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Slade were one of the biggest British bands of the 1970s. One of the early pioneers of glam rock, they enjoyed an incredible run of six number-one singles, five top-ten albums and a succession of sell-out tours. However, after a failed attempt at an American breakthrough in the mid-1970s, Slade returned to Britain and faced dwindling record sales, smaller concert halls and a music press that had lost interest in them. By the end of the decade, they were playing residencies in cabaret clubs and recorded a cover of a children’s novelty song. But then came a last-minute invitation to play the 1980 Reading Festival, setting in motion one of the most remarkable comebacks in rock history. It’s...
The first book to analyse every Queen song - giving equal weight to album tracks alongside the hits . * Includes analysis of about 20 classic songs using the original 24 track master tapes. * Queen remain ever popular and active, and continue to tour despite the death of Freddie Mercury in 1991. This book examines Queen's music, album by album, track by track, in detail. Where possible, recourse to the original multi-track master tapes has provided extra insight. Those familiar hits are revisited, but those classic album cuts - like `Liar', `March of the Black Queen', `Death on Two Legs', and `Dragon Attack', `are given equal precedence. The book also examines the changes that these same fou...
Forming when punk was starting to become a force, The Police – led by drummer Stuart Copeland and singer/bassist Sting - used this emerging new form of music to create a sound that was both fresh, energetic and sophisticated. An early incarnation with guitarist Henry Padovani ended when Andy Summers joined the band, and under the innovative management of Miles Copeland, The Police took on the world. From 1978 to 1983, the band released five magnificent albums that took in rock, reggae, and world music. A succession of massive hit singles, including ‘Message In A Bottle’ and the classic and often misunderstood ‘Every Breath You Take’ also cemented their success. By 1983, they’d be...
Kate Bush started her career at the top, the spellbinding ‘Wuthering Heights’ giving her a number one hit single with her first release. Yet from there, artistically at least, the only way has been up. For while the sales of both singles and albums over the five decades since have had their peaks and troughs, every new release has seen Bush refuse to be boxed in by past success but instead continue to take the musical chances that have characterised her career from day one. Across ten studio albums, including director’s cut reassessments of two of them, and a live record of the 2014 Hammersmith Apollo residency, Kate Bush has constantly sought new ground, reinventing her sound time and...
Fairport Convention are a great British institution – or, at least, they should be. For more than 50 years they have helped to keep traditional music alive and kicking by injecting it with a healthy dose of electric rock ’n’ roll. Their finest albums – including What We Did On Our Holidays and Liege And Lief – are landmarks is the development of British music. In this exhaustive and illuminating book, Kevan Furbank looks at all the studio albums in detail – from their uncertain debut in 1968 to their most recent release, celebrating half a century of music-making. He chronicles the stories behind each recording, touching on the highs and lows, the successes and tragedies, the ple...
The legendary Jimi Hendrix has had all kinds of superlatives bestowed on him since his incendiary debut in 1966, but Lou Reed’s pithy summation beats the lot: ‘...he was such a bitching guitar player’. Jimi Hendrix On Track explores each thrilling song and album, drawing out exactly what made Hendrix not only a great guitarist but also a vocalist, arranger, interpreter, producer and songwriter of genius. Hendrix’s revolutionary albums with The Experience and Band of Gypsys are discussed in detail, as are his posthumous releases from First Rays of the Rising Sun to Both Sides of the Sky. His early work as a session player for acts like The Isley Brothers, Little Richard and even Jayne...
The British singer, songwriter and musician Peter Hammill is one of the key figures in the history of progressive rock. As the leader and main creative force of Van der Graaf Generator, he was behind some of the most powerful and compelling rock music of the 1970s, and since VdGG reformed in 2005 has continued to lead the group down a unique musical path. But Van der Graaf Generator are only part of the Peter Hammill story. Beginning with 1971’s Fool’s Mate and continuing all the way to 2021’s In Translation, Hammill has carved out a lengthy solo career consisting of some 35 albums, plus many live albums and collaborations. The range of styles in evidence on these albums is remarkable,...
Blue Öyster Cult On Track is a song-by-song analysis of the discography of Long Island’s greatest sons, the Blue Öyster Cult. Dubbed 'the thinking man’s heavy metal band' and celebrated by critics, fans and musicians since their debut album in 1972, the band carved a unique path in hard rock history by combining chops, humour, occultism, poetry, jazz chords and pop sensibilities. Best known for their FM radio hits '(Don’t Fear) The Reaper' and 'Burnin’ For You', Blue Öyster Cult’s discography is in fact a treasure trove of fascinating, ever-evolving music by a band that was never afraid to explore, and never had the slightest respect for genre boundaries. The band's influence st...
Any consideration of the songwriting craft would be incomplete without the inclusion of American singer/songwriter Aimee Mann. From her first steps as singer and bass player with 1980s synth pop band ‘Til Tuesday, who scored a massive MTV hit with ‘Voices Carry’ in 1985, she has continually produced starkly autobiographical songs, with a sense of melody that cuts through the emotional detail. With a career now spanning almost forty years, she has built a catalogue of nine studio albums, from debut Whatever to 2017’s Mental Illness, since going solo in the early 1990s. Via a series of record label frustrations, Aimee has developed into a fiercely independent recording artist, flying o...
One of the biggest names in the musical landscape of the 1970s, Steely Dan released a string of albums that pushed the boundaries of what was possible in a recording studio. With albums like The Royal Scam and Aja, the songs of Walter Becker and Donald Fagen drew from their love of jazz, their ability to write memorable pop hooks and their penchant for subversive humour, to produce a catalogue of unparalleled brilliance. With worldwide album sales in excess of 40 million copies, the durability of their songs has made Becker and Fagen one of the most celebrated writing partnerships in popular music. With Walter Becker’s untimely death in 2017, Donald Fagen continues to keep the band’s fla...