A Life Worth Living
Lady Colin Campbell - 1997
She enjoyed privileges, but her teenage years were blighted, leaving her unable to receive essential medical treatment until she was 21. She became a model and a designer, and in the 1970s embarked on a short and violent marriage to Lord Colin Campbell. In this autobiography she writes of a life-long struggle to be accepted as the woman she is. She tells of her formative years in Jamaica and New York, her many love affairs, her connection with members of the Royal Family, her activities as a socialite and international charity organizer, and her current life as the fulfilled mother of two adopted Russian children.
Healing Spirits
Sally Morgan - 2009
When loved ones die, where do they go? Are they still with us? If so, can they see us, even hear us? How can we communicate with them? This book explores the process of grieving and the earth-shattering feeling that comes from losing someone close to us.
Still Got It, Never Lost It
Louie Spence - 2011
'Still Got It, Never Lost It!' is the autobiography from Louie Spence, star of Pineapple Dance Studios and Louie Spence's Showbusiness.
How to Play the Guitar and Y
Elvis Costello - 2021
"This isn't strictly speaking an instructional manual, but a work of comedic philosophy."Elvis Costello—songwriter, singer, author, and Fender Jazzmaster known to his admirers as "The Little Hands of Concrete"—spins his tale with wit, grit, and spit to spare.How to Play the Guitar and Y, Costello’s new entry into Audible’s Words + Music series, combines recitation, impersonation, and musical illustration to show you how to turn a three-chord trick into a four-chord caper and let your curiosity take you where it will.Part madcap musical method, part comic chronicle, How to Play the Guitar and Y is accompanied by the author throughout on a number of different instruments with his 10 wandering fingers.So gather round your favorite listening device to hear a storyteller and musician at his most captivating as he reminds you not to be afraid to fail and to never forget to play.
Testimony: The Inspirational and Spiritual Journey of a Prog Rock Musician
Neal Morse - 2011
Starting from his first musical endeavors as a child, Neal bears his soul as he recalls the pitfalls, heartaches and temptations along his journey.This hard-hitting, inspirational expose' takes the reader from Neal's club days to the formation of Spock's Beard and from the rigors of musical and personal burnout to the wondrous joy of spiritual fulfillment and purpose. The book spans approximately 230 pages in paperback form, and includes photos from all stages of Neal's life.
A Crafty Cigarette – Tales of a Teenager Mod: Foreword by John Cooper Clarke
Matteo Sedazzari - 2016
Want to remember what it was like to be young and angry? Buy this book. A great read.’ - Phil Davis (Actor Chalky in Quadrophenia)‘Written in first person narrative, in a style and delivery reminiscent of Hunter S Thompson.’ - Scootering Magazine‘It’s a good book and an easy read. That’s pretty much what most pulp fiction needs to be.’ - Mod Culture‘A coming of age story, ‘A Crafty Cigarette’ maybe Matteo Sedazzari’s debut novel but it’s an impressive story.’ - Vive Le Rock‘Like a good Paul Weller concert the novel leaves you wanting more. I’ll be very interested in reading whatever Matteo Sedazzari writes next.’ - Louder Than WarA Crafty Cigarette is the powerful story of a teenager coming of age in the 70s as seen through his eyes, who on the cusp of adulthood, discovers a band that is new to him, which leads him into becoming a Mod. A mischievous youth prone to naughtiness, he takes to mod like a moth to a flame, which in turn gives him a voice, confidence and a fresh new outlook towards life, his family, his school friends, girls and the world in general. Growing up in Sunbury –on-Thames where he finds life rather dull and hard to make friends, he moves across the river with his family to Walton –on –Thames in 1979, the year of the Mod Revival, where to his delight he finds many other Mods his age and older, and slowly but surely he starts to become accepted....
Making Records: The Scenes Behind the Music
Phil Ramone - 2007
Streisand. Dylan. Pavarotti. McCartney. Sting. Madonna. What do these musicians have in common besides their super-stardom? They have all worked with legendary music producer Phil Ramone. For almost five decades, Phil Ramone has been a force in the music industry. He has produced records and collaborated with almost every major talent in the business. There is a craft to making records, and Phil has spent his life mastering it. For the first time ever, he shares the secrets of his trade.Making Records is a fascinating look "behind the glass" of a recording studio. From Phil's exhilarating early days recording jazz and commercial jingles at A&R, to his first studio, and eventual legendary producer status, Phil allows you to sit in on the sessions that created some of the most memorable music of the 20th century -- including Frank Sinatra's Duets album, Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks, Ray Charles's Genius Loves Company and Paul Simon's Still Crazy After All These Years. In addition to being a ringside seat for contemporary popular music history, Making Records is an unprecedented tutorial on the magic behind what music producers and engineers do. In these pages, Phil offers a rare peek inside the way music is made . . . illuminating the creative thought processes behind some of the most influential sessions in music history. This is a book about the art that is making records -- the way it began, the way it is now, and everything in between.
A Golden Voice: How Faith, Hard Work, and Humility Brought Me from the Streets to Salvation
Ted Williams - 2012
The video went viral, and overnight, launched him—the homeless man with a golden voice—into the hearts of millions.Since then, millions have heard pieces of his story: his successful radio career, his crack addiction, his multiple arrests, and his heartbreaking relationship with his ninety-year-old mother. But in A Golden Voice, Ted Williams finally puts all the pieces together to give an unforgettable, searingly honest account of life on the streets. Nothing is held back, as Williams takes the reader through prostitution, theft, crack houses, and homeless shelters in a search, ultimately, for redemption and hope. Along the way, we see his relationship with his long-term girlfriend, Kathy, grow into an unlikely and inspiring love story, and we hear the Golden Voice of God lead Ted from the selfishness of crime to the humility of the street corner—almost a year before he was “discovered” on that highway entrance ramp.But this memoir isn’t just an exploration of wrongs and a once-in-a-lifetime chance to give homelessness a voice. It is a deeply American, from-the-heart comeback story about the power of hope, faith, and personal responsibility. With the innate charisma that has won him millions of fans, Ted Williams proves that no one, no matter how degraded, is too lost for a second chance.
A Vulgar Display of Power: Courage and Carnage at the Alrosa Villa
Chris Armold - 2007
evil. Heavy Metal guitarist, Dimebag Darrell Abbott, was attacked and murdered on stage, December 8th, 2004 at the Alrosa Villa Nightclub. Erin Halk, Jeff Thompson and Nathan Bray each lost their lives trying to help Dimebag and others from the attack of an armed madman. While Dimebag is certainly a part of the story contained within the book, the focus is squarely on the background of Halk, Bray & Thompson, in addition to the killer, his motives and the actual incident at the venue. "A Vulgar Display Of Power: Courage And Carnage At The Alrosa Villa" is a deep, moving story which does an amazing job of honoring the memories Jeff, Nate, Erin, and Darrell. Of the victims who lost their lives, Nathan Bray is the only person who is survived by a wife and child. MJS Music Publications is contributing proceeds from every copy sold to a college fund set up for his son, Anthony. Music History/True Crime/Biography 352 pages, 240+ pictures.
A Multitude of Sins: Golden Brown, The Stranglers and Strange Little Girls: The Autobiography
Hugh Cornwell - 2004
The book also covers the heady days of early punk in London, described by someone who was at its epicenter, right there with the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and the Damned. The life and times of one of the most notorious and gifted rock groups of the 1970s and 1980s, are described in detail, including the drug busts, fights, prison terms and—in one case—the tying up of journalists. Throughout this time Hugh encountered a host of other extraordinary people—Malcolm McClaren, Joe Strummer, Kate Bush, and Debbie Harry, to name a few, and he recounts the outrageous times he lived through with them, as well as providing an inside take on the other members of The Stranglers.
A Life in the Day
Hunter Davies - 2017
The Co-op’s Got Bananas!
left our protagonist at the cusp of working for one of the world’s greatest newspapers –
The Sunday Times
. In this much-anticipated sequel, Hunter now looks back across five decades of successful writing to reflect on his colourful memories of the living in London during the height of the Swinging Sixties, becoming editor of Britain’s first colour weekend supplement The Sunday Times magazine; where he befriended the Beatles; and reporting on (and partying with) some of the biggest names in television, film and theatre of the day. As time moved on into the 1970s, '80s and '90s, Hunter encountered the likes of Sir Michael Caine, George Best, Melvyn Bragg, Joan Bakewell, Sir Sean Connery, Cilla Black, Paul Gascoigne, and Wayne Rooney to name a few. Hunter brings the story full circle to reflect on his years spent with the love of his life – the bestselling writer Margaret Forster, who sadly passed away in February 2016. This will not only be a colourful and enjoyable memoir of what it was like to be at the epicentre of Britain’s artistic heart, but also an emotional, heart-felt tribute to family, friends and colleagues. For those captivated by
The Co-op’s Got Bananas!,
this sequel is a must read.
TC
Tom Carroll - 2013
Inside turned the terrible wheel of drug addiction, part family curse, part legacy of the footloose surf culture he'd done so much to legitimise. Tom's family and friends struggled with him, kept his secrets, and looked on in anger and fear as the wheel began to grind him down.
Buck Em: The Autobiography of Buck Owens
Randy Poe - 2013
Born in Texas and raised in Arizona, Buck eventually found his way to Bakersfield, California. Unlike the vast majority of country singers, songwriters, and musicians who made their fortunes working and living in Nashville, the often rebellious and always independent Owens chose to create his own brand of country music some 2 000 miles away from Music City - racking up a remarkable twenty-one number one hits along the way. In the process he helped give birth to a new country sound and did more than any other individual to establish Bakersfield as a country music center. In the latter half of the 1990s, Buck began working on his autobiography. Over the next few years, he talked into the microphone of a cassette tape machine for nearly one hundred hours, recording the story of his life. With his near-photographic memory, Buck recalled everything from his early days wearing hand-me-down clothes in Texas to his glory years as the biggest country star of the 1960s; from his legendary Carnegie Hall concert to his multiple failed marriages; from his hilarious exploits on the road to the tragic loss of his musical partner and best friend, Don Rich; from his days as the host of a local TV show in Tacoma, Washington, to his co-hosting the network television show Hee Haw; and from his comeback hit, "Streets of Bakersfield " to his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. In these pages, Buck also shows his astute business acumen, having been among the first country artists to create his own music publishing company. He also tells of negotiating the return of all of his Capitol master recordings, his acquisition of numerous radio stations, and of his conceiving and building the Crystal Palace, one of the most venerated musical venues in the country. Buck 'Em! is the fascinating story of the life of country superstar Buck Owens - from the back roads of Texas to the streets of Bakersfield. Click here to watch a video extra on YouTube for Buck 'Em.
All I Know: A memoir of love, loss and life
Mary Coustas - 2013
Anyone who has followed Mary's career in film and as the popular in-your-face TV and stage character Effie, may be shocked to learn of the trials she was going through at the time. But they won't be surprised by the love she gives out to all, and receives in return, from family and friends.By giving us an intimate view of her experiences—including meeting George, the love of her life, and their journey to parenthood—we also see the universal truth that in life there's loss and, amongst the pain and tragedy of that, there is the power of hope and humour. Mary's story of the deaths of her father, her grandmother and her daughter Stevie is at times heartbreaking but, ultimately, All I Know is an enriching and uplifting celebration of life.