Get set to party with 70 great records-organized by theme, from Rockin’ to Beats, Mellow to Jazzy & Bluesy-spanning the 1950s to today. Each entry features liner notes on the album and two accompanying boozy beverage recipes that complement the music.

Among the featured albums are: Are You Experienced? (The Jimi Hendrix Experience), Toys in the Attic (Aerosmith), Synchronicity (The Police), Jagged Little Pill (Alanis Morisette), The B52s (The B52s ), Gipsy Kings (The Gipsy Kings), Violator (Depeche Mode), Ready to Die (The Notorious B.I.G.), Play (Moby), Lemonade (Beyoncé), Coat of Many Colors (Dolly Parton), Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (Elton John), So (Peter Gabriel), Whitney Houston (Whitney Houston), Oops!…I Did it Again (Britney Spears), Getz/Gilberto (Stan Getz and João Gilberto), A Love Supreme (John Coltrane).

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The second in this new series, The Virgin Book of Hit Singles is the most-up-to-date and comprehensive record of the music charts available today and a perfect, collectable complement to The Virgin Book of Hit Albums and The Virgin Book of Top 75 Charts.
Now improved and fine-tuned, and drawn from the Official Charts Company Data since 1952, The Virgin Book of Hit Singles features the most comprehensive, easy to read and accessible music chart data and information. It’s all here — expanded artist biographies, side notes of interest, label and catalogue numbers, peak positions, number of weeks on chart and weeks at number one. Also includes EP charts.
The Virgin Book of Hit Singles is essential reading, and reference, for any music lover.

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Julian Cope’s highly acclaimed autobiography and its long-awaited sequel in one extraordinary volume.

Julian Cope shot to fame with eighties band ‘Teardrop Explodes’ during the Punk era. Hailed as a visionary by those people who recognise his genius and a madman by those who find him perplexing, he has become a cult figure in the music world.

Head-On/Repossessed is written in Cope’s own inimitable style and follows his journey through a time of incredible change within the music industry.
Head-on is the highly acclaimed autobiography that The Observer viewed as “book of the year” when it was first released. Repossesed picks up in 1983 where Head On ends and continues up until 1989.

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So here it is…

The perfect gift for music lovers of all ages, The Official Christmas No. 1 Singles Book is jam-packed with facts, figures and photos to get your toes tapping along to the sounds of seven decades of festive chart-toppers.

Have you ever wondered how many Christmas number ones actually have the word ‘Christmas’ in their title? Or how many TV talent-show winners have claimed the festive top spot?

Do you know which artist has racked up the most Christmas number ones? Or which single is the biggest-selling seasonal chart-topper of all time?

Can you name the only song to have topped the Christmas chart twice by two different artists? Or the only artist to have been Christmas number one twice with the same song?

The answers to all these questions – plus many more – can be found in this exclusive festive companion, published in conjunction with the Official Charts Company.

With a fully illustrated double-page spread for every year since the UK singles chart began in 1952, Michael Mulligan’s fun and authoritative journey through the Christmas archives will delight curious browsers and dedicated pop nerds alike. Featuring top-ten countdowns, fascinating trivia about the highest-charting Christmas singles and plenty of entertaining infographics, this is the ideal family stocking-filler, celebrating all that is wonderful, whimsical and unpredictable about the festive season’s most hotly contested musical event.

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A complete and harmonious history of music, from prehistory to the present day!

Have you ever wondered how blues influenced rock music? Or why jazz went Latin? Classical or rock, everyone has their favourite music style, but how did your top choice come about? If you find yourself asking these musical questions and more, then this may be the book for you!

Music is a compelling and richly illustrated history of the most unifying art form in the world. Explore the roots of all genres from chants of the middle ages through the grandeur of the classical period to the modern rhythm of blues, jazz, hip-hop, and pop. Music includes illustrated histories of instruments and listening suggestions for each musical genre. Spectacular galleries display families of instruments from around the world, while special features showcase the evolution of key instruments, such as the piano and the guitar, and profile iconic innovators such as Mozart, Billie Holiday, and David Bowie. Charting every musical revolution, from bone flutes to electronica and from jazz to hip-hop, this visually stunning history of music will hit the right note, whether you are into pop or rock, or disco or rap, classical or opera.

Explore the magical world of music like you’ve never known it before, and discover:

-Revolutionary musical developments outlined step by step
-Biographies profiling the lives and works of groundbreaking musicians
-Collection spreads feature families of instruments, such as the gamelan
-“Story of” spreads chart the evolution of individual instruments
-Key Works boxes provide listening suggestions for different music styles
-Illustrated glossary clearly explains musical terminology and genres

This magnificent book about music charts and explains the entire global history of music, whether it’s music in the Middle Ages, to the Sounds of Soul, music in the Romance period to Renaissance and so much more. This new edition of Music has been updated with the latest facts and information, including the latest on streaming music, with specially-comissioned photography including a Stradivarus guitar, the earliest cello known to survice and a guitar used personally by Bob Dylan!

A must-have volume for musicians, music students or simply those wanting to learn about the history of their favourite music genre or their chosen instrument, Music is sure to delight!

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Hours of Fun-Filled Facts & Trivia Questions! – Special Launch Price

This trivia book begins with the precursors to musical theatre throughout the world and narrows to the island we will come back to time and time again: Manhattan. We explore each thrilling decade and then cover grander topics that span the years. Each chapter begins with a series of multiple-choice and true or false questions with the answers following on the next page. After testing your knowledge, peruse the “Did You Know” section for quirky anecdotes, fun facts, and important records to add to your knowledge.

Grab a copy and test yourself on your knowledge of Broadway theatre! Whether you’re a Fosse fan, more of a Golden-Age gal, or you cry yourself to sleep listening to Next to Normal, you’ll strengthen your knowledge of the history of American musical theatre and the remarkable people who have made it happen.

Let’s see how much you know about Broadway! Scroll up and buy now.

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The newest addition to the bestselling All the Songs series, Queen: All the Songs details the unique recording history of the mega-bestselling and hugely influential rock band. Filled with fascinating photographs (some rarely seen), and juicy behind-the-scenes details, Queen: All the Songs tells the story of the band, album-by-album and track-by-track.

A lovingly thorough dissection of every album and every song ever released by the beloved rock group, Queen: All the Songs follows Freddie, Brian, Roger, and John from their self-titled debut in 1973 through the untimely passing of Freddie, all the way up to their latest releases and the Oscar winning film, Bohemian Rhapsody. The writing and recording process of each and every track is dissected, discussed, and analyzed by author Benoît Clerc, and page after page features fascinating and sometimes rarely seen images of the band.

Queen: All the Songs delves deep into the history and origins of the band and their music. This one-of-a-kind book draws upon decades of research and recounts the circumstances that led to the composition of every song, as well as the recording process, and the instruments used. Featuring hundreds of photographs, including rare black-and-white publicity stills, images of instruments used by the band, and engaging shots of the musicians in-studio, Queen: All the Songs is the must-have book for any true fan of classic rock.

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In these fifty-two interviews, the greatest songwriters of our time go straight to the source of the magic of songwriting by offering their thoughts, feelings, and opinions on their art. Representing almost every genre of popular music, from folk to Tin Pan Alley to jazz, from blues to pop rock, these are the figures who have shaped American music as we know it. Here they share their secrets and personal methods for converting inspiration into song: Robbie Robertson of the Band an Tom Petty talk about working with Bob Dylan; Dylan himself, in his only in-depth interview in more than ten years, says that the world doesn’t need any new songs; R.E.M. name their favorite R.E.M. songs; Madonna describes collaborating with Prince; Sammy Cahn talks about writing standards for Sinatra; Pete Seeger recounts hitting the road with Woody Guthrie; Frank Zappa admits to loving “Louie Louie”; Todd Rundgren explains how he dreams his songs; and, in the book’s most extensive interview, Paul Simon delves into his opus from “The Sound of Silence” to “Graceland.”

And almost all of them express delight at being able to talk about the mechanics of music itself, something that they have rarely been asked to discuss. Here expanded with new interviews with Burt Bacharach, Laura Nyro, Yoko Ono, Leonard Cohen, Graham Nash, Jackson Browne, Richard Thompson, and many others, Songwriters on Songwriting is a rare volume: one of the best books on the craft of musicmaking, an informative source for musicians and songwriters, and an invaluable historical record of the popular music of this century.

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The Cover Art of Blue Note Records is Graham Marsh and Glyn Callingham’s classic collection of the unparalleled record sleeves produced by the celebrated Blue Note record label.

Around January 1956 the photographer Francis Wolff and Alfred Lion of Blue Note Records met Reid Miles, a commercial artists and a devout classical music fan. After establishing a rapport, Reid Miles became the designer for the Blue Note label for the next eleven years creating wonderful graphic covers that were both unique and also retaining the indefinable Blue Note look. Featuring iconic covers for artists such as Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Sonny Rollins and Art Blakey, this anthology is an evocative piece of Jazz history.

Alongside over 400 of the record label’s best album covers is a selection of short essays written by leading industry figures. Both a comprehensive guide to an acclaimed label, and an insightful snapshot of graphic design history, The Cover Art of Blue Note Records is a must-have for all Jazz fans.

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