Jason Draper

His name was Prince, and he was funky. He was also inspiring, infuriating, visionary and otherworldly. Channelling contradictions in search of his own unique truth, he eventually changed his name to an unpronounceable glyph that merged the male and female symbols in an outward expression of his inner dualities. Gifted with the ability to play almost every instrument on his records, and shifting between musical styles as much as he switched-up his looks, he refused to acknowledge boundaries. Instead, he brought opposing forces together in a life-long quest to reconcile a dirty mind with a love for God. In doing so, the mini Minneapolis genius became a world-conquering icon whose towering legacy continues to shape pop culture.

Conspiring men have, do, and will continue to take advantage of each other because of our humanity, and history shows the worst offenders are not those who claim to do us any harm, but those who claim they are trying to do us good. The solution is not to cancel our goodness. The cure is not to have less of any of these good things. The cure is to balance it with more knowledge and more truth. Whatever "truth" is given by our churches, governments, and the media, can be measured by passing it through the fire. If it survives, we can accept it. If it doesn't, we can choose not to be burned again. It doesn't deserve our humanity and can and ought to perish.

Conspiring men have, do, and will continue to take advantage of each other because of our humanity, and history shows the worst offenders are not those who claim to do us any harm, but those who claim they are trying to do us good. The solution is not to cancel our goodness. The cure is not to have less of any of these good things. The cure is to balance it with more knowledge and more truth. Whatever "truth" is given by our churches, governments, and the media, can be measured by passing it through the fire. If it survives, we can accept it. If it doesn't, we can choose not to be burned again. It doesn't deserve our humanity and can and ought to perish.

There is something obviously tragic and unfair, yet also undeniably uncanny, about the plethora of deaths of treasured musicians at a young age, more spookily specifically at 27 years old. Some will say it is inevitable when you consider the fast-drinking, high-living, burning-the-candle-at-both-ends lifestyles that these people take up, but surely there is more to it than that? Whatever the causes, this timely book includes entries on a range of artists who famously died at 27, but many others who died at other points in their teens, twenties and early thirties – at the height, or just before the achievement, of their creative potential. It is pointless to pine for the music that could have been, and best to celebrate the music that was – the flashes of brilliance, the often impressive oeuvre created over such a short time. Whether you love to rock out to Kurt Cobain, swoon to the music of Jeff Buckley, are fascinated by the story of blues legend Robert Johnson or worship at the altar of Hendrix, this guide gives an absorbing account and memorable images of them all.

Prince has cut a singular path through the heart of popular music for more than 30 years. After making some of the most inventive albums of the '80s ä including Ê1999Ê ÊPurple RainÊ and ÊSign of the TimesÊ ä he turned his attention to redefining his role in the music industry changing his name to an unpronounceable symbol declaring war on his record label Warner Bros. and leading the internet revolution. His subsequent career has had many ups and downs but he remains a major commercial and artistic force as evidenced by his ability to sell out the O2 Arena in London for 21 nights in succession in 2007. In 2010 he announced that the internet was over and released his latest album Ê20TenÊ as a free cover-mounted CD with several European publications. ÊPrince: Chaos Disorder and RevolutionÊ is an authoritative chronicle of one of popular music's true mavericks. Covering every album every movie and every tour it includes profiles of various key collaborators assesses the artist's various business dealings and details his many and varied side projects ä on stage on record on screen and beyond.