A powerful biography of Steve Marriott, lead singer of the Small Faces and Humble Pie, whose voice was coveted by Bob Dylan, Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey and David Bowie, amongst many others.
All or Nothing, Simon Spence's oral history biography, is drawn from over 125 interviews with those who knew Marriott intimately: his wives, children, bandmates and closest friends, managers, record producers, record label bosses and his fellow musicians. Included are scores of people who have never told their story before.
From his child star beginnings to his battles with drug addiction and untimely death in a housefire, All or Nothing is a visceral and unflinching account of Steve Marriott's extraordinary and often troubling life.
What happened to The Bay City Rollers is one the great scandals of the music industry.
This unflinching book exposes the sinister undercurrents and dark truths behind 'Rollermania', the pioneering boy band fad that gripped the UK in the seventies and spread across the world as the Edinburgh lads scored number one international hits.
For the first time, former lovers, band members, and record industry insiders have been interviewed to build up the shocking story of the boy band that became immersed in the cult-like world of their Svengali, Tam Paton, a man who oversaw a culture of stalking, sackings, routine sexual abuse and career-furthering prostitution.
Former band leader Paton controlled his charges and promoted them as clean-living teetotalers while subjecting them to various forms of sexual abuse. In Paton, the industry cliché of the manipulative and venal pop manager found its most grotesque expression.
Dazzled by sudden global fame and corrupted by Paton's unquenchable sexual appetites, The Bay City Rollers soon became part of his world of depravity, victimhood, crime and psychosis.
Tragedies bedevilled every aspect of The Bay City Rollers' career. A 12-year-old girl was left brain damaged in an accident outside Paton's fortified home. A 15-year-old was shot in the head at the home of the lead singer, Les McKeown, who only months earlier had knocked over and killed a woman while behind the wheel of a super-charged sports car he could barely control. Homes were burned down, a policeman killed, a fan committed suicide and two band members claimed that Paton raped them. Nervous breakdowns and suicide attempts were commonplace. One band member was convicted of possessing child pornography and accused of sex with a 13-year-old.
Band members became hooked on drugs, and their fall was almost as rapid as their rise, leaving them penniless and emotionally destroyed. Three years after they fired Paton in 1979 he was finally imprisoned, convicted of gross indecency with teenage boys.
Predictably, the millions of pounds promised by Paton simply disappeared. The band spent a decade in litigation with Sony Records. Paton, who died in 2009, emerged from eventual imprisonment for gross indecency to become a major gangster who ran a huge drug business. The legacy of one of pop's cruellest scandals is still being felt. When The Screaming Stops - a milestone of relentless investigative writing and uncompromising exposure - is hardly a comfortable read but today more than ever it's an essential one.
That such exploitation could have happened to one of the world's most famous boy bands is a brutal reminder that conspiracies of silence about sexual exploitation were once the norm in the music and entertainment business.
When The Screaming Stops is a no-holds-barred exposé of sex, drugs and financial mismanagement based on over 500 hours of interviews with many of The Bay City Rollers' closest associates, including former band members.
The Stone Roses captures the magic--and chaos--behind the UK band's rise, fall, and recent resurrection.
The iconic Brit pop band The Stone Roses became an overnight sensation when their 1989 eponymous album went double platinum. It was a recording that is still often listed as one of the best albums ever made. Its chiming guitar riffs, anthemic melodies, and Smiths-like pop sensibility elevated The Stone Roses to a cult-like status in the UK and put them on the map in the U.S. But theirs is a story of unfulfilled success: their star imploded as their sophomore effort took years to complete and the band broke up acrimoniously in 1996. Sixteen years later, they reunited and have been playing sold out gigs, thrilling fans around the globe, and working on new material. In 2013, they nabbed the coveted headline spot at the Coachella Festival.
Nobody who saw Depeche Mode in 1980 could have predicted that those four fresh-faced, synth-pop innocents would transform themselves into stadium-filling rock gods within a few years. Yet Depeche Mode went on to become one of the ten bestselling British acts of all-time, ranked alongside such exalted company as The Beatles, the Stones, Led Zeppelin, and David Bowie. And, after three decades together, the group continues to thrive, both critically and commercially. In Just Can't Get Enough, published to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the group's debut album, Speak & Spell, author Simon Spence charts that transformation. From a tiny nightclub residency in their native Essex to facing tens of thousands in huge stadiums in Europe and America in the mid 80s, Spence examines a musical journey that took the band from early 'ultra-pop' hit singles to the stark Black Celebration album. Hailing from Basildon, an experimental post-war New Town, the all-electronic Depeche Mode were, in the words of singer Dave Gahan, a new sort of band from a new sort of town. And Basildon itself, Spence argues, defined them - its brutal Modernist architecture imposed on a rural landscape dotted with primitive shacks a mirror for the angular sound and dark loneliness of the band's music. Part musical odyssey, part cultural history, Spence draws on dozens of firsthand interviews to give us an inside view of one of the most unlikely stories in pop and rock.
The myth of Jason tells one of the oldest stories from Greek mythology. Jason tries to win back the throne, stolen from his father, but is challenged to a dangerous adventure to prove his skills. He gathers the greatest of the heroes, constructs a ship called the Argo and sails to the edges of the known world to attempt to win the fabled Fleece. Along the way he takes on the winged Harpies, fire-breathing bulls and a dangerous serpent. Can he win the heart of the local princess and reclaim the throne for his family back in Greece?
For teachers and parents, we have a notes section at the back, describing how our illustrations have been inspired by ancient Greek vase-painting, sculptures, and early literature. The kids don't need to know this aspect to enjoy the tale, but the grown-ups can learn about how we have taken time and care to construct our book, using the early historical sources, rather than simply repeat a generic version of the myth.
Awards for our Early Myths collection:
- Perseus: bronze medal winner at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2014
- Odysseus: honourable mention at the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards 2015
- Odysseus: finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2015
- Atalanta: silver medal at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2016
- Atalanta: honourable mention at Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2016
- Atalanta: finalist at the Readers' Favorite Awards 2016
- Herakles: 1st prize for illustrations and 6+ picture book at the Dragonfly Books Awards 2017
- Herakles: gold award at the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards 2017
- Herakles: silver medalist in the Wishing Shelf Children's Books Awards 2017
- Theseus: best illustrations at Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2018
- Theseus: honourable Mention in Picture Books (5 and younger category) at the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2018
- Theseus: silver medalist at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2018
Perseus is the first book in the Early Myths collection, a series of children's picture books on Greek myth. Each book covers a character from mythology and brings the tale to life through illustrations and story-telling, with inspiration from ancient art and literature. The books are aimed at 4 to 10 year olds, are beautifully designed and easy to read.
Perseus is the tale of a young boy who has to flee from his home with his mother and grows up in a foreign land. To prove his worth he claims he can take on the magical Gorgon, Medusa, with her stony-gaze and snake-hair With the help of the gods he flies across the lands and faces his greatest challenge, rescuing princess Andromeda along his journey and arriving back to claim the throne. But will he succeed in becoming king and uniting his family?
For teachers and parents, we have a notes section at the back, describing how our illustrations have been inspired by ancient Greek vase-painting, sculptures, and early literature. The kids don't need to know this aspect to enjoy the tale, but the grown-ups can learn about how we have taken time and care to construct our book, using the early historical sources, rather than simply repeat a generic version of the myth.
Awards for our Early Myths collection:
- Perseus: bronze medal winner at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2014
- Odysseus: honourable mention at the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards 2015
- Odysseus: finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2015
- Atalanta: silver medal at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2016
- Atalanta: honourable mention at Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2016
- Atalanta: finalist at the Readers' Favorite Awards 2016
- Herakles: 1st prize for illustrations and 6+ picture book at the Dragonfly Books Awards 2017
- Herakles: gold award at the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards 2017
- Herakles: silver medalist in the Wishing Shelf Children's Books Awards 2017
- Theseus: best illustrations at Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2018
- Theseus: honourable Mention in Picture Books (5 and younger category) at the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2018
- Theseus: silver medalist at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2018
Herakles is the fifth book in the Early Myths collection, a series of children's picture books on Greek myth. Each book covers a character from mythology and brings the tale to life through illustrations and story-telling, with inspiration from ancient art and literature. The books are aimed at 4 to 10 year olds, are beautifully designed and easy to read.
Herakles is the tale of one of the most powerful heroes who needs to tame his strength. He is told he must take on the twelve great Labours, battling with monsters, controlling rivers, wrestling with lions, visiting the Underworld and challenging the warrior Amazons. But can he succeed and what will be his final reward?
For teachers and parents, we have a notes section at the back, describing how our illustrations have been inspired by ancient Greek vase-painting, sculptures, and early literature. The kids don't need to know this aspect to enjoy the tale, but the grown-ups can learn about how we have taken time and care to construct our book, using the early historical sources, rather than simply repeat a generic version of the myth.
Awards for our Early Myths collection:
- Perseus: bronze medal winner at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2014
- Odysseus: honourable mention at the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards 2015
- Odysseus: finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2015
- Atalanta: silver medal at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2016
- Atalanta: honourable mention at Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2016
- Atalanta: finalist at the Readers' Favorite Awards 2016
- Herakles: 1st prize for illustrations and 6+ picture book at the Dragonfly Books Awards 2017
- Herakles: gold award at the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards 2017
- Herakles: silver medalist in the Wishing Shelf Children's Books Awards 2017
- Theseus: best illustrations at Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2018
- Theseus: honourable Mention in Picture Books (5 and younger category) at the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2018
- Theseus: silver medalist at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2018
'We didn't know what the film was about. We didn't know there was a conflict of image that could perhaps hurt us later on. It sort of grew, blew out of proportion.' - Barry Gibb
In the late 70s, the Bee Gees spectacularly revived their career and, with their soundtrack to the Saturday Night Fever film, became the biggest disco group in the world. But when the disco boom crashed they went from icons to punch lines overnight. The band was inescapably frozen in time: all long, flowing manes, big teeth, falsettos, medallions, hairy chests, and skintight satin trousers, one finger forever pointing in the air.
The Bee Gees would spend the next forty years trying to convince people there was more to them, growing ever more resentful of their gigantic disco success. 'We'd like to dress Stayin' Alive up in a white suit and gold chains and set it on fire, ' they said.
Stayin' Alive finally lifts that millstone from around their necks by joyfully reappraising and celebrating their iconic disco era. Taking the reader deep into the excesses of the most hedonistic of music scenes, it tells how three brothers from Manchester transformed themselves into the funkiest white group ever and made the world dance. No longer a guilty pleasure but a national treasure.
Theseus is the sixth book in the Early Myths collection, a series of children's picture books on Greek myth. Each book covers a character from mythology and brings the tale to life through illustrations and story-telling, with inspiration from ancient art and literature. The books are aimed at 4 to 10 year olds, are beautifully designed and easy to read.
Theseus is the tale of a hero who travels to meet his father for the first time, but faces many challenges on the road to Athens. He takes on sneaky Sinis, a wild boar, the wrestler Kerkyon and a giant crab! At the city of Athens he must try to break a curse, cast upon its people by the king of Crete. He volunteers to travel to face the Minotaur and break this spell, before finally returning home to an unexpected piece of news.
For teachers and parents, we have a notes section at the back, describing how our illustrations have been inspired by ancient Greek vase-painting, sculptures, and early literature. The kids don't need to know this aspect to enjoy the tale, but the grown-ups can learn about how we have taken time and care to construct our book, using the early historical sources, rather than simply repeat a generic version of the myth.
Awards for our Early Myths collection:
- Perseus: bronze medal winner at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2014
- Odysseus: honourable mention at the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards 2015
- Odysseus: finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2015
- Atalanta: silver medal at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2016
- Atalanta: honourable mention at Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2016
- Atalanta: finalist at the Readers' Favorite Awards 2016
- Herakles: 1st prize for illustrations and 6+ picture book at the Dragonfly Books Awards 2017
- Herakles: gold award at the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards 2017
- Herakles: silver medalist in the Wishing Shelf Children's Books Awards 2017
- Theseus: best illustrations at Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2018
- Theseus: honourable Mention in Picture Books (5 and younger category) at the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2018
- Theseus: silver medalist at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2018
For teachers and parents, we have a notes section at the back, describing how our illustrations have been inspired by ancient Greek vase-painting, sculptures, and early literature. The kids don't need to know this aspect to enjoy the tale, but the grown-ups can learn about how we have taken time and care to construct our book, using the early historical sources, rather than simply repeat a generic version of the myth.
Awards for our Early Myths collection:
- Perseus: bronze medal winner at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2014
- Odysseus: honourable mention at the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards 2015
- Odysseus: finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards 2015
- Atalanta: silver medal at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2016
- Atalanta: honourable mention at Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2016
- Atalanta: finalist at the Readers' Favorite Awards 2016
- Herakles: 1st prize for illustrations and 6+ picture book at the Dragonfly Books Awards 2017
- Herakles: gold award at the Royal Dragonfly Book Awards 2017
- Herakles: silver medalist in the Wishing Shelf Children's Books Awards 2017
- Theseus: best illustrations at Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2018
- Theseus: honourable Mention in Picture Books (5 and younger category) at the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2018
- Theseus: silver medalist at the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards 2018
- Persephone: gold and silver medalist at the Purple Dragonfly Book Awards 2019.