Books

NENEH CHERRY Has Her Memoir ‘A THOUSAND THREADS’ Out In October

Posted on by JL

12 March 2024

The wonderful NENEH CHERRY celebrated her 60th birthday two days and go and now
we get the news of her memoir, titled A THOUSAND THREADS. It’ll come out on October 8. Order details here

Press info: “Born in Sweden in 1964, Neneh Cherry’s father Ahmadu was a musician
from Sierra Leone. Her mother, Moki, was a twenty-one-year-old Swedish textile artist.

Her parents split up just after Neneh was born, and not long afterwards
Moki met and fell in love with acclaimed jazz musician Don Cherry.

Eventually, the strong pull New York City in the 1970s drew him them there, but they
made a home wherever they traveled. Neneh and her brother Eagle Eye experienced
a life of creativity, freedom, and, of course, music.

In A Thousand Threads, Neneh takes readers from the charming old schoolhouse in
the woods of Sweden where she grew up, to the village in Sierra Leone that was birthplace of her biological father, to the early punk scene in London and New York, to finding her identity with her stepfather’s family in Watts, California.

Neneh has lived an extraordinary life of connectivity and creativity and she recounts in intimate detail how she burst onto the scene as a teenager in the punk band The Slits, and went on to release her first album in 1989 with a worldwide hit single “Buffalo Stance.”

Neneh’s inspiring and deeply compelling memoir both celebrates female empowerment and shines a light on the global music scene—and is perfect for anyone interested in the artistic life in all its forms.”

Cherry: Instagram

THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN – Memoir ‘NEVER UNDERSTOOD’ In August

Posted on by JL

7 March 2024

After 41 years (with a hiatus between 1999-2007) and (only) 8 albums Scottish
psych-pop heroes THE JESUS AND MARY CHAIN will have their memoir out,
titled NEVER UNDERSTOOD on August 15. Pre-order info here.

It’s written by the bros, Jim and William Reid, assisted by author Ben Thompson.

Weird, when they started out their goal was to never be understood and now they write
a book about never being understood. Make your minds up, guys. Legendary band, of course.

TJMC: Instagram

New BUZZCOCKS Book

Posted on by JL

5 February 2024

Book: SIXTEEN AGAIN: How Pete Shelley & Buzzcocks
Changed Manchester Music (and me).

Author: Paul Hanley

He’s the author of Leave The Capital: A History of Manchester Music in 13 Recordings, and Have A Bleedin Guess: The Story of Hex Enduction Hour He’s one half of the famed Hanley Brothers rhythm section, he was the drummer in The Fall from 1980-85 and currently plays with House Of All. Alongside his brother Steve, he hosts the popular podcast series Oh! Brother, about that legendary Mark E. Smith fronted band The Fall.

Order info: here.

Content: The book is the definitive account of the classic group written from the perspective of someone who grew up with the band as his soundtrack in his native Manchester. It combines biography, interview, critique and social history to fully explain Buzzcocks’ unique and enduring appeal. It examines why Pete Shelley’s influence was as central to Manchester’s renaissance as it was to Manchester music. The book also explores the unique relationship between a young fan and his favourite group during their most successful phase.

BUZZCOCKS SINGLES


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Website

New BOB MARLEY Photo Book With Rare Shots Titled ‘REBEL MUSIC: BOB MARLEY & ROOTS REGGAE’ Is Out Now

Posted on by JL

26 December 2023

REBEL MUSIC: BOB MARLEY & ROOTS REGGAE is brand new photo book with rare shots
of reggae trailblazer BOB MARLEY taken by American photographer KATE SIMON

You can purchase a copy HERE.

In 1975, Kate Simon first photographed Bob Marley and the Wailers at the Lyceum in
London, where the now-legendary live performance of No Woman, No Cry was recorded. They then collaborated throughout the Seventies, with Simon shooting some of the most intimate, enduring and emblematic images ever taken of Marley, including his iconic Kaya album cover

Simon captured it all: portraits of the reggae greats of the Seventies, such as Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Bunny Wailer and Peter Tosh; the Exodus Tour, on the road with Bob Marley and The Wailers as they performed across Europe.

And the One Love Peace Concert, where Bob famously united Jamaica‘s opposing political leaders. Ultimately, in 1981, Simon would ride with the funeral cortege from Kingston to
St Ann and Bob Marley‘s final resting place.

Rebel Music contains over 400 photographs from Simon‘s archives, many published here for the first time. Introduced by Patti Smith, with a foreword by Lenny Kravitz and afterword by Keith Richards.

A cast of 24 contributors join Simon in sharing the stories behind the images, including
ex-Wailers guitarist Junior Marvin and bass player and band leader Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett; musicians such as Junior Delgado, Steve Jordan, Paul Simonon and Bruce Springsteen; filmmaker Don Letts and producer Danny Sims; and Island Records founder, Chris Blackwell.

Bob Marley: Bio – Discography – Instagram
Kate Simon: Website – Instagram

New Book ‘DARKER WITH THE DAWN – NICK CAVE’S SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH’ By ADAM STEINER Out December 1

Posted on by JL

16 November 2023


Cover art by Jonny Nicholds

In his new book DARKER WITH THE DAWN: SONGS OF LOVE AND DEATH author, journalist and poet ADAM STEINER reflects upon NICK CAVE‘s journey from his Australian childhood to his struggles with drug addiction and young fascination with the nightmare landscapes of America’s Wild West and southern gothic, toward a reckoning with his own Christian spirituality.

In a career spanning four decades, Cave’s songwriting has moved from the sinners and saints of murder ballads to piano-based songs of heartbreak, deconstructed garage rock, and ambient fever dreams. Steiner dives into the world of a complex songwriter who continues to speak to us of the light and shade of humanity.

Darker With The Dawn uncovers the history and deeper meanings behind Nick Cave and
The Bad Seeds’ most well-known songs from “Tupelo”, “The Mercy Seat”, “Red Right Hand”, “Stagger Lee”, “Into My Arms”, to “Higgs Boson Blues” and beyond.

Out on December 1.
Pre-order here.

Mat Snow former editor of Mojo, author of Nick Cave: Sinner Saint: “Nick Cave has created a body of work across music, prose, and screen unmatched in its impact, depth, and erudition by few artists. At last, we have a critical analysis that does this achievement justice. Adam Steiner has set the benchmark for many years to come.”

Adam Steiner is also the author of Into The Never: Nine Inch Nails And The Creation Of The Downward Spiral and the recently published Silhouettes and Shadows – David Bowie’s Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps). More info on his website.

NICK CAVE – His Interview Book ‘FAITH, HOPE AND CARNAGE’ Now Out On Paperback In The US

Posted on by JL

2 October 2023

FAITH, HOPE AND CARNAGE is an extended conversation between Nick Cave and journalist/musician, Sean O’Hagan, who have known one another for thirty years. Created from over forty hours of intimate recordings, the book examines questions of faith, art, music, freedom, grief and love. It draws candidly on Cave’s life, from his early childhood to the present day, his loves, his work ethic and his dramatic transformation in recent years. From a place of considered reflection, Faith, Hope and Carnage offers ladders of hope and inspiration from a true creative visionary.

The book was released last year as an audiobook and with hard cover. Order info here

But now available for the first time in paperback format in the US. Order info here
Cave and O’Hagan are on a short book tour now.

The Secret History Of Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) – New DAVID BOWIE Book ‘SILHOUETTES AND SHADOWS’ Out Now

Posted on by JL

15 September 2023

Book: SILHOUETTES AND SHADOWS
The Secret History of David Bowie’s Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)

Author: ADAM STEINER
Release: 15 September 2023
Order info here.

An avant-garde pop album rich with tension and fear, 1980’s SCARY MONSTERS (AND SUPER CREEPS) marked a pivotal point in DAVID BOWIE’s career. Standing at the bleeding edge of the new decade between the experimental Berlin Trilogy (Low, Heroes, and Lodger) and 1983’s wildly successful Let’s Dance, it was here Bowie sought to bury the ghosts of his past and the golden decade of the 1970s to become a global superstar reaching millions of new fans.

Featuring fresh insights and exclusive interviews with close collaborators, Adam Steiner ’s Silhouettes and Shadows uncovers the studio stories, meanings behind, and secret history of Scary Monsters. Steiner gives a nuanced, memorable portrait of Bowie at a personal and professional crossroads, drawing on his own struggle with addiction, growing paranoia, and political turmoil.

Including the hit singles Fashion and Ashes to Ashes the album found Bowie riding a new wave of inspiration, from the post-punk of Joy Division, The Specials’ two-tone revolution, and the stadium synth-pop of Gary Numan.

The album marked a final goodbye to Major Tom, Ziggy Stardust, and The Thin White Duke, characters and personas that had defined his career: in this rare moment, David Bowie, the costumed clown of romance, suffering, and song, let his mask slip to reveal David Jones, the man within.

Louder Than War about the book: “Steiner seems to have read everything anyone’s written about Bowie’s work, and he’s also done his own interviews too. You get a lot of technical information about what went on in the studio, from producer Tony Visconti, guitarist Robert Fripp and others. You get a lot of information about Bowie’s philosophical and cultural interests, with lengthy digressions about (for example) his relationship with gay culture and religion.” Full review here.


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ADAM STEINER: Website – Instagram

KATHLEEN HANNA Memoir ‘REBEL GIRL: MY LIFE AS A FEMINIST PUNK’ Out In 2024

Posted on by JL

1 September 2023

Legendary Riot Grrrl KATHLEEN HANNA (aged 54) who fronted feminist
punk-noise bands Bikini Kill, Le Tigre, and the Julie Ruin is set to release
a memoir, titled Rebel Girl: My Life as a Feminist Punk

It comes out on 14 May 2024. Pre-order info here.

With Bikini Kill

Press statement: “The memoir traces Hanna’s life from her tumultuous childhood
home to her formative college years in Olympia, Washington, and on to her first years
on tour, fighting hard for gigs and for her band. Hanna makes clear that surviving as a
singer who was a lightning rod for controversy took limitless amounts of determination
as she and her bandmates faced male violence and antagonism at every turn. In an uncut
voice all her own, Hanna reveals the hardest times along with the most joyful — and how
it continues to fuel her revolutionary art and music.

With The Julie Ruin

The book will also dig into the relationships with various bandmates such as Tobi Vail,
Kathi Wilcox, and Johanna Fateman, the time she spent with Kurt Cobain and Ian MacKaye,
her marriage to Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys, battling Lyme disease, and how the Riot Grrrl movement has evolved over the years. ”

The past 2 years Hanna went on a reunion tour with Bikini Kill and does the same
thing now with Le Tigre. Watch them play Primavera Sound Fest in Barcelona last June.

KATHLEEN HANNA: Instagram

GENESIS P-ORRIDGE COMPLETE POEMS 1960’s & 70’s’ Out Now

Posted on by JL

28 April 2023

The late British avant-garde artist GENESIS P-ORRIDGE (born Neil Andrew Megson in 1950 and departed in 2020), the mastermind and voice behind Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV ic TV, Throbbing Gristle and COUM Transmissions, began their artistic journey in the 1960’s writing poetry.

Heartworm Press presents a collection of two decades of poetry, from beat to concrete, and shows the progression of the self, beginning the book under the given name of Neil Megson and eventually growing into the enigmatic Genesis P-Orridge.

The book features over 200 never before seen or published poems
including 70 images. It’s out now. Order info HERE.


(Press photo via Heartworm Press)

Genesis P-Orridge: Bio – Discography

PAUL McCARTNEY Book With Rare BEATLEMANIA Photos Out In June

Posted on by JL

26 April 2023

In 2020, an extraordinary trove of nearly a thousand photographs taken by
PAUL McCARTNEY himself on a 35mm camera was re-discovered in his archive.

They intimately record the months towards the end of 1963 and the beginning of 1964
when Beatlemania erupted in the UK and, after the band’s first visit to the USA, they became the most famous people on the planet.


Selfies Paris, 1964 (press photo via Macca site)

The photographs are Macca’s personal record of this explosive time, when
The Beatles, were inside looking out and were the EYES OF THE STORM.

The book features pictures of these intense, legendary months – Liverpool, London,
Paris, New York, Washington, D.C. and Miami – and many never-before-seen portraits
of John, George and Ringo.

Paul McCartney: “Anyone who rediscovers a personal relic or family treasure is instantly flooded with memories and emotions, which then trigger associations buried in the haze of time. This was exactly my experience in seeing these photos, all taken over an intense three-month period of travel, culminating in February 1964. It was a wonderful sensation to be plunged right back.”

Help, indeed

Publishing: 13 June 2023.
Pre-order: here.

Trailer

MACCA: Website