer of the creative arts who transformed himself and his culture (The New York Times)Composer John Cage sought the silence of a mind at peace with itself—and found it in Zen Buddhism, a spiritual path that changed both his music and his view of the universe. “Remarkably researched, exquisitely written,” Where the Heart Beats weaves together “a great many threads of cultural history” (Maria Popova, Brain Pickings) to illuminate Cage’s struggle to accept himself and his relationship with choreographer Merce Cunningham. Freed to be his own man, Cage originated exciting experiments that set him at the epicenter of a new avant-garde forming in the 1950s. Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, Allan Kaprow, Morton Feldman, and
£16.95
Yale University Press Prokofiev A Biography From Russia to the West
Book SynopsisAn assessment of the life and work of renowned composer, Sergey Prokofiev, in which David Nice draws on a range of sources. He follows Prokofiev's personal and musical progression from his childhood on a Ukrainian country estate to the years he spent travelling in America and Europe.
£35.62
Alfred A. Knopf M Train
Book SynopsisNational Best Seller From the National Book Award–winning author of Just Kids: an unforgettable odyssey of a legendary artist, told through the prism of the cafés and haunts she has worked in around the world. It is a book Patti Smith has described as “a roadmap to my life.” M Train begins in the tiny Greenwich Village café where Smith goes every morning for black coffee, ruminates on the world as it is and the world as it was, and writes in her notebook. Through prose that shifts fluidly between dreams and reality, past and present, and across a landscape of creative aspirations and inspirations, we travel to Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul in Mexico; to a meeting of an Arctic explorer’s society in Berlin; to a ramshackle seaside bungalow in New York’s Far Rockaway that Smith acquires just before Hurricane Sandy hits; and to the graves of Genet, Plath, Rimbaud, and Mishima. Woven throughout are
£22.80
Dover Publications Inc. My Art My Life An Autobiography Dover Fine Art
Book SynopsisA richly revealing document offering many telling insights into the mind and heart of a giant of 20th-century art. "Engrossing as a novel." â Chicago Sunday Tribune. 21 halftones.
£8.54
Little Brown and Company The Colonel and the King
£31.12
HarperCollins Publishers Inc My Friend Michael
Book SynopsisFrank Cascio was a close friend of tragic superstar Michael Jackson for more than twenty-five years. In My Friend Michael, Cascio offers a deeply personal, behind-the-scenes look at the Michael Jackson he knew. Filled with never-before-told stories and intimate details, My Friend Michael is the most candid, moving, and provocative portrait of the “King of Pop” to date—a fair and loving portrait of a true American pop music icon and of a remarkable friendship that endured through triumph and struggle, scandal and controversy.
£16.14
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group Robert Redford
Book SynopsisRobert Redford is among the most widely admired Hollywood stars of his generation, renowned for his iconic roles as the Sundance Kid, Bob Woodward and Jay Gatsby, and celebrated for his fierce commitment to environmental causes, independent filmmaking, and his Sundance Film Festival. Yet only now, in this revelatory biography written in close collaboration with the extraordinary actor and director himself, do we see the complex man beneath the Hollywood façade.
£19.55
HarperCollins Publishers Inc Jerry Lee Lewis His Own Story
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£17.09
Brackish Publishing Elvis and Nashville
£22.46
Orion Publishing Co The Colonel and the King
£17.09
Random House Publishing Group The Devil at His Elbow
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£20.95
Hachette Books Stone Alone The Story Of A Rock n Roll Band
Book SynopsisDuring the height of the Rolling Stones''success, Bill Wyman kept a diary, recoding the churning chaos of the band''s creative evolution, power plays, recording sessions, tours, romances, drug busts, and financial disarray. Stone Alone is a meticulous, shrewd and humorous look at the complex personalities of the Stones and the role they played in the startling cultural revolution of the times.Table of Contents* Flash Forward * Roots and Routes * How the Stones got the Blues * Birth of the Legend * The Great Unwashed * The Selling of a Rebellion * The Unholy Trinity * Riots and Romances * Addictions and Frictions * (Drug) Trials and Tribulations * De-Klein * Little Boy Blues
£23.39
Headline Publishing Group Bravemouth Living with Billy Connolly
Book SynopsisSequel to the 'book of the year' million-copy bestseller, BILLY, and reissued to coincide with the ITV tie-in, BILLY CONNOLLY: JOURNEY TO THE EDGE OF THE WORLDTrade Review'[A] frank and funny portrait of the endearing Scottish beastie' * Daily Telegraph *'Stephenson has produced another entertaining and insightful book about the Big Yin' * Express *'An entertaining, vivid and intimate portrait of Billy, which is candid enough to remind you why you wouldn't want to be married to the loveable madman' * Australian Women's Weekly *
£10.99
Schiffer Publishing Ltd Paul Yandell Second to the Best
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£20.69
Random House USA Inc Johannes Brahms
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£19.55
Music Mentor Books Elvis and Buddy Linked Lives
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£10.44
Drake Bros Publications Deep Down with Dennis Brown
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£16.14
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Fanny Mendelssohn
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£37.00
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Marcel Moyse Voice of the Flute by Ann McCutchan
Book SynopsisMARCEL MOYSE VOICE OF THE FLUTE
£30.00
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers When Do I Start
Book SynopsisThis memoir is a peripatetic selection of Malden''s enounters with larger-than-life Broadway figures... like Kazan Strasberg and Brando. The 1950s were Broadway''s heyday but also the time of blacklisting and Malden paints a vivid picture here of those times. Moreover the actor eschews the ''down-and-dirty tell-all memoir'' so common now to offer his views on the various acting techniques and methods he came upon. Recommended. ä ÊLibrary JournalÊ
£18.57
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Unfinished Business The Life and Times of Danny
Book SynopsisUNFINISHED BUSINESS - THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DANNY GATTON
£18.57
Hal Leonard Corporation Steve Earle Fearless Heart Outlaw Poet Author
Book SynopsisSTEVE EARLE BOOK: FEARLESS HEART, OUTLAW POET
£999.99
Plexus Publishing Ltd The Katy Perry Album
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£12.34
Plexus Publishing Ltd The Blue Monday Diaries
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£13.49
Plexus Publishing Ltd The Jimmy Hendrix Experience
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£9.49
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Captain Beefhearts Trout Mask Replica
Book SynopsisIn the spring of 1969, the inauspicious release of Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band's "Trout Mask Replica", a double-album featuring 28 stream-of-consciousness songs filled with abstract rhythms and guttural bellows, dramatically altered the pop landscape. This book examines how Beefheart's opus is informed by a variety of diverse sources.Table of ContentsPrologue: The Truth Has No Patterns Chapter One: A Desert Island of the Mind Chapter Two: A Different Fish Chapter Three: Jumping Out of School Chapter Four: A Little Paranoia is a Good Propeller Chapter Five: Music From the Other Side of the Fence Chapter Six: Fast 'N Bulbous Epilogue: Everyone Drinks From the Same Pond
£9.49
University of Minnesota Press Sergio Leone Something to Do with Death
£20.89
Taschen GmbH Gay Talese. Phil Stern. Frank Sinatra Has a Cold
Book Synopsis“Sinatra with a cold is Picasso without paint, Ferrari without fuel—only worse. For the common cold robs Sinatra of that uninsurable jewel, his voice, cutting into the core of his confidence.” — Gay Talese In the winter of 1965, writer Gay Talese set out for Los Angeles with an assignment from Esquire to write a major profile on Frank Sinatra. When he arrived, he found the singer and his vigilant entourage on the defensive: Sinatra was under the weather, not available, and not willing to be interviewed. Undeterred, Talese stayed, believing Sinatra might recover and reconsider, and used the meantime to observe the star and to interview his friends, associates, family members, and hangers-on. Sinatra never did grant the one-on-one, but Talese’s tenacity paid off: his profile Frank Sinatra Has a Cold went down in history as a tour de force of literary nonfiction and the advent of New Journalism. In this illustrated edition, Frank Sinatra Has a Cold is published with an introduction by Talese, reproductions of his manuscript pages, and correspondence. Interwoven are photographs from the legendary lens of Phil Stern, the only photographer granted access to Sinatra over four decades, as well as from top photojournalists of the ’60s, including John Bryson, John Dominis, and Terry O’Neill. The photographs complement Talese’s character study, painting an incisive portrait of Sinatra in the recording studio, on location, out on the town, and with the eponymous cold, which reveals as much about a singular star persona as it does about the Hollywood machine.Trade Review“Sinatra with a cold is Picasso without paint, Ferrari without fuel—only worse. For the common cold robs Sinatra of that uninsurable jewel, his voice, cutting into the core of his confidence.” * Gay Talese *“One of the greatest celebrity portraits ever written.” * GQ *
£42.50
Plexus Publishing Ltd Coldplay
Book Synopsis
£12.34
