Just a heads up to say that Dancing Through the Fire, the authorised history of Paul Weller by Dan Jennings, is available on today’s daily deal for just 99p. Think of it as an early Christmas present for yourself.

https://amzn.eu/d/hB2ZuFq

You wait ages for a Beatles thread, and then they start turning up like the proverbial bus. I was going to post this anyway, before the Anthology thread came up, as I wanted to talk about my collection of Beatles books. It was after I posted a thread the other day about a Beatles book on a kindle deal, that got me thinking about my collection. The post had mixed reviews, with some people bored rigid with the subject, and others saying you can never have too many. Dai and Diddley posted their top 5 Beatles books, which made me look at my own collection, which I will post here for anyone interested. If you’re not, there’s no need to read on.

My obsession started at a very young age, I was 9 in 1970, knew nothing of the band breaking up, but had already become very familiar with their music. My first LP was Sgt Pepper bought in 1972. Anyway on to the books. I still owe them all, bar one, but didn’t realise I had so many until I counted them the other day. This is roughly the order I bought them in, with the later ones being » Continue Reading.

I know, I know, it’s another bloody Beatles book, but you can never have too many can you. Anyway, just a heads up to say that this Sunday Times bestseller by Ian Leslie, is currently selling for 1.89 on the old kindle store. I’ve just bought it, and it’s on a limited time deal, so grab it while you can.

I’ve just bought a few kindle books this afternoon, which I think might be of interest to you fellow music lovers. The first is very topical, which is Live Forever, The Rise, Fall and Resurrection of Oasis. Only released last month, it tells the band’s story, but is also a portrait of Britain around the turn of the century culturally, from art to fashion, football to politcs. It’s only a limited time deal for 99p, so don’t delay if you’re interested.

The second is Into the Void by Geezer Butler. It has had great reviews, and is a book I’ve been meaning to buy for a while. Yours for just 99p as well.

The third one I bought was by the delightful Kate Mossman. Men of a Certain age: My encounters with Rock Royalty, chronicles the lives of some of the biggest rock stars of our time. Some were previously published in The Word magazine, and some in The New Statesman. This is just £1.99, but be quick, as the offer ends at midnight. I haven’t posted links, but they are easy to find on the kindle app if you’re interested. That’s all folks, and I hope you » Continue Reading.

With just two hours to go before the Gallagher brothers take to the stage in Cardiff, is anyone on here interested, and has anyone got tickets to any of the shows.

I’m not going myself, even though I live only a twenty minute walk from the stadium, but the build up this week has been incredible. The local news have talked about nothing else, and the local paper has had pages full of it all week.

I was never a huge fan, and only own a greatest hits collection, but you have to admit that for a few years in the mid 90s, they were the biggest band in the world. I don’t love them, and I certainly don’t hate them, and really do enjoy a few of their songs. They are certainly a part of the history of rock and pop from the late 20th century.

So I wish them well for tonight, and for the rest of the tour, and hope the fans get to see a really good show, as they’ve certainly paid enough to see it.

I said in the How You Doing blog that I was a long time lurker and don’t post much, so I thought I would rectify the situation and give it a go. This might be a bit of a ramble, so please bear with me. With it being Christmas, I thought a post about 1979, and especially Christmas 1979, would be a good place to start. A lot happened that year that would change the course of my life. In March I turned 18, but was in a bit of rut jobwise since leaving school two years previously. But by May through a bit of luck and perseverance, I managed to get an apprenticeship with a small engineering firm. Things were looking good, I had a great group of friends, we were out drinking every night, going to loads of gigs, and playing football every Sunday morning. What a year for music as well, with Blondie and the Police hitting the big time, and new acts like the Specials and Madness making their mark on the charts. There was plenty of rock going on as well. I went abroad for the first time with two friends (my mother was worried » Continue Reading.

A bit late in the day, but just a nod to say that The Reluctant Beatle, the biography of George Harrison by Philip Norman, is available today on Amazon as a kindle daily deal for just £1.99. That’s all folks.

I know this post is a bit late, but hey, better late than never. Anyway, what I came on here to talk about is the above album- Hello by Status Quo. Released on the 28th September 1973, it recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, and as far as I’m aware , it received very little coverage apart from a cover piece in Classic Rock magazine. In my humble opinion it is Status Quo’s greatest album, and one that had a massive impact on me the first time I heard it. You could say it changed my life. I was 12 years old in 1973 and already obsessed with music. I already owned three Beatles albums, Sgt Pepper and the recently released Blue and Red compilations, and I’d been buying singles for over a year, and was well into Glam Rock, Slade, 10cc etc. I was mainly into singles, while my brother four years older was into albums, especially the heavier variety, Led Zep, Sabbath, Floyd etc , which didn’t interest me at all at that age( they would years later). One evening towards the end of the year, he asked me to listen to a song from a new album he’d » Continue Reading.

Just a quick post to say that Electric Shock, from the Gramophone to the iPhone – 125 years of Pop Music by Peter Doggett, is one of today’s Kindle daily deals at 99p. Thought it might be of interest to many on this site.