A fascinating collection of new music books is hitting the shelves, promising to reveal a treasure trove of untold stories and surprising facts from across the decades. From the ultimate guide to 1980s pop to intimate portraits of music's biggest legends, these titles offer fresh perspectives for even the most knowledgeable fans.
Decoding the Decade: 80s Trivia and Political Futures
Justin Lewis's Into The Groove: The 1980s – The Ultimate Decade in Music History is packed with more facts than you could fit on a mixtape. The book delves into the origins of iconic names, explaining that Q Magazine was named for 'cueing up' a CD, while The Pogues' original moniker was the Gaelic expletive 'Pogue Mahone', leading the BBC to refuse to use it.
It also uncovers musical connections that cross genres, revealing that jazz legend Ronnie Scott not only played sax on The Beatles' 'Lady Madonna' but also on Phil Collins's 'I Missed Again'. Perhaps most intriguingly, it revisits a 1989 BBC1 discussion on acid house parties, noting that one participant was a young lawyer for the National Council for Civil Liberties named Keir Starmer, offering a new lens on the current Prime Minister's past.
Band Bonds and Supersonic Journeys
The complex, creative relationship between John Lennon and Paul McCartney is explored anew in Ian Leslie's John and Paul: A Love Story in Songs. The book shares poignant and humanising details, such as the pair being too poor to ascend the Eiffel Tower during a 1961 Paris trip, instead lying on the grass below to gaze up at it. It also notes that Lennon passed his driving test on the very day he recorded 'Ticket To Ride'.
For the iconic final chord of 'A Day In The Life', Lennon, McCartney, Ringo Starr, producer George Martin, and roadie Mal Evans all stood to hit the piano keys with maximum force. The book closes with Lennon's last words to McCartney in a phone call: 'think about me every now and then, old friend'.
Shifting to the 1990s, John Robb's Live Forever: The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Oasis chronicles the band's legendary chaos and anthems. Their first foreign gig ended abruptly when, after crossing to Holland by ferry and paying for champagne with fake £50 notes, they were sent straight back to the UK. When Noel Gallagher called their record boss, the reaction wasn't fury but admiration: 'F*****g brilliant... normally we have to make stories like that up'.
The biography also demystifies album art, explaining that Liam Gallagher's reclining pose on the Definitely Maybe cover was inspired by Egyptian mummies, and the red wine in the shot was actually Ribena, chosen because it photographed better.
The King, The Colonel, and The Maestro
Peter Guralnick, the acclaimed biographer of Elvis Presley, turns his focus to the star's fraught relationship with his manager in The Colonel and The King. 'Colonel' Tom Parker, a Dutch immigrant born Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk, was a compulsive gambler who lost up to $800,000 in a single sitting. The book contrasts Presley's global adoration with his inner misery, quoting the star in his early fame envying a stray dog's freedom: 'nobody knows what a wonderful life he's living during the night.'
Finally, Tim Greiving's John Williams: A Composer's Life celebrates the man behind the most iconic film scores. After a disastrous early screening left George Lucas despondent, the first day recording Williams's music made Lucas feel 'like the sun came out again'. The biography reveals that the Star Wars theme is in B-flat major to match the key of the 20th Century Fox fanfare.
It also details how director Chris Columbus was 'dying to see what John would do with Quidditch... a sporting event that doesn't exist'. Greiving suggests Williams himself is like Harry Potter: 'A mild-mannered wizard with glasses, who casts spells and enchants the entire world.'
