Current Titles

It’s Time The Tale Were Told – A People’s History of The Smiths is the story of one of the UK’s most influential indie bands in the words of over 500 fans. From memories of their earliest club shows through to the last ever gig at London’s Brixton Academy, this is a portrait of The Smiths as painted by the fans. With personal photographs, memorabilia, anecdotes and first-hand accounts of more than 100 gigs, readers will get a front row view of the indie music legends. Based on the songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Marr, The Smiths’ 1985 album Meat Is Murder topped the UK album charts and their other three studio albums reached No 2. The band broke up in 1987 and have resisted invitations to reunite.

 

Iain Key lives in Manchester & is the author of The Clash – A People’s History & editor of Billy Bragg – A People’s History. He is a reviewer for the website Louder Than War.

Pages: 336 (paperback) 234 x 156mm Fully illustrated in colour & B&W
RRP:£25.00/$32.50
ISBN: 978-1-915858-28-3

Welcome Back My Friends – A People’s History of Emerson, Lake & Palmer is an oral history of one of the giants of the British progressive rock world. As ELP, Keith Emerson, Greg Lake and Carl Palmer had five Top Ten UK albums, including a No. 1 with 1971’s Tarkus, and a UK No.2 single with 1977’s ‘Fanfare for The Common Man’. With an estimated 48 million album sales worldwide, including nine RIAA-certified gold albums in the USA, ELP remain one of the biggest bands of the 1970s. Famed for the flamboyant stage antics of Emerson on the Hammond organ and Moog synthesiser, and mixing elements of classical and jazz music with symphonic rock, over 100 different ELP concerts are remembered through the memories of more than 400 fans in this fully authorised history of the band. Foreword by Carl Palmer.

Bruce Pegg is the author of Goin’ Down De Mont; A People’s History of Rock & Pop Concerts at Leicester’s De Montfort Hall (Spenwood, 2022) & Brown Eyed Handsome Man: The Life and Hard Times of Chuck Berry (Routledge, 2002). From Leicester, UK he now lives in central New York state.

Pages: 352 (paperback) 246 x 189mm (illustrated in colour & B&W)
RRP: £35.00/$45.00
ISBN: 978-1-5858-53-5

In November 1969 the Rolling Stones began a 24-date tour of the United States of America. They arrived from Britain with a new guitarist in the shape of Mick Taylor, the band’s founder Brian Jones having been sacked due to his drug dependency and criminal convictions making him unlikely to secure a visa. It wasn’t the Rolling Stones of old, playing 30-minute sets comprised of Top Ten hits to audiences of screaming teenagers. The Rolling Stones had grown up. So too had their audiences. But touring on the back of two groundbreaking albums in Beggar’s Banquet and Let It Bleed, the Rolling Stones encountered new problems as the 1960s came to an end. There were drugs, there was cynicism – and there was Altamont. With over 100 previously unpublished eyewitness accounts, this is the story of the Rolling Stones on the road in America, with all the drama, all the hype, all the baggage and all the thrills. Is everybody ready for the next band…?

Richard Houghton lives in Manchester and is the author of more than 20 books on music.

Pages: 288 (hardback) 234 x 156mm (illustrated in colour & B&W)
RRP: £20.00
ISBN: 978-1-915858-56-6

Iain Matthews is a British singer-songwriter who has ploughed a singular furrow in the folk-rock scene and is one of the main architects of what is now known as Americana. As an early member of Fairport Convention, he appeared on the band’s first two albums, leaving during the recording of their third as they moved away from their early West Coast sound. He formed Matthews Southern Comfort, securing a UK No. 1 single with a cover of Joni Mitchell’s ‘Woodstock’, and in 1979 reached No. 13 on the US charts with a cover of Terence Boylan’s ‘Shake It’.

Now over 150 fans, friends and associates look back at Iain’s more than 50-year long career in music that has encompassed appearances on over 100 different albums.

Iain Matthews lives in The Netherlands.

Pages: 256 (hardback) 246 x 189mm (illustrated in colour & B&W)
RRP: £25.00/$32.50
ISBN: 978-1-915858-40-5
Published: 24th October 2025

Billy Bragg – A People’s History is an oral history of the British singer-songwriter and political activist in the words of people who have been moved by his music. Containing over 600 fan memories of seeing Billy in concert, on a demonstration or on TV, Billy Bragg – A People’s History is the story of the Bard of Barking as it’s never been told before. Whether singing about love in ‘A New England’, domestic violence in ‘Levi Stubbs Tears’ or political activism in ‘There is Power in a Union’, Billy Bragg has been inspiring fans through his music and sparking political debate with his opinions for more than 40 years. With memorabilia from Billy’s personal archive and reflections from the man himself, Billy Bragg – A People’s History will span Billy’s career in music, from his days with the punk-inspired Riff Raff through to the present day.

Billy Bragg is one of Britain’s premier singer-songwriters and political activists. He has mixed pop and politics in a career spanning 40 years. He’s had a No.1 single, shaken hands with Queen Elizabeth II and appeared at Wembley Stadium. He is from Barking, Essex.

Pages: 352 (paperback) 246 x 189mm (illustrated in colour & B&W)
RRP: £35.00/$45.00
ISBN: 978-1-915858-36-8
Published: 24th October 2025

Led Zeppelin toured North America relentlessly in the early part of the seventies, regularly smashing concert attendance and box office records at shows that fans now recall as the best they ever saw. Packed with memories going back to Robert Plant’s earliest performances, this book charts Zep’s concert career in the words of over 750 fans and includes stories of the earliest Zeppelin shows, the British, European and North American tours, a trip Down Under in 1972, five nights at London’s Earls Court in 1975, the Knebworth Festival in 1979, the final Over Europe tour of 1980 and 2007’s O2 reunion show, which saw 20 million fans apply for 20,000 tickets. This is a fresh take on the band that has sold over 300 million albums worldwide and which thrilled hundreds of thousands of concert-goers throughout the 1970s.

Pages: 400 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £30.00
ISBN: 9781915858351
Published: 21 March 2025

The Jam exploded onto the British music scene with the single ‘In The City’ in 1977 and departed just six years later. More than 500 fans recall their concerts in this collection of memories of over 100 concerts. With ‘Going Underground’, ‘Eton Rifles’, ‘Down In The Tube Station At Midnight’ and ‘Town Called Malice’, The Jam were constant fixtures in the UK singles charts, clocking up thirteen Top 20 hits. Breaking through as part of the British punk scene and topping both the UK singles and album charts four times, The Jam’s commercial success is matched by the affection in which the band are still held. With a foreword by Paul Weller.

Pages: 400 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £25.00
ISBN: 9781915858245
Published: 16 May 2025

The premier band to emerge from the punk explosion of the late 1970s, The Clash graduated from sweaty London clubs to play arenas and sports stadia. With singer Joe Strummer at the helm and Mick Jones writing guitar riffs that mixed glam rock with uptown Jamaica, The Clash produced vibrant live performances that turned the excitement level up to eleven every time they hit the stage.

Remembered for Strummer’s political pronouncements, anthemic songs like ‘White Riot’ and I Fought The Law’ and classic hit singles including ‘Bank Robber’, ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’ and ‘Rock The Casbah’, for a whole generation the Clash were the only band that mattered. 300 fans tell their story of seeing The Clash. With a foreword by Billy Bragg.

Pages: 336 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £25.00
ISBN: 9781915858375
Published: 11 April 2025

Scottish rockers Simple Minds topped the Billboard 100 in 1985 with ‘Don’t You (Forget About Me)’, a song they performed at Live Aid. They also topped the UK singles chart with ‘Belfast Child’ in 1989. With ten Top 10 UK albums, including four chart toppers, they have sold over 60 million records across a glittering 40-year career. Heart of the Crowd is an official oral history of the band. With an introduction by lead singer and founder Jim Kerr, the book mixes over 800 anecdotes from fans, band members and collaborators, from their formative years in the 1970s through to concerts in 2020. With previously unseen fan photographs of the band in performance and examples of collectable memorabilia, this book is a fascinating and enjoyable read.

Pages: 578 (paperback) (illustrated)
RRP: £35.00
ISBN: 9781915858344
Published: 2 November 2024

With an introduction by legendary bassist JJ Burnel, this is the authorised story of The Stranglers in the words of their fans. With more than 20 Top 40 UK singles and 19 UK Top 40 albums, The Stranglers have been preaching the gospel according to the Meninblack since 1974. Their UK Top 10 hits include ‘Peaches’, ‘Something Better Change’, ‘Strange Little Girl’, ‘European Female’, ‘All Day And All Of The Night’ and the No. 2 hit ‘Golden Brown’. This book charts 50 years in the music business, from their earliest rehearsals through to live dates in 2022 and is packed with memories and stories of one of Britain’s greatest bands.

Pages: 344 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £30.00
ISBN: 9781915858313
Published: 2 November 2024

The Fairport Convention story stretches back more than 55 years, and their annual festival, Fairport’s Cropredy Convention, has been going for over 45. This book, following on from the highly regarded Gonna See All My Friends, is another slice of Fairport history in the words of fans, with stories of seeing and meeting the band in its many guises over the years. Packed with hundreds of items from the archive of Fairport archivist Ian Burgess, this really is a treasure trove of memories for any Fairport fan to savour.

Pages: 320 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £30.00
ISBN: 9781915858160
Published: 27 September 2024

Chris Charlesworth was US Editor for Melody Maker, the UK’s best-selling music weekly, for four years in the 1970s, rubbing shoulders with John Lennon, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Elton John and more in New York. He toured America with The Who, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and many others. He was often backstage at concerts by The Who. Somewhere above Colorado he took over the controls of Led Zeppelin’s private plane. He predicted stardom for a hitless Elton John at a disastrous festival in 1970, chased Bob Dylan in New England and ambushed Pink Floyd in Glasgow. He acclaimed Bruce Springsteen’s showmanship 18 months before Born To Run was released, and was among the first to write about the nascent CBGBs scene in New York, introducing MM readers to Debbie Harry long before she became a household name.

Pages: 320 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £25.00
ISBN: 9781915858221
Published: 27 September 2024

Formed in Leeds by Wedding Present guitarist Peter Solowka and singer and Slavonic languages student Len Liggins, following the success of Wedding Present sessions recorded for John Peel’s Radio 1 programme, The Ukrainians have been playing their hybrid of traditional Ukrainian folk and Western rock for over 30 years. Their first 45, ‘Oi Divchino’, was an NME single of the week and their Ukrainski Vistivu V Johna Peela album, which captured the earliest recordings of Peter and Len, backed by members of The Wedding Present, remains the only Ukrainian language album to reach the UK album charts. This book charts The Ukrainians story, mixing band andcdotes with recollections from fans, friends and musical collaborators.

Pages: 320 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £27.50
ISBN: 9781915858146
Published: 30 August 2024

Jimi Hendrix – The Day I Was There is the story of the world’s most flamboyant guitarist in the words of over 500 fans. With memories from his early career in the US through to his untimely death in September 1970, this is Jimi’s story up close and personal. What emerges is a portrait of a man who could do things with the guitar that his peers had never even imagined, let alone thought possible, but who off stage was a kind and considerate soul. With tales of being dumped as support act to The Monkees, burning guitars and smashing amplifiers, but also talking to fans and sharing cigarettes and guitar playing tips, this is Jimi at Monterey, Woodstock and the Isle of Wight. This is Jimi as you’ve never read about him before.

Pages: 476 (paperback) (illustrated)
RRP: £20.00
ISBN: 9781915858290
Published: 2 August 2024

Loraine Burgon and Alvin Lee were childhood sweethearts and Loraine had a ringside seat as Alvin’s group The Jaybirds became local heroes in their home town of Nottingham before moving to London and becoming Ten Years After, where Alvin was recognised as a leading rock guitarist alongside Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page. Loraine was with Alvin as Ten Years After enjoyed success in the UK, Europe and America, where the group toured 28 times, including a starring role at the Woodstock Festival. Loraine and Alvin moved from a tiny London flat to a vast country mansion, befriending other rock stars and enjoying mind-expanding drugs. But when it all became too much, the relationship fell apart. Illustrated with previously unseen photographs from Loraine’s private collection.

Pages: 380 (paperback) (illustrated)
RRP: £24.99
ISBN: 9781915858276
Published: 30 April 2024

The Beatles are the biggest act in music history, with 17 UK and 20 US number 1 singles. All Our Loving – A People’s History of The Beatles takes the reader back to Liverpool in the 1950s and accompanies John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr on their journey to stardom, from John and Paul’s fateful first meeting at Woolton Village Fete in July 1957 to the band’s last paid performance at Candlestick Park in August 1966. There was no YouTube, Instagram or smartphones then. Concert memories were made in the mind’s eye and captured in hearts and diaries, their stories shared with family and friends but otherwise unheard. All Our Loving tells the story of The Beatles through more than 500 fan memories of seeing the Fab Four in concert.

Pages: 384 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £30.00
ISBN: 9781915858085
Published: 17 November 2023

Take a trip (without the aid of LSD) back to 1966, when Pink Floyd were at the heart of psychedelia and Swinging London. With memories from their early shows through to their 2005 appearance at Live 8, this is the Pink Floyd story recalled through 500 eyewitness accounts. It’s the story of Syd Barrett founding the band and of his genius and burn out; of the move from making hit singles (‘See Emily Play’ & ‘Arnold Layne’) to recording multi-platinum albums The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall; and of the gruelling world tours and tension that fuelled the creative genius of Roger Waters & David Gilmour which continues to spark to this day.

Pages: 448 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £35.00
ISBN: 9781915858115
Published: 20 October 2023

The Who story is told via almost 700 eyewitness accounts of more than 380 concerts. Playing first as The Detours, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend and John Entwistle were joined in 1964 by drummer Keith Moon. The Who attracted headlines for smashing up guitars and hotel rooms and came to epitomise the 1960s Mod scene and then one of Britain’s top chart acts (with 14 Top Ten hits) and going on to conquer the world via mammoth tours and headline-making appearances at the Monterey, Woodstock and Isle of Wight festivals.

Pages: 368 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £30.00
ISBN: 9781915858122
Published: 29 September 2023

Growing up in the 1970s, a Slade song came on the radio every few minutes. With six number 1 singles, they were Britain’s most successful group. Amongst 300 fans telling the Slade story are celebrities including John Coghlan (Status Quo), Nik Kershaw, Gered Mankowitz, Rick Buckler (The Jam), Damian O’Neill (Undertones), Miles Hunt (The Wonder Stuff), Mick Talbot (Style Council), Jim Bob (Carter USM), John Robb (The Membranes) and broadcasters Andy Kershaw, Gary Crowley and Mark Radcliffe. The book includes interviews with Slade members Jim, Don and Dave. And walk into a shop anywhere in December and you’ll hear Noddy Holder singing the song that signifies Christmas as much as mince pies and turkey.

Pages: 288 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £25.00
ISBN: 9781915858078
Published: 29 September 2023

Prince – The Day I Was There is an oral history of Prince. It is the Prince story in the words of over 250 fans, bringing together eyewitness accounts of concerts from throughout his career and up until his untimely death. Compiled by Prince superfans Alison Howells DiMascio and Sue Houghton, this is a book no Prince fan will want to be without.

Pages: 272 (paperback) (illustrated)
RRP: £25.00
ISBN: 9781915858306
Published: 2 June 2023

Formed in 1969 when singer Rod Stewart and guitarist Ronnie Wood quit the Jeff Beck Group to team up with the Small Faces’ Ronnie Lane, Ian McLagan and Kenney Jones (after lead singer Steve Marriott had left), the Faces played 500 concerts worldwide before splitting in 1975. Acclaimed as the greatest live rock act of the early 1970s, ahead of the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin (BBC DJ John Peel called their 1973 Sunderland gig his all-time favourite concert), their career was ultimately overshadowed by Rod’s parallel solo career, including 1971’s UK and US chart-topping single ‘Maggie May’ and album Every Picture Tells a Story. But their live concerts, fondly recalled in this book, paint a picture of a fabulous live band.

Pages: 448 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £25.00
ISBN: 9781915858030
Published: 2 June 2023

Indie band The Wedding Present are from Leeds. They have only had one Top Ten UK hit, but in 1992 equalled Elvis Presley’s record of 12 chart singles in one year. In All The Songs Sound The Same, fans and former band members talk about their favourite Wedding Present tune and why every song does not sound the same. With an introduction by founder member David Lewis Gedge, contributors include Sir Keir Starmer KC MP (Leader of the Labour Party), Stella Creasy MP, folk singer Amelia Coburn, the Legendary Len Liggins (The Ukrainians), writer & broadcaster Andrew Collins and music writer Mark Beaumont as well as ten current or former Wedding Present band members. Over 100 different songs are dissected and then championed as the best of David Gedge’s songwriting.

Pages: 336 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £35.00
ISBN: 9781915858092
Published:28 April 2023

300 Rolling Stones fans recall the band’s 1972 North American tour, from opening night in Vancouver to tour finale (and Mick Jagger’s 29th birthday) at Madison Square Garden, New York. The Stones, on US soil for the first time since 1969’s cataclysmic Altamont festival, played 48 sold out shows in 32 cities in 54 days promoting their album, Exile on Main St. Concerts were marred by rioters seeking tickets, while over-zealous cops indulged in drug busts and tear gassings. And in Rhode Island, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wound up in police custody instead of on stage in Boston, Massachusetts.

Pages: 288 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £19.99
ISBN: 9781916889668
Published: 25 November 2022

Fairport Convention invented British folk-rock in 1967. With 29 albums, over 1,500 gigs, innumerable personnel changes and many solo and collaborative projects, along with 20,000 devoted attendees at their annual Cropredy Convention (‘Britain’s friendliest festival’), the affection in which the godfathers of folk-rock are held knows no bounds. Gonna See All My Friends takes its title from the Richard Thompson-penned anthem to enduring friendship, ‘Meet on the Ledge’. With contributions from Fairport stalwarts Simon Nicol and Dave Pegg, this authorised book is a fan’s-eye romp through 55 years of making music, making friends and making mischief, the latter perhaps aided by the odd pint of beer.

Pages: 384 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £19.99
ISBN: 9781916889675
Published: 18 November 2022

Founded in London in 1962 by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and the late Brian Jones, this book charts the Rolling Stones early career from early pub and club gigs through to Stonesmania on the back of the worldwide hit ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction’ and onto 1969’s era-defining free concert in London’s Hyde Park. Over 600 eyewitness fan accounts of the classic line up of Mick, Keith, Brian, Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman tells the Stones story afresh and plots the Stones’ journey to fame via UK and US hit singles including ‘It’s All Over Now’, ‘Little Red Rooster’ and ‘The Last Time’.

Pages: 480 pages (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £19.99
ISBN: 9781916889651
Published: 23 September 2022

The story of the band best known for hits ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ and ‘The Boys are Back in Town’ in the words of over 400 fans as they remember Phil Lynott, Brian Downey and Scott Gorham on the road and in concert with a succession of legendary guitarists, including Eric Bell, Brian Robertson, Gary Moore, Snowy White and John Sykes. 35 years after the passing of Thin Lizzy’s larger-than-life and much-mourned frontman Phil Lynott, this affectionate fan history recalls his Dublin childhood, the breakthrough after years of touring and backstage fan encounters with a band that remained close to their supporters even at the height of global fame.

Pages: 384 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £19.99
ISBN: 9781916889637
Published: July 2022

In existence for less than two and a half years, Cream were the ultimate power trio, bringing together the exquisite talents of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker. Regarded by some as the best band since The Beatles, this book brings together the memories of over 500 fans and collaborators, from the very first show at Manchester’s Twisted Wheel to the reunion shows at the Royal Albert Hall in 2005.

Pages: 384 (hardback) (illustrated)
RRP: £19.99
ISBN: 9781916889606
Published: October 2021