Rock Books

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER'THE ROCK 'N' ROLL AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE YEAR' MAIL ON SUNDAY'Essential for fans and great reading for anyone else' Classic RockBreak-ups, make-ups, groupies, band politics,...

No one explodes one of the longest-held misconceptions of music history better than Steve Lukather and his band Toto. The dominant pop-culture sound of the late-1970s and '80s was not in fact the...

Greg Lake first won acclaim as lead vocalist, bass guitarist and producer when, together with Robert Fripp, he formed King Crimson. Their first album, the landmark In the Court of the Crimson King,...

'Probably the most ambitious, generous and thorough volume about a musician to see publication' Mouth MagazineThe authorised companion to the music of Nick Drake, compiled, composed and edited by...

'A fascinating insight into one of the greatest artists of our lifetime.' Evening Standard'This is a personal friendship in writing... an endearing and powerful tale of a man who conquered the entire...

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLERScenic Wye Valley isn't the typical place for a rock story to begin, but when Echo & the Bunnymen hit the studio to record their ground-breaking debut album, Crocodiles, it...

'Very readable . . . the history of the late 20th century empire music business' Bret Easton EllisImagine you've made it. You and your friends have hit the big time in music and you're going to be a...

Discovered at last, the legendary lost manuscript of Grateful Dead co-founder and primary lyricist Robert Hunter, written in the early 1960s-a wry, richly observed, and enlightening remembrance of...

From the sonically sparse Pure Heroine to the epic pop euphoria of Melodrama, and from the sunny optimism of Solar Power to the raw, primal energy of Virgin, Lorde has been crafting music that...

Peter Doherty's is the last of the great rock 'n' roll stories - bad boy and public enemy. To his devoted fans, he is a cult hero, a modern-day Rimbaud. Musically, he has defined the past twenty...

In The Most Beautiful, a title inspired by the hit song Prince wrote about their legendary love story, Mayte Garcia for the first time shares the deeply personal story of their relationship and...

In The Doors Unhinged, New York Times bestselling author and legendary Doors drummer John Densmore offers a powerful exploration of the 'greed gene' - that part of the human psyche that propels us...

As a member of Big in Japan, The Slits and, most famously, Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Creatures, 'Budgie' was an era-defining drummer in the much-mythologised post punk scene of the late 1970s...

SUNDAY TIMES MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023MOJO BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023A ROUGH TRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023AN UNCUT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023A VARIETY MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023One of the few indisputable...

When Miranda Sawyer interviewed Noel Gallagher in 1995, his gag wishing Damon Albarn would die of AIDS became front-page news. This fascinating pop history, exploring the mid-90s moment when British...

Bold, brilliant and always ahead of the curve, Charli XCX is one of pop's most fearless innovators. This pocket-sized celebration dives into the world of a music visionary - packed with punchy...

Discover the full story behind every single song Beyonce has ever released.From Destiny's Child to Cowboy Carter, this is the definitive guide to one of music's greatest ever talents, covering...

In early 1955, Colonel Tom Parker (the manager of the number-one country music star of the day) heard that an unknown teenager from Memphis had just drawn a crowd of more than 800 people to a Texas...

'A must-read about these punk trailblazers' KATHLEEN HANNAA TELEGRAPH BEST BOOK OF 2025Art students Gina Birch and Ana da Silva formed The Raincoats in 1977. Since the release of their seminal early...

'A formidable freestyle book that isn't straight biography but a mix of history, street-level investigative reporting, hagiography, Deep South sociology, music criticism, memoir and some fiery...

It's 2013. You're a teenager squinting at your laptop in the dead of night, flicking between iTunes and YouTube and PirateBay. Endless reams of artists unspool at the click of a button. New forms of...

Calling all Swifties! Celebrate all things Taylor Swift in this 1000-piece puzzle inspired by the pop icon. Do you know the anthems of 1989 from the melodic tones of evermore? The stories of Fearless...

In 1977, 17-year-old Steven Hamper was a stonemason in the dockyards of Chatham, Kent. His heart, however, beat in sync with the punk rock tremors of the era, seduced by its celebration of amateurism...

One morning in March 2021 with the second wave of infections ripping through Ireland where he was newly resident, Mark Lanegan woke up breathless, fatigued beyond belief, his body burdened with a...

The Beatles are the biggest band there has ever been. James Bond is the single most successful movie character of all time. They are also twins. Dr No, the first Bond film, and 'Love Me Do', the...

Swifties have taken the world by storm.As Taylor Swift's profile has grown, as has her legion of fans, and they're now one of the biggest and most influential fanbases in the world. Over 50% of US...

Would you call yourself a pop music obsessive? Can you hum the chorus of 'Rich Girl'? How's your moonwalk?Who am I? Pop is a pop-icon version of the classic guessing game. Choose a name card at...

Christopher Sandford unflinchingly explores the shocking drama that formed this troubled, tragic star. He presents a vivid insider's view of the life and death of a man who galvanised a generation...

This fascinating biography of Freddie Mercury which received outstanding acclaim from Queen and rock fans worldwide, has now been updated for reissue to coincide with the release of the film about...

From her Barbados childhood to her worldwide tours, from iconic fashion moments to private time with friends and family, the book showcases intimate photographs of her life as an artist, performer,...

A book of the year for the Times, the Sunday Times, the Independent, the Guardian and the Daily Mail

'Charming . . . heartbreaking, sometimes both funny and unsettling, and always - from...

A book of the year for the Times, the Sunday Times, the Independent, the Guardian and the Daily Mail

'Charming . . . heartbreaking, sometimes both funny and unsettling, and always - from...

INCLUDED IN TIME'S 100 MUST READ BOOKS OF 2025The concluding volume of Peter Guralnick's critically acclaimed Elvis Presley biographies'Guralnick knows the intricacies of this story more than anyone,...

STEP INTO THE SHIMMERING WORLD OF ARIANA GRANDE WITH THIS ULTIMATE INSIDER'S GUIDE.This is the complete, unfiltered story of Ariana Grande, exploring the songs, tours, acting roles and style of pop's...

The lyrics to the songs of the Beatles read like poetry. This book treats them as such, and illustrates each track artistically, paying careful attention to detail and high design standards. The...

Spanning nearly 50 years of albums, EPs, B-sides, and more, read the full story behind all of the songs that Prince ever released. Moving chronologically through his epic back catalogue, expert...

The Little Book of the Beatles is a superb book of quotations by, and about, the band that revolutionised popular music the world over. A perfect companion for Beatles fans everywhere, this...

PICTURING PRINCE sees the late icon's former art director, STEVE PARKE, revealing stunning intimate photographs of the singer from his time working at Paisley Park. At least half of the images in the...

The Little Book of Elvis Presley is a superb collection of quotations by and about the King: one of the most significant cultural icons of the twentieth century. A perfect companion for Elvis fans...

The life of rock’s most durable troubadour in his own words.Neil Young on Neil Young: Interviews and Encounters is a revealing anthology of Young’s most significant, fascinating, and entertaining...

THE DEFINITIVE RECORDING HISTORY OF SWEDISH SUPERSTARS, ABBA, TOLD ALBUM-BY-ALBUM AND SONG-BY-SONG.Filled with fascinating photography (some rarely seen) and sensational behind-the-scenes details...

A ROUGH TRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR'Jaw-dropping [and] intensely evocative' SUNDAY TIMES'Moon is a sublime writer who dips her pen in Nora Ephron's ink' OBSERVER'Gripping, hilarious and often mesmerising'...

Think you know how Jim Morrison died?Think you know who wrote all their hits?Think you know why Morrison fled to Paris, never to return?Well now you will with the definitive biography, Love Becomes a...

Eric Clapton is acknowledged to be rock's greatest virtuoso, the unrivalled master of its most essential tool, the solid-body electric guitar.Clapton transfigured three of the 1960s' most iconic...

Everyone from Sir Paul McCartney and Jimmy Page to Queens of the Stone Age now relishes the chance to share a stage with Dave Grohl and his legendary Foo Fighters. The question is: why? Musical...

AC/DC moved to Britain from Sydney in 1975, and soon set up a residency at London's Marquee Club. Their short hair (including the odd mullet), loud rock and attitude chimed well with the lingering...

From child prodigy to global superstar, Celine Dion's career has been nothing short of extraordinary. This charming book is a celebration of her dazzling journey - packed with fabulous facts,...

This thoroughly revised third edition of Allan F. Moore's ground-breaking book, now co-authored with Remy Martin, incorporates new material on rock music theory, style change and the hermeneutic...