MUSIC

From her late-80s beginnings, capturing our hearts as Charlene in Neighbours and singing 'I Should Be So Lucky' in a bubble bath, to her gold-plated hits like 'Spinning Around' and 'Padam Padam' soundtracking the euphoria of dancefloors the world over, there is only one Kylie Minogue.


She has sold over eighty-million records internationally, is the best-selling Australian pop star of all time and has collaborated with some of the biggest names in music, fashion and photography across her various shape-shifting eras. She is, undoubtedly, a modern-day icon. But who is the 'real' Kylie? And how has she remained a mystery while also navigating a forty-year career in the fickle world of pop?

A Times, Resident and Rough Trade Book of the Year

Longlisted for the Penderyn Music Book Prize 2026 The long overdue reflection of life in The Smiths from their legendary drummer.

For more than thirty years, Jazz Hot, the world's oldest jazz magazine (launched in 1935, as DownBeat), has regularly published Pascal Kober's photos, breakfast interviews, album and festival reviews and feature articles. Over the years, he has built up a unique catalogue of more than 35,000 jazz photos.In alphabetical order: Jorge Ben, Joao Bosco, Stanley Clarke, Miles Davis, Gil Evans, Joao Gilberto, Dizzy Gillespie, George Gruntz, Jon Hendricks, Elvin and Hank Jones, Joachim Kuhn, Michel Legrand, Manhattan Transfer, Branford and Ellis Marsalis, Mike Stern, Sam Rivers, Linda Womack...

For more than three decades, Madonna has been generating headlines and topping charts. Now J. Randy Taraborrelli has written the definitive biography of one of the richest and most successful pop stars in the world, whose music has constantly evolved and who has remained relevant even as she hits her sixtieth year.

The book traces Bowie's career from its beginnings in London, through the breakthroughs of Space Oddity and Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and on to his impact on the larger international tradition of twentieth-century avant-garde art.

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.
The book explores Nick Cave’s life in music drawing upon his inspirations of the Bible, Greek myth, and literature, as well as his enduring passion for gospel, blues, and progressive rock

Usually when the alternative rock revolution' of the early 1990s is discussed, Nirvana's Nevermind is credited as the recording that led the charge. Yet there were several earlier albums that helped pave the way, including the Pixies' Doolittle, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Mother's Milk, Jane's Addiction's Nothing's Shocking and especially Primus' 1991 album Sailing the Seas of Cheese. This fascinating and beautifully curated oral history tells the tale of this truly one-of-a-kind band that merged funk, punk, rock and experimental music, with Les Claypool's distinctive humour.'

Punk has been romanticised and embalmed by the media. A youth revolt that became a worldwide fashion statement, punk s idols were the Sex Pistols and Johnny Rotten was its sneering antichrist. Rotten is a history of punk: angry, witty, poignant and crackling with energy. Malcolm McLaren, Sid Vicious, the 1970s, the Pistols story are all here, in one of the best books ever written about youth culture, by one of its most notorious figures.

Richly illustrated with over 100 photographs.
For almost fifty years, Leonard Cohen's mournful ballads of desire, heartbreak and lost faith have captivated audiences the world over. Continuing to make music until weeks before his death in November 2016, the award-winning Canadian songwriter, novelist and poet is revered as a cultural icon and master of his craft.

The Ramones gave birth to punk rock. Their progeny fertilised every significant punk band, from the Sex Pistols to Nirvana and Green Day. Ramones: The Complete Twisted History tells their story at the breakneck pace of their own blitzkrieg bop . From their early career to Joey Ramone s untimely death in 2001, it tells the tale of life taken to extremes, too soon, plus the story of their music.

If ever there were Satanic Majesties of rock their name was Led Zeppelin. The band that out-sold the Rolling Stones and made Robert Johnson's deals with the devil look like a playground game of conkers were as high, inflated and glorified as their namesake.

In Stephen Davis's scorching account of their phenomenally successful career, no aspect - however disquieting - is ignored. The narcotic, alcoholic and psychotic wreckage they wreaked, the disturbing influence of the notorious mage Aleister Crowley on lead guitarist Jimmy Page and the death of John Bonham are all recorded.

In SCAR TISSUE Anthony Kiedis, charismatic and highly articulate frontman of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, recounts his remarkable life story, and the history of the band itself.

Raised in the Midwest, he moved to LA aged eleven to live with his father Blackie, purveyor of pills, pot, and cocaine to the Hollywood elite. After a brief child-acting career, Kiedis dropped out of U.C.L.A. and plunged headfirst into the demimonde of the L.A. underground music scene. He formed the band with three schoolfriends - and found his life's purpose. Crisscrossing the country, the Chili Peppers were musical innovators and influenced a whole generation of musicians.

But there's a price to pay for both success and excess and in SCAR TISSUE, Kiedis writes candidly of the overdose death of his soul mate and band mate, Hillel Slovak, and his own ongoing struggle with an addiction to drugs.

Oasis are one of the biggest bands the world has ever seen. Here, in Supersonic, they tell the story of their beginnings from dive-bar hopefuls to global superstars. They themselves talk us through the pivotal moments in their phenomenal trajectory, from the day Noel Gallagher joined his brother Liam's band, through their first crucial five years culminating at their landmark gigs at Knebworth Park in 1996 - the pinnacle of their success.

The global icon, award-winning singer, songwriter, producer, actress, mother, daughter, sister, storyteller and artist finally tells the unfiltered story of her life in The Meaning of Mariah Carey.
This book is composed of memories, her mishaps, her struggles, survival and songs.

One of the most celebrated musicians of our time, Alicia Keys has enraptured the nation with her heartfelt lyrics, extraordinary vocal range, and soul-stirring piano compositions. Yet away from the spotlight, Alicia has grappled with private heartache over the challenging and complex relationship with her father, the people-pleasing nature that characterized her early career, the loss of privacy surrounding her romantic relationships, and the oppressive expectations of female perfection.

All Gates Open is the definitive story of the most influential and revered avant-garde band of the late twentieth century: Can.
This is the full biography and history of the band.

Arguably the most gifted artist of her generation, Amy Winehouse died tragically young, aged just 27. With a worldwide fanbase and millions of record sales to her name, she should have had the world at her feet. Instead, in the years prior to her passing, she battled with addictions and was often the subject of lurid tabloid headlines. But who was the real Amy?

Amy's mother, Janis, knew her in a way that no-one else did. In this warm, poignant and, at times, heartbreaking memoir, she reveals the full story of the daughter she loved. As the world watched the rise of a superstar, then the freefall of an addict to her untimely death, Janis simply saw her Amy, the girl she'd given birth to in 1983; the girl she'd raised and stood by despite her unruly behaviour; the girl whose body she was forced to identify two days after her death - and the girl she's grieved for every day since.

Metallica formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, California, their original line-up consisted of Ulrich, rhythm guitarist and vocalist James Hetfield, lead guitarist Dave Mustaine, and bassist Ron McGovney. Mustaine and McGovney subsequently left and were replaced by Kirk Hammett and Cliff Burton. Burton sadly died when the band's tour bus crashed in 1986 and Jason Newsted stepped in as a replacement staying until 2001. Robert Trujillo later joined as the band's regular bassist in 2003.
With a growing fan base on the underground music scene, the band was also to achieve critical acclaim in 1986 with the release of their "Master of Puppets" album, widely regarded as one of the most intense and influential of all thrash metal recordings. Fortune followed fame when their eponymous 1991 album (known to fans as "The Black Album") went straight to No 1 on the Billboard 200. It has since sold over 15 million copies in the United States, which makes it the 25th highest selling album in the country.
Metallica has released nine studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, twenty-two music videos, and forty-three singles. The band has won seven Grammy Awards, and has had five albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200.

Faith, Hope and Carnage is a book about Nick Cave's inner life.

Created from over forty hours of intimate conversations with Seán O'Hagan, it is a profoundly thoughtful exploration, in Cave's own words, of what really drives his life and creativity.

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.

The definitive biography of the late Leonard Cohen - singer-songwriter, musician, poet, and novelist.

The genius behind such classic songs as Suzanne, So Long, Marianne, Bird on the Wire and Hallelujah, Leonard Cohen has been one of the most important and influential songwriters of our time, a man of spirituality, emotion, and intelligence whose work has explored the definitive issues of human life - sex, religion, power, meaning, love.

Flea, the iconic bassist and co-founder, alongside Anthony Kiedis, of the immortal Red Hot Chili Peppers finally tells his fascinating origin story, complete with all the dizzying highs and the gutter lows you'd expect from an LA street rat turned world-famous rock star.

Here now, are Tupac Shukar’s most honest and intimate thoughts conveyed through the pure art of poetry – a mirror into his enigmatic life and its many contradictions.

Written in his own hand at the age of nineteen, they embrace his spirit, his energy and his ultimate message of hope. These poems, which Tupac wrote from the heart, will encourage people to take the first steps necessary to see his literary importance, as well as have us acknowledge the life struggles of black men.

Without the Sex Pistols there would be no punk rock, and without Steve Jones there would be no Sex Pistols.

It was Steve who formed Kutie Jones and his Sex Pistols, the band that eventually went on to become the Sex Pistols, with his schoolmate Paul Cook and who was its original leader. As the world celebrates the 40th anniversary of Punk - the influence and cultural significance of which is felt in music, fashion and the visual arts to this day - Steve tells his story for the very first time.

Rising from the streets of Hammersmith, Steve Jones was once a lonely, neglected boy living off his wits and petty thievery. Given purpose by the glam art rock of David Bowie and Roxy Music, he became one of the first generation of punks taken under the wings of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood. For the very first time Steve describes the neglect and abuse he suffered at the hands of his stepfather, and how his interest in music and fashion saved him from a potential life of crime.

In 1962 Mick Jagger was a bright, well-scrubbed boy (planning a career in the civil service), while Keith Richards was learning how to smoke and to swivel a six-shooter. Add the mercurial Brian Jones (who'd been effectively run out of Cheltenham for theft, multiple impregnations and playing blues guitar) and the wryly opinionated Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, and the potential was obvious.

During the 1960s and 70s the Rolling Stones were the polarising figures in Britain, admired in some quarters for their flamboyance, creativity and salacious lifestyles, and reviled elsewhere for the same reasons. Confidently expected never to reach 30 they are now approaching their seventies and, in 2012, will have been together for 50 years.

Founder of one of the most influential and successful rock bands of all time, legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page has nevertheless remained an enigma. In this definitive and comprehensive biography of his life so far, Chris Salewicz draws on his own interviews with Page and those closest around him to unravel the man behind the mystery.
Having sold over 300 million copies worldwide, Led Zeppelin was the biggest band of the '70s and has been loved by the legions ever since. From his own conversations with Jimmy, the rest of Led Zeppelin, old girlfriends, tour managers and session musicians to name but a few, Salewicz reveals the many trials and tribulations which transformed the middle class boy from the Surrey suburbs into one of rock's most enigmatic frontmen.

Whatever You Say I Am - based on exclusive interviews with members of Eminem's family, key figures in the music business, sociologists and reviewers and featuring previously unpublished photographs - is the first book to reveal the man behind the controversy. Most crucially, Anthony Bozza's unprecedented access to Eminem himself makes him uniquely qualified to answer the big question - why does Eminem matter?

The first publication of Kurt Cobain's diaries, which were found after his death in 1994. Genuinely moving, provocative and candid, and suprisingly funny, pieces of writing which, as a whole, provide a unique account of the rise and fall of a greatpopular artist and icon.
Journals is a collection of writings and drawings by American musician Kurt Cobain, who was the lead singer and guitarist of Nirvana.

On May 11, 1981, a little after 11.30 in the morning, Bob Marley died. The man who introduced reggae to a worldwide audience, in his own lifetime he had already become a hero figure in the classic mythological sense. From immensely humble beginnings and with talent and religious belief his only weapons, the Jamaican recording artist applied himself with unstinting perseverance to spreading his prophetic musical message.

And he had achieved it: only a year earlier, Bob Marley and The Wailers' tour of Europe had seen them perform to the largest audiences a musical act had up to that point experienced. Record sales of Marley's albums before his death were spectacular; in the years since his death they have become phenomenal, as each new generation discovers afresh the remarkable power of his music.

Written in 1966, ‘Tarantula’ is a collection of poems and prose that evokes the turbulence of the times in which it was written, and gives a unique insight into Dylan’s creative evolution.