Debbie Harry to Release 'Face It', a new Autobiography

A newest autobiography by Debbie Harry, 'Face It' has been announced and it is going to be released in October. The 368-page hardcover book showcases Debbie as multi-disciplined artist and it includes an introduction by Chris Stein, “rare personal photos, original illustrations, fan artwork installations and more” and features everyone from bands Blondie came up with on the 1970's music scene. This release will probably coincide with the already announced Blondie box set that Universal Music are working on.

OMD celebrate 40th anniversary with the Release of the book 'Pretending to See The Future'

OMD have announced the release of 'Pretending to See the Future', a book that celebrates OMD's 40th anniversary. The book contains commentary from OMD founders Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, plus band members Martin Cooper, Malcolm Holmes and Stuart Kershaw, and is packed full of memorabilia and hundreds of photos. With many images in full colour and previously unseen pictures from the band’s own archive, this is the OMD story as it’s never been told before. Contributing to the interesting concept, the book is mixing hundreds of fan anecdotes with memories from the band, their collaborators, other musicians and celebrity admirers garnered from 40 years of recording and performing. 

More info:
http://www.omd.uk.com/news/pretending-to-see-the-future-40th-anniversary-book/

Available here:
https://www.pledgemusic.com/projects/omd-pretending-to-see-the-future

Mute's Visual History Documented

Just before Christmas and during the last days of the running year, Mute has released a coffee table picture book 'MUTE: A VISUAL DOCUMENT FROM 1978 TO TOMORROW'. This 320 pages book puts on display 40-year history of one of the most influential labels in history. It includes cover artworks from some of the biggest Mute stars, including Depeche Mode, Yazoo, Wire, Erasure and much more, plus numerous short informative essays on the label history. Also along comes the complete Albums and Singles discography at the back of the book. The book has been compiled by Terry Burrows with contribution of Daniel Miller.

Japan's Story in Music in 'A Foreign Place' Book

Burning Shed Label has announced the release of 'A Foreign Place' is a comprehensive biography of the influential band Japan which was written by musician and author, Anthony Reynolds. 

It chronicles the rise and fall of one of one of the most respcted and influental New romantic Artpop bands and lifts the veil on the creative processes and personal histories of a fascinating group of introspective musicians whose activities have frequently been shrouded in secrecy. 

 Reynolds, previously responsible for books on The Walker Brothers and Leonard Cohen, engagingly details the strange twists and turns that saw a group of friends from working class South London develop from unpromising provincial Glam Funk origins to eventually become the authors of the innovative and exotic sonic assault of the globally successful 'Tin Drum'. 

 Written with the full approval and co-operation of Richard Barbieri, Steve Jansen and Rob Dean, the book contains many unseen period photographs, as well as first-hand accounts of the band and its music from friends, music industry associates and musical collaborators. 

  www.burningshed.com

Mad World- A Brand New Oral History of New Wave Out Now

A little bit of something to get back on our 80's track. A brand new New Wave book is out. It is entitled Mad World and it is a highly entertaining oral history that celebrates the New Wave music phenomenon of the 1980s via new interviews with 35 of the most notable artists of the period. Each chapter begins with a discussion of their most popular song but leads to stories of their history and place in the scene, ultimately painting a vivid picture of this colorful, idiosyncratic time. Mixtape suggestions, fashion sidebars, and quotes from famous contemporary admirers help fill out the fun. Participants include members of Duran Duran, New Order, The Smiths, Tears for Fears, Adam Ant, Echo and the Bunnymen, Devo, ABC, Spandau Ballet, A Flock of Seagulls, Thompson Twins, and INXS. Authors are Lori Majewski and Jonathan Bernstein with an foreword by Nick Rhodes and afterword by Moby.

 madworldbook.com

John Taylor- In The Pleasure Groove- New Book

New item for the Duran Duran fans is out now, in particular for John Taylor fans. His latest book is entitled 'In The Pleasure Groove: Love, Death and Duran Duran' and in his frank, compelling autobiography, John recounts the highs and troubles during his career with Duran Duran. Told with humour, honesty and hard-won wisdom, and packed with exclusive pictures, 'In the Pleasure Groove' is a fascinating, irresistible portrait of a man who danced into the fire... and came through the other side. 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/In-The-Pleasure-Groove-Death

 

Wired for Sound- The New Book About 80's Music Childhood

This summer Simon & Schuster Ltd have released 'Wired for Sound' by Tom Bromley who is know for his mixture of fiction and non-fiction, mainly with a pop culture slant. 

'Wired For Sound' chronicles the rise and fall of eighties music, from the Band Aid highs of Duran Duran, Wham! and U2 to the Band Aid II lows of Bros, Jason Donovan and Wet Wet Wet. In loving detail, it explores the themes that defined the charts of the time: from music videos to VW badges, synthesisers to stadium rock and from Radio One to Frankie saying "Relax". 

Tom Bromley captures, too, the experiences of the small town boys and girls who grew up listening to the music: a generation of 'Smash Hits' readers and Sony Walkman owners, 'Top of the Pops' viewers and C90 cassette compilers. Evoking an era when it really mattered who was number one, Wired for Sound is an affectionate celebration of both a musical youth and the decade when young guns really went for it.  

www.tombromley.co.uk
 

New Encyclopedia of New Wave for Your Bookshelf

The successful Encyclopedia series has the brand new addition. The new book celebrates the hugely influential New Wave musical movement of the late 1970s and 80s. Originating as a less-aggressive sister movement to punk, New Wave encompassed a wide range of styles, from Brit pub-rock to electronica, synth-pop, and even ska. 'The Encyclopedia of New Wave' which was written by Daniel Bukszpan comprehensively captures this eclectic music. With its tendency toward romantic minimalism, dark dance beats, and gender-bending antics, New Wave changed the course of popular musical history, as well as fashion and art which is one of the main subjects of the book. The book was released on May 1st and it is available on Amazon. 

Chronicles of Punk, New Romantics and Beyond in 'We Can Be Heroes' by Graham Smith

'We Can Be Heroes' is a brand new book by Graham Smith that gives the insider's perspective on London's clubland 1976-1984 and celebrates the Punk and New Romantic movement. Graham Smith designed some album covers for Spandau Ballet and Sade. He was also unofficial house photographer of the London clubs and collected over 450 previously unseen images and 500 quotes from many of the chief creative figures of the punk and New Romantics era, projecting his masterpiece above and beyond the traditional photo book realm. The book was co-written with a friend and fellow Chris Sullivan who wrote a bestselling illustrated history of Punk that the Pistols say is the best book on the subject ever penned.  

The book was fully funded and released just before Christmas on December 8, 2011. You can still buy the book exclusively from Unbound, either as a limited Special Edition hardback, or as a numbered Deluxe edition, in an elegant box with two signed prints.

The Spirit of Talk Talk Updates

New updates on the Talk Talk tribute project! "The Spirit of Talk Talk" will be the name of this pompous new project which will mark Talk Talk's 30th anniversary. It will feature 30 artists and acts and personalities including King Creosote, Alan Wilder, Jason Lytle, Zero 7, Crispin Hunt, Linton Kwesi Johnson, White Belt Yellow Tag, Electric Soft Parade, Joan As Policewoman, White Lies, Goldheart Assembly and many, many more guesting cats from Bon Iver to Arcade Fire covering 30 Talk Talk tunes from 'Today' to ‘Life’s What You Make It’ to ‘After The Flood’ in their own inimitable style. 

The album is slated for release on September 3rd, 2012 on double CD and download and as part of the whole tribute-themed narrative arc the record will be accompanied by a lavish book, also called 'Spirit Of Talk Talk' which features eulogies from, among others, the smitten likes of Guy Garvey, Richard Wright (Pink Floyd), Karl Hyde (Underworld), Wild Beasts and James Lavelle from UNKLE. The artwork for both artefacts is by original Talk Talk illustrator James Marsh and the book features all manner of Mark Hollis-related delights for music lovers old and new alike to swoon over such as lost photos and handwritten lyric sheets. 

Source:
http://fiercepanda.co.uk

Words and Facts, Morrissey and The Smiths in Mozpedia

Steven Patrick Morrissey, one of the most original musicians of all time and his former band The Smiths, one of the most influential bands of all time are a subject of a book called 'Mozpedia' which was released a year ago. The summation of years of interviews and meticulous research has been arranged and written by acclaimed music journalist Simon Goddard. His book 'Mozipedia' is the most in-depth and exhaustive book about the man, the myth, and the music that's ever been published. Bringing together every song, every album, every collaborator, and so much more in over 600 entries, this is a unique and sensational find for music fans and a must-have for Morrissey's legions of devoted admirers.

http://www.amazon.com/Mozipedia-Encyclopedia-Morrissey-Simon-Goddard

Books: Electric Dreams: The Human League, Heaven 17 and the Sound of the Steel City

"Electric Dreams', the long awaited super book by David Buckley which tells the story of how a band, a city and a lot of synthesizers provided the ultimate soundtrack to the Eighties. David Buckley, the acclaimed author of 'Strange Fascination: David Bowie – The Definitive Story', charts the Human League’s unlikely rise from avant-garde veterans of the punk wars to international pop sensations and reveals how a small number of bands in Sheffield created the music that came to define an era: electro-pop. The release of the book also marks the thirtieth anniversary of 'Dare', the Human League’s seminal third album. Pre-order your book here.  

More about the Author: /www.david-buckley.com/

"Are We Not New Wave?"

A brand new New Wave study is out. The book is called "Are We Not New Wave?: Modern Pop at the Turn of the 1980s" and it tries to give the definite answer to what New Wave really is. The author Theo Cateforis provides the first musical and cultural history of the new wave movement, charting its rise out of mid-1970s punk to its ubiquitous early 1980s MTV presence and downfall in the mid-1980s. The book also explores the meanings behind the music’s distinctive traits—its characteristic whiteness and nervousness. Three decades after its rise and fall, new wave’s influence looms large over the contemporary pop scene, recycled and celebrated not only in reunion tours, VH1 nostalgia specials. Find out more about the book here

Kraftwerk- A New Publication

"Kraftwerk: Publikation" is a new and major biography of the first-ever all-electronic pop group and one of the most influential bands in popular music history. David Buckley examines the cult enigma that is Kraftwerk, including their beginnings in the avant-garde musical terrain of late-Sixties Germany and their Anglo-American breakthrough with "Autobahn" in 1975, as well as their astonishingly prescient work, which drew the musical template for techno, ambient, dance and all manner of electronic pop.

The inner workings of this most secretive of bands are revealed through interviews with friends and close associates, whilst the story of their incredible impact on modern music is traced up to the present day using interviews with a host of musicians, from original electro pioneers such as Gary Numan, the Human League, OMD and John Foxx, to contemporary acts still in awe of the original Man Machines.

Source info

http://www.david-buckley.com/news.html

Nileism- The Strange Course of the Blue Nile

This year sees the 30th anniversary of The Blue Nile's first work together. Four albums - containing a total of just 33 songs - have followed since. For the first time Allan Brown, a fan from the time of the band's first album in 1983 and friend of the band's composer Paul Buchanan, gets behind the veil to analyse the band's agonisingly slow progress through personal memoir, critical study, access to unreleased recordings and encounters with those who have been central to the strange and elusive mythology of The Blue Nile.

'Kraftwerk: Music Non Stop'

'Kraftwerk: Music Non Stop' is the new book about one of the most influential bands in the history of electronic music. This book is a collection of original essays looks at Kraftwerk - their legacy and influence - from a variety of angles. It was written and edited by Sean Albiez and David Pattie and published by Continuum Books. 'Kraftwerk: Music Non Stop' is also available via amazon.com

http://www.continuumbooks.com

Tape Delay: Confessions from the Eighties Underground

New book recommendation comes from the author Charles Neal who set about interviewing the major protagonists working in sound, word and image. Concentrating on the most challenging and confrontational, he deliberately chose those individuals and groups most at odds with the mainstream. His aim to produce a collection that reflected the cutting edge of the Eighties underground.

With only his tape recorder as defence, he solicited hundreds of hours of interview material, as well as photos, original writing and illustrations. His findings were as intriguing and diverse as the artists included. Often encompassing the taboo and perverse, the opinions of Nick Cave, Genesis P.Orridge and Michael Gira now read like lone voices against the tide of creeping commerciality that abounded in the Eighties music scene.

Contributors to Tape Delay include: Marc Almond - Dave Ball - Cabaret Voltaire - Nick Cave - Chris & Cosey - Coil - Einsturzende Neubauten - The Fall - Diamanda Galas - Genesis P. Orridge - Michael Gira - The Hafler Trio - Matt Johnson (The The) - Laibach - Lydia Lunch - New Order - Psychic TV - Boyd Rice - Henry Rollins - Clint Ruin - Sonic Youth - Stevo - Mark Stewart - Swans - Test Dept. - David Tibet (Current 93)

Shadowplayers: The Rise and Fall of Factory Records

'Shadowplayers: The Rise and Fall of Factory Records' celebrates the life of Factory Records and it was released earlier this year in May. The Author of this book is James Nice, a journalist and record-label owner. He once worked for Factory Benelux and now administers much of the former Factory catalogue. Based on both archive and contemporary sources, the book tells the full story of Factory's heroic struggles, its complex web of inventive, idiosyncratic and tragic personalities, and ultimately, the acclaimed and much-loved music it produced.

'Japan and Self Existence'

Japan's Mick Karn has just published his autobiography which is titled 'Japan & Self Existence' and is described as 'a personal insight into life as a musician and artist spanning more than 30 years'.The 387 pages include 24 photos, of which only 7 have ever been published before. The Book is available on lulu.com

http://www.mickkarn.net/