Books

Books

When we are not listening to music, we like to read about music. We work with Paul and his team at the fantastic City Books just up the road from us to apply our curated approach to an ever changing but choice selection of books about the music and musicians whose records we sell.  Below are some of our current favourite books to inspire and inform your musical taste.

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21 products
‘ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL. My face is stuck in a ridiculous grin of amazement. The KLF is dense, intelligent, well-researched, silly and, yes, magically profound.’ (Terry Gilliam)
The KLF: Chaos, magic and the band who burned a million pounds
John Higgs
£12.99
More than just a biography of a band, Gould masterfully captures the singular time and place that incubated and nurtured this original music: downtown New York in the 1970s, that much romanticized, little understood milieu where art, music, and commerce collided in the urban dystopia of Lower Manhattan
Burning Down the House: Talking Heads and the New York Scene That Transformed Rock
Jonathan Gould
£28.00
'I doubt I'll ever read a better account of the history and sociology of popular music than this one.' Brian Eno
And the Roots of Rhythm Remain A Journey Through Global Music (Paperback)
Joe Boyd
£18.99
Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day and then ages out. Rick Rubin is known for something else: creating a space where artists of all different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer.
Men in Love BOOK
Irvine Welsh
£20.00
Egostrip Book 2 is a beautifully designed, expansive continuation of Dan Lish’s visionary character illustrations that pay homage to the vibrant world of Hip Hop and beyond
Egostrip Book 2 (signed by Dan)
Dan Lish
£45.00
Many famed music producers are known for a particular sound that has its day and then ages out. Rick Rubin is known for something else: creating a space where artists of all different genres and traditions can home in on who they really are and what they really offer.
The Creative Act (Paperback)
Rick Rubin
£18.00
By Paul Slattery with a foreword by Noel Gallagher A collection of photos of Oasis taken on the road during their breakthrough year published to coincide with the band's long-awaited reunion.
Oasis. Their Breakthrough Year.
Paul Slattery
£20.00
More than 200 images of Oasis, with many seen here for the very first time, in a stunning, signed, cloth-bound hardback.
Roll With It. Oasis in Photographs 1994-2002 (signed)
Tom Sheehan
£35.00
The finest book on Britain's most popular rock 'n' roll band 'Read on … It's all true' Noel Gallagher Featuring an exclusive interview with Noel Gallagher ahead of the Oasis Live '25 Tour and bespoke artwork by celebrated Oasis album designer Brian Cannon Think Oasis was just Britpop and brawls? Think again.
Live Forever. The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Oasis
John Robb
£22.00
Unapologetic Expression captures the radical spirit of a vital British musical movement
Unapologetic Expression: The Inside Story of the UK Jazz Explosion (Paperback)
Andre Marmot
£12.99
Wildfire tells the story of the first decade of The Prodigy from the perspective of original member Leeroy Thornhill.
Wildfire (signed copy)
Leeroy Thornhill
£35.00
My Family and Other Rock Stars is Tiff's remarkable, truly unique story of growing up in a rural idyll, of Cordon Bleu cookery and of a childhood where the chances of bumping into Freddie Mercury playing piano, or a group of Hell's Angels turning up to record for Lemmy, or even the hope of David Bowie appearing, were as normal as hopscotch and homework.
My Family and Other Rock Stars
Tiffany Murray
£12.99
An inspiring memoir-manifesto from one of the UK’s leading DJs. WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY ANNIE MAC
Welcome to the Club | The Life and Lessons of a Black Woman DJ
DJ Paulette
£10.99
A landmark social history of British rap and grime - from the artists and communities who created and were shaped by the music, to the listeners who found a sense of identity and home within it. WITH A NEW FOREWORD BY GARY YOUNGE
Where We Come From: Rap, Home & Hope in Modern Britain (Paperback)
Aniefiok Ekpoudom
£10.99
The story of recorded sound - the technological developments, the people that made them happen and the impact they had on society - from the earliest inventions via the phonograph to LPs, EPs and the recent resurgence of vinyl.
Into the Groove: The Story of Sound From Tin Foil to Vinyl
Jonathan Scott
£12.99
Before she became Smokin Jo – the most famous and visible of the first generation of ‘superstar DJs’ – Joanne Joseph was a young girl growing up in a children’s home with her sister. Until her mother returned and whisked the siblings away just before secondary school to a flat on the Portobello R...
You Don't Need a Dick to DJ (Signed Copy)
Smokin Jo
£22.00
Egostrip Book 1 is a beautifully designed collection of Dan Lish’s stunning character illustrations from the world of hip hop and beyond.
Egostrip Book 1 (signed by Dan)
Dan Lish
£35.00
When hip-hop first emerged in the 1970s, it wasn't expected to become the cultural force it is today. But for a young Black kid growing up in a musical family in Philadelphia, it was everything. He stayed up late to hear the newest songs on the radio. He saved his money to buy vinyl as soon as it...
Hip Hop is History
Questlove
£25.00
Unapologetic Expression captures the radical spirit of a vital British musical movement
Unapologetic Expression: The Inside Story of the UK Jazz Explosion
Andre Marmot
£25.00
The only book about jazz that i have recommended to my friends. It is a little gem. - Keith Jarrett
But Beautiful: A Book About Jazz
Geoff Dyer
£10.99
Yo! The Early Days of Hip-Hop 1982-84 is a new book published by Soul Jazz Books/Records that features 300+ pages of stunning photographs documenting the rise of hip hop in the early 1980s.
Yo! The Early Days of Hip-Hop 1982-84
Sophie Bramly
£35.00