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'Ian Stone has one of the sharpest comic minds in the country. I would read anything he’s written about anything. This book made me start listening to The Jam' Romesh Ranganathan 'Full of wit, cheek and energy – not just for fans of The Jam, this is for fans of London, of youth, of life itself' Rory Bremner 'This is a funny, fascinating, absorbing, surprising and readable book with the added bonus of Phill Jupitus’s delicious cartoons . . . A book for anyone who is now middle-aged and looking back joyfully at their youth' Jo Brand 'I really liked this book. I'd forgotten how shit it was in the seventies' Paul Weller Ian Stone grew up in a Jewish, working-class house in north London in ...
Against the backdrop of the demise of punk, social unrest, and the coming to power of Margaret Thatcher, the Specials burst onto the scene with their unique brand of music in 1979sweeping up the nation's youth with their edgy, politically charged message and iconic 2 Tone branding.Thirty years later, as the band celebrate their anniversary with a reunion tour, their hard-hitting, poignant tales of teen pregnancy, knife crime, and racism are still as prevalent as they always were. This book sees the first publication of a full gig listing, complete discography, and an amazing collection ofrare, unseen photographs from the band members themselves. "
The first step on the road to change is to imagine possibility. Imagine A Country offers visions of a new future from an astonishing array of Scottish voices, from comedians to economists, writers to musicians. Edited, curated and introduced by bestselling author Val McDermid and geographer Jo Sharp, it is a collection of ideas, dreams and ambitions, aiming to inspire change, hope and imagination. Featuring: Ali Smith, Phill Jupitus, A.L. Kennedy, Alan Cumming, Kerry Hudson, Greg Hemphill, Carol Ann Duffy, Chris Brookmyre, Alison Watt, Alasdair Gray, Leila Aboulela, Ian Rankin, Selina Hales, Sanjeev Kohli, Jackie Kay, Damian Barr, Elaine C. Smith, Abir Mukherjee, Anne Glover, Alan Bissett, Louise Welsh, Jo Clifford, Ricky Ross, Trishna Singh, Cameron McNeish, Alexander McCall Smith, Carla Jenkins, Don Paterson, and many more . . .
EVERYTHING TO PLAY FOR - A NEW BOOK BY QI ELVES JAMES HARKIN AND ANNA PTASZYNSKI - IS AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER NOW The perfect gift for all those big and little kids in your life who ask 'why...?'. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY ZOE BALL Pre-order the next book in this series, 222 QI Answers to Your Quite Ingenious Questions, published in paperback on 3rd November. 'QI have outdone themselves!' ALAN DAVIES 'Fabulous . . . A cracker of a book!' SUE PERKINS 'The QI Elves are barnstormingly brilliant.' ZOE BALL 'Genuinely useful and endlessly fascinating.' THE SPECTATOR 'Hilarious.' DAILY MAIL The QI Elves are the brains behind the enduringly popular BBC TV panel show QI. Every Wednesday the Elves appea...
A smart, witty and accessible guide to the rewarding and joyful practice of improvisation. Classic improv games and variations Telling stories and creating characters Using improv to make theatre and comedy, from monologues to full-scale productions An asset to students and teachers of improvisation in schools, drama schools, higher education and theatre groups, both professional and amateur. It will also be of benefit to organisations and individual readers who want to discover how improv stimulates creativity and confidence in all areas of life. The Improv Book opens up this exciting discipline to a wider audience.
Dodgers is a dark, unforgettable coming-of-age journey that recalls the very best of Richard Price, Denis Johnson, and J.D. Salinger. It is the story of a young LA gang member named East, who is sent by his uncle along with some other teenage boys—including East's hothead younger brother—to kill a key witness hiding out in Wisconsin. The journey takes East out of a city he's never left and into an America that is entirely alien to him, ultimately forcing him to grapple with his place in the world and decide what kind of man he wants to become. Written in stark and unforgettable prose and featuring an array of surprising and memorable characters rendered with empathy and wit, Dodgers hera...
Dating & Other Hobbies is a collection of female-centred poetry and short stories from spoken word artist Cat Hepburn. Screaming with authenticity and using toe-curlingly relatable observations on millennial culture, Cat's unashamed writing treats the reader with the honesty of a wine guzzling bestie on a night out, making it both gut-wrenching and spit-your-tea-out funny. Confessional, uncomfortable and hilarious all at once, from regrettable one night stands, to ghosting to extramarital affairs- no stone is left unturned. Shining a light on the nuances of human connection and interaction in a world of digital dating and sexual exploration, Dating & Other Hobbies provides a celebration of early adulthood, and all the beautiful mess that comes with it.
Walls Come Tumbling Down charts the pivotal period between 1976 and 1992 that saw politics and pop music come together for the first time in Britain's musical history; musicians and their fans suddenly became instigators of social change, and 'the political persuasion of musicians was as important as the songs they sang'. Through the voices of campaigners, musicians, artists and politicians, Daniel Rachel follows the rise and fall of three key movements of the time: Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone, and Red Wedge, revealing how they all shaped, and were shaped by, the music of a generation. Composed of interviews with over a hundred and fifty of the key players at the time, Walls Come Tumbling Down is a fascinating, polyphonic and authoritative account of those crucial sixteen years in Britain's history.
What possesses a right-minded comedian to quit the day job for life as a breakfast radio DJ? 'I have always been very aware that millions of people truly appreciate the breezy banter and lively tone of the majority of breakfast broadcasting. I admit that on occasion I have been known to wake up in a good mood and feel quite chirpy. Unfortunately for me this happens one day a year at most...' - Phill Jupitus Why exactly would a nationally successful stand up comedian, chuck in the exhilaration and freedom of life on the road for endless Coldplay singles, arguments with BBC management, incredibly expensive coffee and an alarm clock set to 4.30am, five days a week? When the BBC decided to launc...
What is it to be a stand-up comedian? To be funny, solo? You have no character-role, no double-act partner, and nowhere to look but out into the darkness, with just a microphone, an audience and your imagination. This is a job without an annual appraisal; a job where you are publicly appraised every ten seconds. The results are harsh and obvious: if the audience isn't laughing, you 'died'; if they can't stop, you 'killed'. Deborah Frances-White and Marsha Shandur unpack the inner-workings of the minds of comics, sharing their secrets, insecurities and successes; their bêtes noires and their biggest fears. Featuring interviews with a host of comedians including Eddie Izzard, Moshe Kasher, Sarah Millican, Jim Jeffries, Stewart Lee, Lewis Black, Jenny Eclair, Todd Barry, Richard Herring, Marc Maron, Stephen K Amos, Rich Hall, Zoe Lyons, Marcus Brigstocke, Phill Jupitus, Gary Delaney, Mark Watson, Greg Davies and many more, this excellent book lets you in to the hearts and minds of celebrated comedians, away from the stage and off the mic.