Rock & Pop music – The Bell Bookshop

John Lennon In His Own Words

Emma — Tue, 01 Jan 2999 00:00:00 +0000

John Lennon was a world famous and influential singer/songwriter and former member of the Beatles. Here he discusses his life and achievements in a series of interviews from the BBC radio and TV archive: Tonight, broadcast on BBC TV, 18 June 1965 (featuring Kenneth Allsop); The World of Books, broadcast on BBC Radio, 3 July 1965 (featuring Wilfred De’Ath); The Beatles in New York, broadcast on BBC Radio, 30 August 1965 (featuring Brian Mathew); Release, broadcast on BBC TV, 22 June 1968 (featuring Peter Lewis, Victor Spinetti); BBC Radio archive interview, dated 30 March 1969 (featuring Bob Parrin); BBC Radio archive interview, dated 1 January 1970 (featuring David Wigg, Yoko Ono); The Lennon Tapes, broadcast on BBC Radio, 18 & 21 January 1981 (featuring Andy Peebles, Yoko Ono).

1 CD. 54 mins.

Lead sister

Emma — Thu, 15 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

***Nominated for the 2024 Penderyn Music Book Prize***A Times Book of the YearA Financial Times Book of the YearA Waterstones Book of the Year’Reading the book made me want to give her a huge hug. Anybody who is a fan should pick this up.’ – ANITA RANI’A fascinating but tragic story.’ 4/5 – MOJOWhen the Carpenters first toured Japan, a journalist mistakenly referred to Karen as the ‘lead sister’ of the band. This designation stuck and Karen liked it so much that she had a T-shirt custom-made with the slogan, which she wore while drumming on the band’s 1976 world tour. The term also sums up the approach of this biography: a celebratory re-evaluation of a pioneering woman. As one of the biggest-selling acts of the 1970s, sibling duo Richard and Karen Carpenter created lush soundscapes of melodic pop, producing global hits like ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’, ‘Top of the World’ and ‘Close to You’. However, though Karen is rightly recognised as one of the greatest singers in popular music, the tragedy of her early death in 1983, at the age of just thirty-two, often overshadows all that she achieved. She has long been portrayed as a victim, controlled by her family and exploited by the music industry. This book now seeks to reframe her life and legacy. Through fresh interviews with friends, musicians and co-workers, bestselling author Lucy O’Brien’s fascinating profile explores Karen’s contributions in the studio as a singer, drummer, arranger and producer, as well as tracing the roots of the Carpenters’ sound and of Karen’s distinctive vocals. Forty years after her death, it also honours the lead sister’s achievements in the face of her struggle with anorexia, as viewed through the lens of new perspectives on eating disorders and mental health.

Teddy boys

Emma — Thu, 25 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

‘Enormously enjoyable’ Sunday Times’Genial and entertaining’ Daily Telegraph’A joyous celebration of the founding fathers of British youth culture’ Alwyn Turner, author of All in it Together and Little EnglandersWith their draped suits, suede creepers and immaculately greased hair, the Teddy Boys defined a new era for a generation of teenagers raised on a diet of drab clothes, Blitz playgrounds and tinned dinners. From the Edwardian origins of their fashion to the tabloid fears of delinquency, drunkenness and disorder, the story of the Teds throws a fascinating light on a British society that was still reeling from the Second World War. In the 1950s, working-class teenagers found a way of asserting themselves in how they dressed, spoke and socialised on the street. When people saw Teds, they stepped aside.Musician and author Max Décharné traces the rise of the Teds and the shockwave they sent through post-war Britain, from the rise of rock ‘n’ roll to the Notting Hill race riots. Full of fascinating insight, deftly sketching the milieu of Elvis Presley and Derek Bentley, Billy Fury and Oswald Mosley, Teddy Boys is the story of Britain’s first youth counterculture.

The Who

Emma — Thu, 21 Dec 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Explore the trailblazing history of The Who with photos, memorabilia, and stories of rock decadence like no other. Famed music journalist Mat Snow celebrates the Who’s debut album, My Generation, with this unofficial illustrated history of the legendary rock band?the ideal visual companion for Who fans all over the world. The Who formed in 1964 with lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwhistle, and drummer Keith Moon, and continued on to become one of the best-selling bands of all time. The Who: The History of My Generation chronicles how the band inspired a generation and beyond-overcoming internal strife, external competition, and the death of two founding members. Take an in-depth look of the Who’s hit albums, including: My Generation (1965) A Quick One(1966) The Who Sell Out (1967) Tommy (1969) Who’s Next (1971) Quadrophenia (1973) The Who By Numbers (1975) and more The Who is a must-have addition to any rock-music library.

Pink Floyd

Emma — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Explore the fascinating story of Pink Floyd, brought to vivid life with over 250 images, including live performance and candid off-stage photos as well as rare memorabilia. With a music career spanning more than half a century, Pink Floyd is one of the most successful rock bands in history. The band has sold more than 250 million albums and continues to gain fans worldwide. Pink Floyd: Behind the Wall raises the curtain on the band’s history and enduring legacy. Filled with behind-the-scenes stories and photos, this luxurious, large-format book tells the whole story of how the band started and gives you an up-close look at the creation of the band’s iconic songs and albums, including Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here. The first complete illustrated history of Pink Floyd from 1965 through today, Pink Floyd: Behind the Wall includes: The band’s entire history, including stories behind the band’s formation, recordings, and tours, as well as the bitter disputes, both public and private Photographs of the band and its members, on and off the stage Images of rare memorabilia like gig posters, concert tees, picture sleeves, backstage passes, buttons, and ticket stubs A complete discography This is a must-have volume for every Floyd fan.

Watford forever

Emma — Thu, 16 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

‘The heartwarming story of the collaboration and friendship between English football’s oddest couple, Elton John and Graham Taylor’ The Times

‘An ever-entertaining telling of a remarkable sporting fairy-tale‘ Daily Telegraph
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An unforgettable British underdog story from one of our greatest narrative nonfiction writers, John Preston, and the international musical icon and bestselling author, Sir Elton John.

Britain in the 1970s was beset by unrest and unemployment, as inflation soared, fuel was scarce, and hooliganism was on the rise. And for Watford FC, the outlook was even gloomier. Rundown and rat-infested, Watford were an ailing side with holes in their kit and barely enough fans to fill a stand. Of the 92 clubs in the Football League, spread across four divisions, Watford were in 92nd place.

Meanwhile, Elton John was the most successful rockstar in the world. With six-inch platforms, spangled jumpsuits, and peroxide hair, he was glamorous, gay, and seemingly a world away from the semi-detached house in Pinner where he had supported Watford FC as a child. Many assumed he would move to America. Instead, he bought the football club.

Watford Forever is the remarkable story of Elton John’s ownership of Watford FC and its transformational journey to the top of the First Division under iconic manager Graham Taylor. Perhaps most remarkably, four of the same players who had been written off as has-beens went with them all the way from the bottom to the top. Inspiring and infectiously funny, this is a tribute to football’s unlikeliest friendship as Elton John and Taylor, a straight-talking former fullback with a love of Vera Lynn, beat the odds and their personal demons to save a club and a community.

Immersed in the grime and glamour of ’70s Britain, Watford Forever is one of sport’s great underdog stories and a love letter to the beautiful game.

Curepedia

Emma — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

A ROUGH TRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023
A GUARDIAN MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

The Cure are arguably the biggest alternative rock band in the world. Between 1985 and 2000 every album they released went to at least Gold in the UK, the US or both. In America they have earned four Platinum albums, and they are estimated to have sold 30 million albums worldwide. Their iconic status as elder statesmen of Alternative Rock remains undiminished – if anything, their tireless touring has ensured that it has grown with every passing year – and lead singer Robert Smith is an endlessly fascinating figure to successive generations of fans. The Cure’s influence reverberates through genres including Emo, Goth, Industrial and Indie Rock.

The book is an encyclopaedic A-Z of The Cure examining and riffing on miscellaneous trivia, biographies of the band members past and present, summaries of each album and selected songs, details of the band’s various tours and films, and essays on broader topics such as their image, their politics and their influences. Playful, eccentric and irreverent – true to the spirit of the band itself – CUREPEDIA is a comprehensive biography of one of the biggest alternative rock bands in the world.

The hardback edition features interior pages printed in red and black ink, a ribbon marker, and bespoke C-U-R-E letter endpapers specially designed by Andy Vella – celebrated artist and collaborator (as part of Parched Art) with The Cure on their album artwork for four decades.

The Doors unhinged

Emma — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In The Doors Unhinged, New York Times bestselling author and legendary Doors drummer John Densmore offers a powerful exploration of the ‘greed gene’ – that part of the human psyche that propels us toward the accumulation of more and more wealth, even at the expense of our principles, friendships and the well-being of society. This is the gripping account of the legal battle to control The Doors’s artistic destiny. In it, Densmore looks at the conflict between his bandmates and him as they fought over the right to use The Doors’s name, revealing the ways in which this struggle mirrored and reflected a much larger societal issue: that no amount of money seems to be enough for even the wealthiest people.

The Doors continue to attract new generations of fans, with more than one hundred million albums sold worldwide and counting, and nearly twenty million followers on the band’s social media accounts. As such, Densmore occupies a rarefied space in popular culture. He is beloved by artists across the decades for his fierce, uncompromising dedication to art. His writing consistently earns accolades and has appeared in a range of publications such as the Los Angeles Times and Rolling Stone. As his friend and American novelist Tom Robbins recently advised him, ‘If you keep writing like this, I’ll have to get a drum set.’

Karma

Emma — Thu, 09 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

THE OFFICIAL STORY OF A MUSICAL ICON – TOLD IN FULL FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HIS OWN WORDS’Funny, smart and heartbreaking. Incredible… go listen to it or read it.’ Robbie Williams’The most entertaining music memoir since Elton John’s Me… This is George O’Dowd in all his exhausting glory.’ Observer’Joyously indiscreet’ Daily Mail’I went to a lot of trouble to create Boy George and then I went through a whole battle for years about not wanting to be him. But now I enjoy and embrace it in a way that I wasn’t able to as a young person…. I’m finally learning to be George Alan O’Dowd from Eltham.’Karma is the definitive autobiography from the incomparable Grammy, Brit and Ivor Novello award-winning lead singer of Culture Club and LGBTQ+ vanguard: Boy George. Told in his inimitable style, Karma tells the story of the charismatic frontman – the drama, the music, his journey of addiction and recovery, surviving prison, meeting legends like David Bowie, Prince and Madonna, and the highs and lows of a life lived in the spotlight and in the headlines.This is the explosive and searingly honest account of Boy George’s life as a child growing up in sixties London, coming out to his Irish Catholic family and exploring his sexuality through the hedonism of the seventies – the glam rock and punk rock revolution that birthed Culture Club – and the heydays of the nineties, to finally embracing the man and artist that he is today. With all the humour, honesty, sarcasm (and hats!) that you’d expect, Karma gives us a unique insight into Boy George’s incredible story and the true evolution of a music icon.’Culture Club is always going to be one of those lovers I go back to. I’ve railed against it and that Boy George character I created. For years I convinced myself I was a creature of habit, unchangeable, immovable. But eventually you have to look in the mirror. Not looking for spots, looking for something deeper. Why the hell am I here? I would say life is the point of life.’