Like Fela Kuti and Bob Marley, singer, composer, and bandleader Thomas Mapfumo and his music came to represent his native country's anticolonial struggle and cultural identity. Mapfumo was born in 1945 in what was then the British colony of Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). The trajectory of his career-from early performances of rock 'n' roll tunes to later creating a new genre based on traditional Zimbabwean music, including the sacred mbira, and African and Western pop-is a metaphor for Zimbabwe's evol...
As the most outspoken judge on Strictly Come Dancing, Craig Revel Horwood is no stranger to controversy and is notorious for his cutting put-downs and often brutal honesty. In "All Balls and Glitter", Craig turns the spotlight on himself and is at his most candid yet. Craig tells his remarkable life story, beginning with his childhood in Australia, and spills the secrets of his celebrity encounters. Discover the sordid tale of his escape from his small-town home in Ballarat, aged just fifteen, t...
The second instalment of Michael Sheard's autobiography which give unique insights into the world of show business, television and film. His experiences as an actor in the "Star Wars Trilogy" takes the reader behind the scenes with the leading stars of our time.
'Today and every day for me, up until May 2016, is all about the first episode of the brand new Top Gear. The show I've been hired to save from becoming mere ashes blowing across the hinterland of the golden age of television. A show as infamous as it's revered the world over. A show that somehow exploded from a monthly regional BBC Midlands half-hour magazine programme in the late Seventies into the global anarchic phenomenon it is today. 'What follows is the story of the television equivalent...
Ludwig van Beethoven (German: 17 December 1770 - 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. His best-known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas, 16 string quartets, his great Mass the Missa solemnis and an opera, Fidelio. Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of C...
This volume is a comprehensive monograph that chronicles the personal and professional journey of the Indian architect and urban conservationist Brinda Somaya, from 1975 to the present. Belonging to the Bridge Generation, her work transcends stylistic vocabulary and draws its inspiration from Indian culture and the landscape of the subcontinent. The book explores Somayas diverse typology of projects in challenging conditions, including urban, social and industrial design that represent a unique...
The Films of Freddie Francis (The Scarecrow Filmmakers)
by Wheeler Winston Dixon
'I can't think of any part of my childhood when I was not fascinated by steeplejacks. I'd seen them dancing through the rolling smoke at the chimney top or hanging at the end of a rope in a bosun's chair, blowing about like a cork in the wind'. When Fred Dibnah debuted on television in 1979, British audiences immediately embraced a new cultural icon: a steeplejack from Bolton who fell in love with England's decaying industrial landscape and an exhaustive storyteller whose charm and wit was match...
When New York Times bestselling author and comedian Jim Norton isn't paying for massages with happy endings, or pretending to be fooled by transsexuals he picks up, he spends his time wondering what certain people would look like on fire... What do Heather Mills, the Reverend Al Sharpton, and Dr. Phil have in common? Jim Norton hates their guts. And he probably hates yours, too, especially if you're a New York Yankee, Starbucks employee, or Steve Martin. In thirty-five hilarious essays,...
One of Hollywood's first scandals was nearly its last. 1936 looked like it would be a great year for the movie industry. With the economy picking up after the Great Depression, Americans everywhere were sitting in the dark watching the stars-and few stars shined as brightly as one of America's most enduring screen favorites, Mary Astor. But Astor's story wasn't a happy one. She was born poor, and at the first sign that she could earn money, her parents grabbed the reins and the checks. Wid...
Hazel O'Connor has loved and been loved, but her generosity and spirit of adventure have often come back to bite her. She would not have it any other way. This is a story not just of the music business, its intense joys and spectacular lows: it is the story of a beautiful teenage runaway, a soldier's daughter who fought her own battles and those of people she cared for. Born inaA A Coventry to English-Irish parents, Hazel's early years were a mixture of adventure and tragedy, which included pe...
This carefully researched study of America's greatest showman, huckster, and impresario is both an inclusive analysis of the historical and cultural forces that were the conditions of P. T. Barnum's success, and, as befits its subject, a richly entertaining presentation of the outrageous man and his exploits.
A biography of singer/songwriter James Brown comprising interviews with the singer and the people who knew him. The book is illustrated with rare photographs and includes a comprehensive discography.
From 'girl-next-door' to Princess of Pop to ultimate dance diva, Kylie Minogue has transcended her soap opera roots to become one of the biggest icons in popular culture. You would have to have been living on a different planet not to know that Kylie is currently the shiniest star in the pop heavens. Several bestselling singles and an award winning album in 2001, two coveted Brit Awards in 2002 - the girl from down under is hotter than Venus. Her face adorns magazine covers worldwide, and even '...
One of the biggest wrestling superstars of the past 20 years, and one of the greatest champions of all time, Ric Flair has carved out a legacy for himself that will never be surpassed. Born Richard Fliehr in Minneapolis, he made his professional wrestling debut in 1972, quickly rising to the top of the Mid-Atlantic region where he won the regional and tag-team titles as well as the US title. In 1975 however his career almost ended when he suffered a broken back, ironically in a plane crash, not...
Elizabeth Cobbold Georgian Polymath (Cobbold & Kin, #2)
by Adele Mallen