Search

Many have long found it difficult to take Rod Stewart seriously. However, once we get past the awkward stuff—leopard-skin leggings, bum-wiggling stage schticks, and a hairstyle unseemly for a man of his age—there remains the undeniable fact that the'Caledonian Cockney'is responsible for some of the greatest recordings ever made. Again and again, the combination of his heartwracked songs and gravelly, sensitive vocal delivery have conjured sonic magic. The bulk of Stewart's classic recordings were made in the 1970s. His string of albums for the Mercury label across the first half of that decade sent critics into raptures. His 1971 album Every Picture Tells a Story is considered by some of them to literally be the best album of all time. Said semi-decade also saw Stewart front the Faces, whose often likeably ramshackle albums gave his fans a double dose of their idol each year. On top of this are solo-Stewart classics that are neglected because he released them after a point where his increasingly outlandish image caused some of his original fans to disdain to any longer take him seriously. They include the splendid 1976 LP A Night on the Town and his peerless confessional love songs of 1977'You're in My Heart (The Final Acclaim)'and'I Was Only Joking.'All of this and more is the subject of Rod Stewart: The Classic Years.Sean Egan has interviewed at length many of Stewart's colleagues, collaborators, and cohabitees from the period, including musicians Micky Waller, Pete Sears, Ray Jackson, Ian McLagan, Kenney Jones, and Jim Cregan, recording engineer Mike Bobak, manager Billy Gaff, and Stewart's then-girlfriend and muse Dee Harrington. The result is a striking and evocative portrait of the most fecund and vital stage in the life and career of one of popular music's most important artists.

For the Internet generation, a quick introduction to the great and inventive chameleon of rock, David Bowie.David Bowie needs no introduction. An immense star whose music and writing transcended generations he was one of the most articulate influencers of modern music. Over fifty years his singles and albums slid up and down the bestseller charts, adapting to the changing times, exploring new musical themes, always pushing at boundaries in a desperate desire to seek out the new and the different. This fantastic new, unofficial biography covers his life, music, art and movies.

Planet of the Apes started life in 1963 as a quirky work by Pierre Boulle, the French literary novelist famous for The Bridge over the River Kwai. His concept of a world where humans are ruled over by apes proceeded to become one of the biggest multi-media sensations in history. The 1968 Charlton Heston motion-picture adaptation of Boulle's book was celebrated and successful but was just the beginning. By 1973, said picture had spawned four sequels. It then spun off a live-action TV series, which in turn spun off the animated TV show Return to the Planet of the Apes. With this, comic books, novelizations, and a tsunami of merchandising, the late'60s and first half of the'70s had a distinctly simian flavor. A new generation was introduced to the concept when, in 2001, Tim Burton's updating of the series appeared in cinemas. This itself was rebooted a decade later in the form of Rise of the Planet of the Apes and its two sequels. Yet despite all the fantasy (and money-chasing), the series has always been marked by thoughtfulness, exploring serious themes alien to most franchises. Planet of the Apes: The Complete History explores every aspect of this phenomenon—from books to films, comic books to television shows, and video games to merchandise—providing an overview that is truly definitive. With the help of new and exclusive interviews with Planet of the Apes producers, directors, writers, actors, and makeup artists, Sean Egan attempts to gain an understanding of how a media property changed the world.

Their songs have been covered by acts as diverse as Ride, Boney M and the Sex Pistols; they impressed Pete Townshend so much that he asked their guitarist to join the already successful Who; said guitarist pioneered the use of the violin bow on guitar strings – a trick promptly lifted and made famous by Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page; they inspired the name of Creation Records, the most influential record label of the'90s; they have been cited as an influence by Paul Weller, Alan McGee, Ride, Pete Townshend, John Lydon and others. Yet The Creation never had a bona fide hit single in either Britain or the US. They had a recording career that spanned merely mid-1966 to early 1968 and never – in their original incarnation – released an album on either side of the Atlantic. The Creation are pop's quintessential example of Never Mind The Career Width, Feel The Musical Quality. Their compositions Makin'Time, Painter Man, Biff Bang Pow, Nightmares, Can I Join Your Band, Life Is Just Beginning, Through My Eyes, How Does It Feel To Feel and others helped define psychedelia and pop art and are cherished by several different generations of music fans.'Our Music Is Red – With Purple Flashes'(the immortal quote coined by Creation guitarist Eddie Phillips to describe his band's records) draws on new and exclusive interviews with all three surviving original band members – Phillips, bassist cum vocalist Bob Garner and drummer Jack Jones – and their producers Shel Talmy and Joe Foster, as well as two dozen other band intimates and associates including an exclusive interview with Ronnie Wood, to finally give one of history's great neglected bands their due.

The Who were a mass of contradictions. They brought intellect to rock but were the darlings of punks. They were the quintessential studio act yet were also the greatest live attraction in the world. They perfectly meshed on stage and displayed a complete lack of personal chemistry offstage.Along with great live shows and supreme audio experiences, the Who provided great copy. During the 1960s and'70s, Pete Townshend, messianic about contemporary popular music and its central importance in the lives of young people, gave sprawling interviews in which he alternately celebrated and deplored what he saw in the'scene.'Several of these interviews have come to be considered classic documents of the age. Roger Daltrey, Keith Moon, and John Entwistle joined in. Even when the Who were non-operational or past their peak, their interviews continued to be compelling: changes in allegiances and social mores left the band members freer to talk about sex, drug-taking, business, and in-fighting.By collecting interviews with Who members from across fi ve decades, conducted by the greatest rock writers of their generation—Barry Miles, Jonathan Cott, Charles Shaar Murray, John Swenson, and Greil Marcus among them—The Who on The Who provides the full, fractious story of a fascinating band.

The Clash thought they could change the world. They never did, but they created some of the greatest rock music of all time in the attempt.Clash interviews were mesmerizing. Infused with the messianic spirit of punk, the Clash engaged with the press like no rock group before or since, treating interviews almost as addresses to the nation. Their pronouncements were welcomed but were hardly uncritically reported. The Clash's back pages are voluminous, crackle with controversy, and constitute a snapshot of a uniquely thoughtful and fractious period in modern history. Included in this compendium are the Clash's encounters with the most brilliant music writers of their time, including Lester Bangs, Nick Kent, Mikal Gilmore, Chris Salewicz, Charles Shaar Murray, Mick Farren, Kris Needs, and Lenny Kaye.Whether it be their audience with the (mainly) simpatico likes of punk fanzine Sniffin'Glue, their testy encounters with the correspondents of pious UK weeklies like New Musical Express, Melody Maker, and Sounds, or their friendlier but no less eyebrow-raising conversations with US periodicals like Creem and Rolling Stone, the Clash consistently created copy that lived up to their sobriquet'The Only Band That Matters.'

Tommy Docherty led Manchester United through one of the most interesting periods in their history. Employed in late 1972, the former Scotland manager led the club on an amazing journey, taking in a successful relegation battle, relegation itself, instant promotion, and two successive Cup Finals, all in just four and a half years, and the nature of his eventual sacking, following allegations about his private life, gives some indication of the complicated, less than perfect man this book seeks to unveil. Docherty's unconventional, at times controversial, approach to team affairs and man management is explored on a season by season basis, while numerous interviews from those who worked with and played under him, including legends of the era such as Brian Greenhoff and Sammy McIlroy, ensure that no stone is left unturned in this tale of the highest highs and lowest lows the great game has to offer. These first hand accounts make this the definitive account of this period, and the book is a must read for any serious United fan, while the author's ability to maintain a degree of neutrality rarely found in such biographies will also encourage followers of teams outside of the red half of Manchester to persist with this incredible footballing story. In addition to The Doc's story, this book also looks at the post United careers of those who played in his sides and who came to love and loathe him in equal measure. It also includes a full matchography for the period.

Tommy Docherty dragged the world's biggest football club into the modern era. Between 1972 and 1977,'The Doc'led Manchester United on a rollercoaster ride of failure and success unmatched at any time in their history. Appointed manager in late 1972 when the club was at their lowest post-War ebb, Docherty dismayed many with muscular tactics in his efforts to keep the club in the top flight. But after initial problems, not least relegation to the Second Division, he and the club never looked back. A new, young and eager team took shape and United began to live up once again to their Red Devils nickname, returning quickly to the First Division, where they proceeded to stun English football by challenging for both the championship and the FA Cup, using an exhilarating 4-2-4 formation as they did so. But whilst his brand of football was beautiful, Docherty was a controversial individual, and within weeks of winning the club's first trophy for a decade, he was sacked following revelations about his private life. However, he left behind a club whose decay had been permanently halted, and his reign paved the way for the phenomenal success of Alex Ferguson. Packed full of detail and new interviews with many of the key characters,'The Doc's Devils'explores one of the most interesting ever pairings of club and manager and provides a riveting and unprecedentedly in-depth account of one of the most extraordinary periods in Manchester United's history.

Fleetwood Mac was a triumph from the beginning—their first album was the UK's bestselling album of 1968. After some low points—when founder Peter Green left, some fans felt that the band continuing was sacrilege—Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined, and their 1977 album, Rumours, became one of history's immortals, a true classic that remained on the charts for years and in the public's affection forever.In the press, the ethereal Californian Stevie Nicks, the tormented rocker Lindsey Buckingham, the dignified English rose Christine McVie, the blunt-speaking John McVie, and the loquacious Mick Fleetwood have all regularly been astoundingly candid. This collection of interviews across the entirety of Fleetwood Mac's career features articles from such celebrated publications as Crawdaddy, New Musical Express, Circus, Creem, Mojo, Goldmine, Classic Rock, Blender, and Elle, as well as interviews that have never previously appeared in print. Here is the only place you can learn the Fleetwood Mac story from the band members'own mouths.

James Bond entered the world in 1953 with the novel Casino Royale by Ian Fleming.Since then, the British secret agent codenamed 007 has become the biggest media phenomenon of the modern age, surpassing and outlasting previous cultural icons such as Sherlock Holmes, Tarzan and The Saint. Bond has conquered all forms of media - from books, films and radio to comic strips and video games - while inspiring a tidal wave of merchandise and a legion of imitators. Although the world has changed almost beyond recognition since his debut, his continuing relevance is affirmed by the multiple generations who have thrilled to his exploits.This book for the first time provides the full enthralling story of how the espionage fantasies of a rather melancholy journalist came to captivate the world. It exposes the setbacks behind the triumphs, from Fleming's increasing boredom with his own creation to regular crises over re-casting of the cinematic Bond and legal battles in the 1990s that almost destroyed the film franchise. With the help of Bond scholars, Fleming intimates, Bond film crew and others, James Bond: The Secret History shows how the man with the Licence to Kill overcame every hurdle to become the greatest fantasy hero of all time.With a foreword by Jeremy Duns

This collection of interviews across the entirety of Fleetwood Mac's career features articles from many celebrated publications as well as interviews that have never previously appear in print. Edited by Sean Egan, Fleetwood Mac On Fleetwood Mac is a fascinating insight into an era-defining rock band.Fleetwood Mac was a triumph From The Beginning - their first album was the UK's bestselling album of 1968, and their 1977 album'Rumours'became one of history's immortals, a true classic that remained in the charts for years and public affection forever.In the press, the ethereal Californian Stevie Nicks, the tormented rocker Lindsey Buckingham, the dignified English rose Christine McVie, the blunt-speaking John McVie, and the loquacious Mick Fleetwood have all regularly been astoundingly candid. In Fleetwood Mac On Fleetwood Mac, readers will learn the Fleetwood Mac story from the band members'own mouths, and experience it contemporaneously rather than through hindsight.Editor Sean Egan is an author and journalist who has interviewed members of Fleetwood Mac, the Beach Boys, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and many others.

When considered in a broader social context, The Clash stand as one of the most important musical acts in rock history. Original punks who transcended the music's minimalist origins, The Clash lived and breathed the idea that they could change the world with their art. In The Clash: The Only Band That Mattered,respected music critic Sean Egan examines The Clash's career and art through the prism of the uniquely interesting and fractious UK politics of the 1970s and'80s, without which they simply would not have existed. Tackling such subjects as The Clash's self-conscious tussles with their record label, the accusations of selling out that dogged their footsteps, their rivalry with the similarly leaning but less purist Jam, the paradoxical quality of their achieving multiplatinum success, and even whether their denunciations of Thatcherism were proven wrong, Egan has come up with new insights into a much discussed group. Clash fans, Clash haters, social historians, and political students will all find themselves entertained by his thought-provoking conclusions.

Sean Egan has compiled Bowie's most revealing interviews into a riveting commentary on 50 years of personas and styles, tracing each step from Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane to The Thin White Duke and into the elder statesman that Bowie has become. This essential collection of 50 years of interviews from Rock's most restlessly creative spirit is as close to an autobiography that Bowie has come. Bowie came to fame at a time when rock journalism came into its own, and he came to see interviews as another opportunity for artistic expression. Some of rock's greatest writers are included in this collection, Robert Hilburn and Charles Shaar Murray to Allan Jones and Steven Wells alongside an interview with Alexander McQueen, the fashion designer, all of which reveal the extent of Bowie's interests over the decades with a rare articulacy and thoughtfulness. Few musicians have had the wide-ranging influence Bowie has cast over writers, fashion, art and film as well as music, and here is the ultimate introduction to Rock's most distinctive voice.

Over the Rainbow Selection 2016 David Bowie has been one of pop music's greatest interviewees since January 1972, when he famously risked career death by asserting to Melody Maker that he was gay. Although he wasn't yet a big star, it was a groundbreaking moment. And over the years, Bowie has failed to give an uninteresting interview. It might be said that he has habitually used the media for his own ends, but he has paradoxically also been searingly honest, declining to ever be coy about his ambitions, his private life, and even his occasional ennui. Bowie on Bowie presents some of the best interviews Bowie has granted in his near five-decade career. Each interview traces a new step in his unique journey, successively freezing him in time as young novelty hit-maker, hairy hippie, Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, the Thin White Duke, plastic soul man, fragile Germanic exile, godfather of the New Romantics, eighties sellout, Tin Machinist, and, finally, permanently, artistically reborn beloved elder statesman of challenging popular music. In all of these iterations he is remarkably articulate. He is also preternaturally polite—almost every interviewer remarks upon his charm. The features in this book come from outlets both prestigious (MelodyMaker, Mojo, New Musical Express,Q, Rolling Stone) and less well-known (The Drummer, Guitar,Ikon, Mr. Showbiz). In all cases, Bowie enables the reader to approach the nerve center of his ferociously creative and prolific output.

The iconic life and career of the famed guitarist of the Rolling Stones is detailed in this compilation of interviews that spans the last 50 years. Featuring articles from GQ, Melody Maker, and Rolling Stone, as well as interviews that have never previously appeared in print, it charts Keith Richards's journey from gauche, young pretender and swaggering epitome of the zeitgeist to beloved elder statesman of rock. Initially overshadowed by band mates Mick Jagger and Brian Jones, Richards gained popularity as half of the second-most important songwriting team of the 1960s, and in 1967 the drug bust at his house and his subsequent trial and imprisonment made him a household name. His interviews match his outlaw image: free of banality and euphemism, they revel in frank stories of drugs and debauchery. Yet they also reveal an unexpectedly warm, unpretentious, articulate, and honest man. This collection amply illustrates the magic and charm of Keith Richards.

Are you enamored with instant messaging? Would you like to learn how to create your own messaging application? This book shows you how, by dissecting Gaim—the world's most popular open source instant messaging application. Authored by the Gaim maintainer, Sean Egan, you are presented with a thorough overview of Gaim architecture and application programming interface. You'll learn how to make the most of the popular GTK+ graphical user interface toolkit. Egan guides you through the creation and installation of plug-ins, and discusses strategies involved in supporting messaging protocols like MSN Messenger, AIM and IRC. He also covers topics such as multi-platform support and internationalization.