Author: John van der Kiste

Passionate about music from childhood and much-respected as a teenage guitarist in his native Birmingham, Jeff Lynne rose through the ranks of vari...

In 1806, the Holy Roman Empire ceased to exist when Francis II became Emperor of Austria. 112 years later, the Habsburg empire collapsed after the ...

By the autumn of 1918 Germany was on the verge of starvation-the result of four years of war and blockade. Sailors led a revolt in Wilhelmshaven on...

Born in 1765, third son of King George III and Queen Charlotte, Prince William, Duke of Clarence, initially had little expectation of succeeding to...

Having moved from jazz, Blues and R''n''B to out-and-out pop in his various 1960s bands, keyboard player Manfred Mann went back to the drawing boar...

A Grim Almanac of Hampshire is a day-by-day catalogue of 366 ghastly tales from the countys past, full of dreadful deeds, macabre deaths, grisly ac...

This chilling follow-up to Cornish Murders brings together more murderous tales that shocked not only the county but frequently made headline news ...

Do you know? Which MP was the first woman to take her seat in parliament? Who was the man they could not hang? Which member of the Beatles lost his...

Taking you through the year day by day, The Plymouth Book of Days contains a quirky, eccentric, amusing or important event or fact from different p...

ELO (The Electric Light Orchestra) were devised by Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne of The Move as a fusion of rock and contemporary classical-style music, ...

This biography of the last king to lead British troops into battle and his able wife provides intriguing insight into 18th century war and politics...

Throughout most of the twelve years between their formation and disbanding after the death of drummer John Bonham, Led Zeppelin were regarded as ar...

This chilling follow-up to Somerset Murders brings together more murderous tales that shocked not only the county but made headline news throughout...

Free were formed in 1968 towards the end of the British blues boom. After two critically acclaimed albums, the release of All Right Now and the alb...

Berkshire Murders is an examination of some of the county's most notorious and shocking cases. They include Hannah Carey, beaten to death by her hu...

Born in Birmingham, Steve Winwood was already a semi-professional musician, playing keyboards and guitar, while still at school. As lead vocalist w...

When singer-songwriter Alan Hull joined the group Brethren in 1969, and they were renamed Lindisfarne shortly afterwards, nobody could have foresee...