Kirjahaku

Set against the cultural and political backdrop of Belfast, before, during and after the Troubles, this book offers a perspective on Van Morrison's long career and the times that made him. Here, the author has produced a biography of the musician, analysing the journey that took him from local fame in Belfast to international success.

NOW UPDATED WITH A NEW EPILOGUE In the summer of 1964, aged twenty, Ray Davies led the Kinks to fame with their number one hit ‘You Really Got Me’. Within months, they were established among the pop elite, swamped by fans and fast becoming renowned for the rioting at their gigs. But Ray’s journey from working-class Muswell Hill to the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame was tumultuous in the extreme, featuring breakdowns, bitter lawsuits, spectacular punch-ups and a ban from entering the USA. His relationship with his brother Dave is surely the most ferocious and abusive in music history. Based on countless interviews conducted over several decades, this richly detailed and revelatory biography presents the most frank and intimate portrait yet of Ray Davies.

This comprehensive discussion and analysis of the albums of John Lennon covers every song released by the former Beatle during his solo years. From his early experimental work with Yoko Ono, through the startling sound of the Plastic Ono Band, the chart-topping Imagine, the political years in New York, the 'lost weekend' in Los Angeles, retirement, the comeback with Double Fantasy and his tragic assassination in December 1980 - Rogan leaves no stone unturned.

Morrissey & Marr: The Severed Alliance is among the most successful - and controversial - rock biographies ever published. Having denounced the book and called for the death of its author Johnny Rogan, Morrissey later did a U-turn and cited it as evidence in the royalty-related court case brought by Smiths drummer Mike Joyce. Now, 20 years after it was first published, Rogan has returned to his definitive Smiths biography to produce a completely revised edition based on new information and new interviews to add to the almost 100 initially conducted over a four-year period. Widely acclaimed as one rock's leading writers, Johnny Rogan now brings yet more insight and analysis to his best-selling book that revealed, for the first time, the true and unsanitised story of The Smiths - the most important group of their generation.