What goes on tour stays on tour – unless you’re the the first woman roadie in the world

At just fifteen, Tana Douglas ran away to the circus that was rock ‘n’ roll in the 1970s, taking a job with a young and upcoming band called AC/DC. While still a teenager she headed to the UK and later the US to work for a who’s who of bands and artists. Life on the road was exhilarating, hard work, occasionally surreal but never dull, particularly when you’re the only woman in the road crew and the #metoo movement is still 40 years away.

Whether wrangling Iggy Pop across Europe, climbing trusses while seven months pregnant, drinking shots of JD with Bon Scott backstage at Wembley, or donning a tailor-made suit to do lights for Elton at Windsor Castle, Tana did it all.

Loud is rock ‘n’ roll like you’ve never seen it before, by a woman who not only survived the all-male world on the road but climbed to the top and lived to tell the tale.

AC/DC ? Deep Purple ? ELO ? Elton John ? Ice Cube ? Ice-T ? Iggy Pop? INXS ? Iron Maiden ? Lenny Kravitz ? Neil Diamond ? Ozzy Osbourne ? Patti Smith ? Pearl Jam ? Rage Against the Machine ? Red Hot Chili Peppers ? Santana ? Status Quo ? Suzi Quatro ? The Offspring ? The Police ? The Runaways ? The Who ? Vanda & Young and more!

In 1989, Richard Fidler was living in London as part of the provocative Australian comedy trio The Doug Anthony All Stars when revolution broke out across Europe. Excited by this galvanising historic, human, moment, he travelled to Prague, where a decrepit police state was being overthrown by crowds of ecstatic citizens. His experience of the Velvet Revolution never let go of him.

Thirty years later Fidler returns to Prague to uncover the glorious and grotesque history of Europe’s most instagrammed and uncanny city: a jumble of gothic towers, baroque palaces and zig-zag lanes that has survived plagues, pogroms, Nazi terror and Soviet tanks. Founded in the ninth Century, Prague gave the world the golem, the robot, and the world’s biggest statue of Stalin, a behemoth that killed almost everyone who touched it.

Fidler tells the story of the reclusive emperor who brought the world’s most brilliant minds to Prague Castle to uncover the occult secrets of the universe. He explores the Black Palace, the wartime headquarters of the Nazi SS, and he meets victims of the communist secret police. Reaching back into Prague’s mythic past, he finds the city’s founder, the pagan priestess Libussa who prophesised: I see a city whose glory will touch the stars.

Following the story of Prague from its origins in medieval darkness to its uncertain present, Fidler does what he does so well – curates an absolutely engaging and compelling history of a place. You will learn things you never knew, with a tour guide who is erudite, inquisitive, and the best storyteller you could have as your companion.

PRAISE FOR THE GOLDEN MAZE:

‘Fidler’s passion and love for the ancient city infuses every word, pours off every page, and if you’ve never been interested in Prague, it will find a way into your heart after reading this book.’ – Favel Parrett, The Age

‘In The Golden Maze, Richard Fidler covers acres of rich history with a light and loving touch.’ – The Canberra Times

‘Rollicking story of Prague.’ – The Standard