Mark Blake

Queen is unique among the great rock bands. It's been nearly 20 years since frontman Freddie Mercury's death brought the band to an end, yet their fan base remains massive, they appeal equally to men and women, and their fans are just as likely to be teenagers too young to have been born when the band were still touring and making records (thanks not least to the huge success of the musical We Will Rock You). Their musical history is one of constant reinvention—from heavy metal and prog rock to disco pop, stadium anthems, and even jazz influences. Now, having already interviewed the surviving band members over the years, Mojo journalist Mark Blake has tracked down dozens of new interviewees, from long-forgotten early bass players to Freddie Mercury's schoolmates, to deliver the definitive history of the band. He traces Queen's long career from their very first gawky performances in St. Helens, Merseyside through their sensational stage-stealing appearance on Live Aid to the band's collaboration with Paul Rodgers at the beginning of the century. Full of fascinating new revelations—especially about the improbable transformation of a shy Indian schoolboy called Bulsara into the outrageous-living hedonist that was Freddie Mercury—this is a book every Queen fan will want.

The Untold Story of Queen

Is This the Real Life?

A comprehensive history of the iconic psychedelic rock band draws on interviews with its members as well as the group's friends, crew, and other colleagues to describe their rise during the 1960s and 1970s, their breakup, the death of Syd Barrett, and more.

The Inside Story of Pink Floyd

Comfortably Numb

"Freddie Mercury was one of rock's most dazzling front men. When he died in 1991, the music world lost [a] flamboyant [character], as well as a supremely talented writer and vocalist. Best known as the lead singer of Queen, his ... four-octave voice was a distinctive element in the band's unique sound, which resulted in more than a dozen million-selling albums through the 1970s, '80s, and early '90s. [This book] charts his ... career in the context of the life he led in the glare of rock stardom"--Amazon.com.

A Kind of Magic

Freddie Mercury

A comprehensive book about the band. Perfectly timed to meet a market of renewed fascination with Pink Floyd in the wake of their triumphant Live 8 reunion in 2005 and the death of founder member Syd Barrrett, it talks to the band's friends, road crew, former housemates, university colleagues and musical contemporaries.

Pigs Might Fly

Nos Bastidores do Pink Floyd

Magnifico! The A to Z of Queen

On the thirtieth anniversary of the rise to popularity of punk rock, a collection of articles, interviews, and photography looks at the history of punk and the artists, music, and culture it spawned.

The Whole Story

Punk

Draws on interviews with producers, managers and ex-girlfriends and boyfriends to provide a history of the band Queen, including how lead singer Freddie Mercury's sexuality alienated some of their fans and forced the band to reinvent themselves. By the author of Comfortably Numb: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd. 25,000 first printing.

The Untold Story of Freddie Mercury & Queen

Is this the Real Life?

Fleetwood Mac have had a chart-topping career that spans over fifty years and includes some of the biggest-selling albums and greatest hits of the 20th and 21st centuries. But the band's story is one of enormous triumph and also unimaginable tragedy. There has never been a band in the history of music riven with as much romantic drama, sexual tension and incredible highs and lows as Fleetwood Mac. Dreams is a must-read for casual Fleetwood Mac fans and die-hard devotees alike. In this unique collection of mini-biographies, observations and essays, Mark Blake explores all eras of the Fleetwood Mac story to explore what it is that has made them one of the most successful bands in history. Blake draws on his own exclusive interviews with Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham and the late Peter Green and Christine McVie, and addresses the complex human drama at the heart of the Fleetwood Mac story, including the complicated relationships between the band's main members, but he also dives deep into the towering discography that the band have built over the past half-century.

The Many Lives of Fleetwood Mac

Dreams

An Illustrated Life

“An engaging mix of humor and detailed critical analysis…great fun.” —Mojo From the award-winning author of Bring It On Home: Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin, and Beyond and Comfortably Numb: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd comes this deeply researched alphabetical biography of Queen and each of its dynamic members. Addressing the phenomenal success of the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, acclaimed music journalist Mark Blake builds on the legend of Queen and their enduring audience appeal. Providing a fresh, unparalleled take on Queen’s music, story, and legacy, Blake’s complete portrait covers not only the major hits and bestselling albums, but also the inside stories behind the music. Via a series of essays, interviews, and biographies, the author shares a wealth of lesser-known details—gained from over thirty years of original material—and explores what the songs of Queen say about their creators. “You want it all? There’s not much missing here.” —Classic Rock

The A to Z of Queen

Magnifico!

"A definitive tome for both Who fans and newcomers alike" - Q Magazine Pete Townshend was once asked how he prepared himself for The Who's violent live performances. His answer? 'Pretend you're in a war.' For a band as prone to furious infighting as it was notorious for acts of 'auto-destructive art' this could have served as a motto. Between 1964 and 1969 The Who released some of the most dramatic and confrontational music of the decade, including 'I Can't Explain', 'My Generation' and 'I Can See For Miles'. This was a body of work driven by bitter rivalry, black humour and dark childhood secrets, but it also held up a mirror to a society in transition. Now, acclaimed rock biographer Mark Blake goes in search of its inspiration to present a unique perspective on both The Who and the sixties. From their breakthrough as Mod figureheads to the rise and fall of psychedelia, he reveals how The Who, in their explorations of sex, drugs, spirituality and class, refracted the growing turbulence of the time. He also lays bare the colourful but crucial role played by their managers, Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp. And - in the uneasy alliance between art-school experimentation and working-class ambition - he locates the motor of the Swinging Sixties. As the decade closed, with The Who performing Tommy in front of 500,000 people at the Woodstock Festival, the 'rock opera' was born. In retrospect, it was the crowning achievement of a band who had already embraced pop art and the concept album; who had pioneered the power chord and the guitar smash; and who had embodied - more so than any of their peers - the guiding spirit of the age: war.

The Who & the Sixties

Pretend You're In A War

Mark Blake draws on his own interviews with band members as well as the group's friends, road crew, musical contemporaries, former housemates, and university colleagues to produce a riveting history of one of the biggest rock bands of all time. We follow Pink Floyd from the early psychedelic nights at UFO, to the stadium-rock and concept-album zenith of the seventies, to the acrimonious schisms of the late '80s and '90s. Along the way there are fascinating new revelations about Syd Barrett's chaotic life at the time of Piper at the Gates of Dawn, the band's painstaking and Byzantine recording sessions at Abbey Road, and the fractious negotiations to bring about their fragile, tantalizing reunion in Hyde Park. Meticulous, exacting, and ambitious as any Pink Floyd album, Comfortably Numb is the definitive account of this most adventurous—and most English—rock band.

Pat Gilbert

Martin Aston

Pink Floyd, bien que scindé en deux depuis plus de vingt ans, n'est pas mort. Son pouls bat au contraire à un rythme régulier. Il faut dire que l'influence du groupe anglais ne cesse de croître. Ses albums classiques (Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here, Animals ou The Wall) sont toujours en haut des ventes, tandis que la nouvelle vague de groupes anglo-saxons se réclame toujours davantage de ses fascinantes architectures sonores. Cet ouvrage entend proposer au lecteur une plongée dans l'univers visuel du groupe et dans les époques qu'il a traversées : du début du psychédélisme jusqu'à la démesure des années 80, en passant par la période classique des années 70.

Pink Floyd

The acclaimed, definitive biography of Pink Floyd, from their iconic beginnings in psychedelic, Swinging London to their historic reunion at the Live8 concert ("The most complete, insightful, and current account of Pink Floyd...nearly as essential as the music itself."--Austin Chronicle) Mark Blake draws on his own interviews with band members as well as the group's friends, road crew, musical contemporaries, former housemates, and university colleagues to produce a riveting history of one of the biggest rock bands of all time. We follow Pink Floyd from the early psychedelic nights at UFO, to the stadium-rock and concept-album zenith of the seventies, to the acrimonious schisms of the late '80s and '90s. Along the way there are fascinating new revelations about Syd Barrett's chaotic life at the time of Piper at the Gates of Dawn, the band's painstaking and Byzantine recording sessions at Abbey Road, and the fractious negotiations to bring about their fragile, tantalizing reunion in Hyde Park. Meticulous, exacting, and ambitious as any Pink Floyd album, Comfortably Numb is the definitive account of this most adventurous--and most English--rock band.

"This is an authorized reprint of a hardcover edition published by Aurum Press Ltd."--T.p. verso.

The Wit and Wisdom of Keith Richards

Stone Me

A compelling collection of intimate photographs, many never before published, accompanied by detailed articles, essays, and captions from contributors to MOJO magazine, pay tribute to the illustrious career of musician-songwriter Bob Dylan, from 1965 to the present day. Reprint.

Visions, Portraits & Back Pages

Dylan

The definitive biography of Queen and Freddie Mercury, by the author of Comfortably Numb and Bring It On Home Despite the death of their exuberant front man Freddie Mercury in 1991, Queen remains one of the most popular bands on the planet, with 300 million global album sales and the biopic Bohemian Rhapsody, a "foot-stomping celebration of Queen," hitting theaters. Yet the full story of their extraordinary success and the truths behind the enigmatic Mercury has never fully been told, until now. Journalist Mark Blake, author of the bestselling Pink Floyd biography Comfortably Numb, has drawn on his own earlier interviews with the band and conducted nearly 100 exclusive interviews with record producers, ex-band members, personal assistants, and school friends, including many of Freddie Mercury's earliest associates, to produce a complete, fascinating account of the band's rise from suburbia to worldwide super-stardom. Is This the Real Life? tells, for the first time, how this groundbreaking band became champions of the world.

'You want it all? There's not much missing here. 9/10.' - Classic Rock From the award-winning author of Bring It On Home: Peter Grant, Led Zeppelin and Beyond and Pigs Might Fly: The Inside Story of Pink Floyd comes MAGNIFICO! THE A TO Z OF QUEEN. Addressing the phenomenal success of Bohemian Rhapsody, acclaimed music journalist Mark Blake builds on the legend of Queen and their enduring audience appeal. Providing a fresh, unparalleled take on Queen's music, story and legacy, Blake's complete portrait covers not only the major hits and bestselling albums, but also the inside stories behind the music. Via a series of essays, interviews and biographies, the author shares a wealth of lesser-known details - gained from over thirty years of original material - and explores what the songs of Queen say about their creators. 'Thank you, God bless and sweet dreams, you load of tarts!' - Freddie Mercury

Mark Blake

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