Individual Composers & Musicians, Specific Bands & Groups

The Florentine musician Jacopo Peri (1561-1633) is known as the composer of the first operas--they include the earliest to survive complete, Euridi...

'Unflinching, forthright and full of wry humour as the man himself, and there's little praise greater than that' CLASSIC ROCK'Wall's vision of Lemm...

Have you ever wondered how your favourite rock stars get inspired? How they write a song? How an album is put together? What made them choose a lif...

In this autobiography Billy J. Kramer (born William Ashton) tells his rags to riches story, from his working class childhood in Liverpool to the ra...

This seminal work by master saxophonist John Harle offers players of all levels the most in-depth approach to playing the saxophone. In this beauti...

Mario Lanza: A Life in Pictures is a stunning collection of photographs and illustrations that captures the fabulous and tumultuous times of the gr...

Alex Stobbs is determined to make every day count. Despite suffering from cystic fibrosis and enduring a gruelling regime of drugs and treatment, h...

Few American superstar stories are richer, wilder, or more excessive than Rick Jamess. He played in a band with Neil Young, spent years in jail, pr...

Nobody who saw Depeche Mode in 1980 could have predicted that those four fresh-faced, synth-pop innocents would transform themselves into stadium-f...

Since 2000, when this biography was first published, Menuhin's name has not faded from public attention, as often happens in the decades after the ...

In the early nineties, a group of disaffected and fiercely political young men from the Welsh valleys exploded onto a British music scene still in ...

Listening to Van Morrison represents Greil Marcus's quest to trace Morrison's particular genius through seminal moments in his long career, beginni...

What makes Noddy Holder tick? Godfather of glam, national treasure and thinking grandmothers crumpet, Noddy has been at the epicentre of British po...

When one considers The Beatles' early history, there are several names that immediately come to mind, like Ivan Vaughan, Rod Davis, Stuart Sutcliff...

'Can't Be Satisfied is that rare thing in musical biographies: a book that maps out not just a single, extraordinary life but the cultural forces t...

Legendarily reticent, perverse and misleading, Prince is one of the few remaining 80s superstars who still, perhaps, remains unexplained. Now a f...

Metallica have sold in excess of 100 million albums and won seven Grammys. Their journey from scuzzy Los Angeles garages to the stages of the world...

'An indispensable compendium for Steely Dan fans' The WireAt its core a creative marriage between Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, Steely Dan are on...

My Bloody Roots is the brutally honest story of life in two of the world's best-known heavy metal bands, Sepultura and Soulfly, by one of the globa...

What was it about Bob Marley that made him so popular in a world dominated by rocknroll? How is that he has not only remained the single ...

Steven Patrick Morrissey is one of the most original and controversial voices in the history of popular music. With The Smiths, he led the most inf...

Outlaw by acclaimed author Michael Streissguth follows the stories of three legends as they redefined country music: Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson...

Amy Winehouse needs no introduction. A critically acclaimed recording artist, she touched millions with her music during her short but...

The story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's life is well known. Austrian-born to a tyrannical father who worked him - fiercely; unhappily married to a s...

It was 1969, and Miles Davis, prince of cool, was on the edge of being left behind by a dynamic generation of young musicians, an important handful...

Beccy Cole has country music in her blood. Daughter of a country music star, Carole Sturtzel, she is one of the most popular country singer-songwri...

Dave Liebman is one of the leading forces in contemporary jazz. Prominently known for performing with Miles Davis and Elvin Jones, he has exerted c...

From cult hard rock band to singles chart success, Rainbow was the vision of one man- Ritchie Blackmore. Created following Blackmore''s departure f...

During his lifetime, the sounds of Handels music reached from court to theatre, echoed in cathedrals and filled crowded taverns. But the man himsel...

Michael 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 l...

But before Whitesnake-and life on the road with former Deep Purple singer David Coverdale-became a chaotic reality, Moody had already formed a teen...

With an introduction by Pete Townshend, There Is No Substitute is a tribute to The Who's late drummer Keith Moon, compiled by Ian Snowball with the...

Bright Lights Dark Shadows is the definitive biography of Abba, the world's greatest pop band whose hit musical Mamma Mia! has become the most succ...

Neon Leon's autobiography Fast Track to Hell is a Glorious Psychedelic, Glam, Punk Rock and Roll true recollection of the time when Rock and Roll m...

In a world of boy bands and manufactured pop, Jake Bugg's simply-strummed tales of life on the council estate where he grew up have connected with ...

A regular in the charts and in the gossip columns, Olly is regarded by many as a possible successor to icons like Robbie Williams and Will Young. B...

Mary J. Blige is an icon who represents the political consciousness of hip hop and the historical promise of soul. She is an everywoman, celebrated...