New to the catalogue

In recent years, female artists such as Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga and Adele have had huge commercial and critical success as well as massive media attention. As more and more female solo artists hit the mainstream the question arises: where are the girl bands? Why aren’t they getting the attention they deserve?

Does their gender solely define their music? Do they get gigs and attention just because they are female? Does the medai focus on what they look like undermine what they are doing musically?

Women Make Noise: girl bands from Motown to the modern is a collection of 10 essays about all-girl bands from the 1920s up to 2012. Its editor, Julia Downes, invites musicians, promoters, journalists, high profile artists and music fans to discuss their favourite girl bands: not the type who sing along to backing tracks – the real musicians, who can actually play their instruments.

From the country belles of the 20s-40s, Motown groups of the 60s, to prog rock goddesses and punks of the 70s-80s; from riot grrrl activists of the 90s to radical protesters Pussy Riot. These aren’t the manufactured acts of some pop svengali, these groups write their own songs, play their own instruments and make music together on their own terms.

Ten essays aren’t enough to dissect all of the all-girl bands in history but it is a good start on what is a lengthy topic. Including interviews with classic punk groups like The Raincoats and The Slits, as well as household names like Bjork and Beth Ditto, this book demonstrates that all-girl bands have made radical contributions to feminism, culture and politics as well as producing some unique, influential and innovative music.

Further details of Women make noise: girl bands from Motown to the modern can be found on our catalogue.

 (Photo credit: ‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky by Paolo Hewitt, Quercus (Quercus Editions Ltd.)

Sergeant Pepper. Woodstock. Altamont. Live Aid.

Moments that changed music forever.

Spanning the last 50 years from when Elvis Presley brought rock’n’roll to the mainstream via The Frank Sinatra Show to the death of Michael Jackson in 2009, influential music writer – and passionate music fan – Paolo Hewitt selects 50 key moments in the history of music.

The stories behind the iconic records and recordings, the untimely deaths, landmark live performances, on-screen incidents and all of the most outrageous moments are recounted in this captivating, comprehensive overview of the greatest musical form of the twentieth century.

Paolo Hewitt’s lively and readable text gives us a unique ‘insider’s view’ on each event explaining the background and immediate aftermath to the moment as well as its long term significance and legacy.

Each story is accompanied by an ‘at a glance’ box about each artist, their most significant achievements and contribution to rock history.

Alongside truly iconic moments, such as the birth of the Beatles and the shooting of Marvin Gaye by his father, less well-known, but equally sensational incidents include Sly Stone getting married during his own gig at Madison Square Garden, the Sex Pistols on the Bill Grundy show and Pete Doherty burgling the flat of his best friend and fellow Libertine Carl Barat.

Further details of  ‘Scuse me while I kiss the sky can be found on our catalogue.

(Photo credit: Document and eyewitness: an intimate history of Rough trade by Neil Taylor. Published by Orion)

There never has been and there never will be another record company like Rough Trade. From its pre-punk beginnings in the 1970s, through its coming of age during the post-punk era, Rough Trade has been responsible not only for some of the finest material committed to disc, but also for championing a radical ethos that has constantly challenged what has gone before.

Rough Trade is practically a byword for the history of independent music over the last thirty years. Document and Eyewitness traces the history of the company that started out as a humble record shop and turned itself into an alternative global empire, before self-imploding and eventually re-emerging in its present form.

Many of the best independent artists found their start or did their best work, and often both, on Rough Trade – Cabaret Voltaire, The Fall, Scritti Politti, Robert Wyatt, The Smiths, The Sundays, The Strokes, The Libertines, British Sea Power and Eddi Reader to name but a few.

An equally impressive and even larger number of artists were beneficiaries of Rough trade Distribution, which, prior to its collapse in 1991, handled, among thousands of others, releases by Rough Trade’s own acts as well as those by Joy Division, Depeche Mode, The Specials, Orange Juice, the Cocteau Twins, and The KLF.

Neil Taylor presents a frank, reflective, absorbing, atmospheric account of what many consider a national institution. The book blends the voices of over seventy participants, all interviewed for the project – musicians such as Green Gartside, Robert Wyatt, Johnny Marr and Jarvis Cocker and the workers, many of whom speak for the first time about their experiences – with a hitherto unpublished archive of documentation. 

From the early records of Cabaret Voltaire, Kleenex and the Swell Maps, through to groundbreaking releases by The Fall, The Smiths and Scritti Pollitti, on through the collapse of the independent collective and the rebirth of Rough Trade at the turn of the century, this will be the definitive, essential account for any serious independent music fan.

You can find further details of Document and eyewitness on our catalogue.