The Anarchy Tour

The ‘Anarchy in the UK Tour’ should have just been a collection of twenty gigs like any other, spanning venues across the UK… It was December 1976, and a coach drove off down a London street like any other. On board were the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Heartbreakers, while The Damned, who were also on the bill, followed behind. However, two days earlier on the Today Show, tour, the Sex Pistols’ had lit a fire in the popular consciousness. What should have been an inconsequential three-minute interview descended into farce when the show’s host goaded Sex Pistols’ guitarist Steve Jones into saying ‘something outrageous’. Local councils began to ban the tour and agreed “Most of these groups would be vastly improved by sudden death”. Author Mick O Shea dissects the whirlwind that followed these punk-rock heavyweights and the sheer force of their rebellion against popular culture. He has interviewed band members, managers, roadies and audiences to tell the true story of how anarchy once gripped the nation.

Revised and updated to cover the Clash's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the band members' post-Clash careers, The Clash: Return of the Last Gang in Town now includes the first full account of Joe Strummer's "Wilderness Years," his triumphant comeback with the Mescaleros, and his sudden and tragic early death. Extensively revised and updated from both its 1995 and 2001 incarnations, The Clash traces the band members' progress from dispiriting rehearsals in damp London basements to packed American stadiums. A fascinatingly detailed account of the first band to take punk's radical politics to the masses and survive for a decade against all the odds, it also offers an intriguing investigation into the gap between rock mythology and rock reality.

The story of Malcolm McLaren is the story of England in the last half century. Expelled from a string of art colleges, he met and fell in love with designer Vivienne Westwood. They became the Bonnie and Clyde of punk as they set out to turn the fashion world upside down with their Kings Road boutique SEX and its eye-popping creations.It was also the birthplace of the Sex Pistols and in 26 short months blew the music business apart. McLaren masterminded it all: discovering lead singer John Lydon, achieving a No 1 single without airplay and outraging a nation with 'God Save the Queen'. The Pistols imploded in a horror story of heroin, murder and suicide. A beleaguered Malcolm went into self-imposed exile in Paris as years of lawsuits commenced. The rift was never healed and this book examines the complex relationship between the two which was the hub of the group. Malcolm's own musical career was no less amazing. His 1983 album Duck Rock mixed African music with hip-hop and was responsible for bringing the fusion to a wider audience in the UK. Other collaborations included working with such diverse talents as guitar hero Jeff Beck and the legendary Francoise Hardy. In later years he even ran for Mayor of London, funded by Alan McGee - former Oasis supremo.

Written by longtime fan and author of the popular Damned website, Barry Hutchinson, celebrates the band's first 20 years - often referred to as the chaos years.

With its own fashion, culture, and chaotic energy, punk rock boasted a do-it-yourself ethos that allowed anyone to take part. Vibrant and volatile, the punk scene left an extraordinary legacy of music and cultural change. John Robb talks to many of those who cultivated the movement, such as John Lydon, Lemmy, Siouxsie Sioux, Mick Jones, Chrissie Hynde, Malcolm McLaren, Henry Rollins, and Glen Matlock, weaving together their accounts to create a raw and unprecedented oral history of UK punk. All the main players are here: from The Clash to Crass, from The Sex Pistols to the Stranglers, from the UK Subs to Buzzcocks—over 150 interviews capture the excitement of the most thrilling wave of rock ’n’ roll pop culture ever. Ranging from its widely debated roots in the late 1960s to its enduring influence on the bands, fashion, and culture of today, this history brings to life the energy and the anarchy as no other book has done.

This one-of-a-kind reference investigates the music and the musicians that set the popular trends of the last half century in America. Many rock fans have, at one time or another, ranked their favorite artists in order of talent, charisma, and musical influence on the world as they see it. In this same spirit, author and music historian David V. Moskowitz expands on the concept of "top ten" lists to provide a lineup of the best 100 musical groups from the past 60 years. Since the chosen bands are based on the author's personal taste, this two-volume set provokes discussion of which performers are included and why, offering insights into the surprising influences behind them. From the Everly Brothers, to the Ramones, to Public Enemy, the work covers a wide variety of styles and genres, clearly illustrating the connections between them. Entries focus on the group's history, touring, membership, major releases, selected discography, bibliography, and influence. Contributions from leading scholars in popular music shed light on derivative artists and underscore the overall impact of the performers on the music industry.

The Sex Pistols simply, and seemingly effortlessly, blew away all that had come before them, setting an entirely new bar for rock acts that followed in their wake. Peter Smith explores the impact the band had on the launching of the punk movement as well as its embodiment of 1970s’ disenfranchised youth and tense political climate.

Pat Gilbert’s definitive biography of the Clash – universally acclaimed as a great book – has already sold over 20,000 copies in paperback. Now, for the 30th anniversary of the band’s classic London Calling album, it is reissued with a stunning new cover. For the book Pat Gilbert – a former Mojo editor with the highest credentials – talked to everyone, in over 70 interviews with the key participants – roadies, producers, friends and fans - and above all the band members themselves, including Joe Strummer before his death, to be able to give the first real insight into what went on behind the scenes during the Clash’s ten-year career. With the surge in interest generated by the Shea Stadium live CD and the official Clash book, Passion Is A Fashion will attract a new sale as the only truly indispensable Clash book.