Street-Level Superstar: A Year With Lawrence: WINNER OF THE 2025 PENDERYN MUSIC BOOK PRIZE

Will Hodgkinson

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Nine Eight Books

Street-Level Superstar: a year with LAWRENCE

Hodgkinson, Will

Arts & Photography

In the early 1980s, the pop charts were dominated by musicians tarted up in Day-Glo colours, who fought it out for coverage on our TV screens and magazine pages. Dexys Midnight Runners did things differently. They were surly. They were serious. They were ambitious, but success had to come on their terms. They were a disciplined outfit, a gang with a defined purpose: to make music so pure that it couldn't fail to elicit a deep emotional response from anyone within earshot.\nAnd they managed it. This motley crew - in woolly hats and donkey jackets for their first coming; all dungarees and copious body hair for the second - gate-crashed the charts, scoring number-one hits around the globe. But being in Dexys wasn't all sunshine and roses. Many members came, many members went. Some returned unexpectedly as being part of this particular gang was a way of life; it was everything.\nNige Tassell, author of the Penderyn Prize-shortlisted Whatever Happened to the C86 Kids? employs his skills of detection to go off in search of the dozens of members who - for however brief a period, and to whatever level of success - have been a part of Dexys Midnight Runners. These are the people who gave the band its sound, its soul, its substance. But whatever happened to them?

SEARCHING FOR DEXYS

Nige Tassell

Music

Searching for Dexys Midnight Runners

Tassell, Nige

Humor & Entertainment

1984: The Year Pop Went Queer

Ian Wade

Biographies & Memoirs

Wade, Ian

Arts & Literature

The Closest Thing to Crazy: My Life of Musical Adventures

Batt, Mike

'Some called him the seventh Python, but I prefer to think of him as the first Neil Innes' Michael PalinFew individuals have had such an impact on British culture over the past fifty years as the comedy and music icon Neil Innes.He was the songwriting powerhouse of the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah band. Beatles muse and collaborator. Injector of art college surrealism into 1960s TV comedy. Instigator of a revolution that led directly to Monty Python, the group he repeatedly joined on screen and stage. He was Ron Nasty, co-founder of the much-loved Rutles, the 'pre-fab four'. Accidental inventor of the phrase 'Cool Britannia'. Much-loved children's TV storyteller, thinker, maker, creator, undisputed national treasure and Britain's sweet idiot laureate.And through it all, Neil remained one of the kindest and brightest individuals in showbusiness. Musicians, comedians and fans alike loved being around Neil. He created music and joy and art wherever he went. And the person who loved having him round more than anybody else was Yvonne. Neil and Yvonne met at Goldsmiths College in the 1960s and they went on to walk hand-in-hand through life for over fifty years, until Neil's untimely death.

Dip My Brain in Joy: A Life with Neil Innes: The Official Biography

Innes, Yvonne

Us and Them: The Authorised Story of Hipgnosis: The visionary artists behind Pink Floyd and more...

MARK BLAKE

“An engaging mix of humor and detailed critical analysis…great fun.” —Mojo\nFrom the award-winning author of Bring It On Home: Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin, and Beyond and Comfortably Numb: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd comes this deeply researched alphabetical biography of Queen and each of its dynamic members.\nAddressing the phenomenal success of the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, acclaimed music journalist Mark Blake builds on the legend of Queen and their enduring audience appeal.\nProviding a fresh, unparalleled take on Queen’s music, story, and legacy, Blake’s complete portrait covers not only the major hits and bestselling albums, but also the inside stories behind the music.\nVia a series of essays, interviews, and biographies, the author shares a wealth of lesser-known details—gained from over thirty years of original material—and explores what the songs of Queen say about their creators.\n“You want it all? There’s not much missing here.” —Classic Rock

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