Formed in 1988, Lush were part of the London gig scene during one of the most vibrant and creative periods in UK music. Now, Miki Berenyi tells all.

From the bohemian ways of her father’s social circle to the privileged glamour of her mother’s acting career, Miki’s young life was a blur of travel, celebrities and peripatetic schooling. But frequent relocation, parental neglect and the dark presence of her abusive grandmother resulted in crippling shyness, mental-health issues and a vulnerability to exploitation.

The route out of this hole was music – a passion shared by schoolmate Emma Anderson. The teenagers began attending gigs together and would ultimately go on to form Lush. Talented and exuberant, the band became hot property, swiftly transitioning from shoegaze icons to Britpop darlings.

Re-living the tours, recording sessions and music-industry madness they experienced along the way, this uncompromising memoir documents Lush’s thrilling rise and untimely fall. Yet at the heart of the book are Miki’s own battles: the conflict between her mouthy public persona and her thin-skinned private identity; the trials of being a woman in an infuriatingly male world; the struggle to find a middle ground between ‘safe’ indie obscurity and ‘sell-out’ international success. Miki also explores her complicated relationship with Emma – one that has fluctuated between camaraderie and rivalry over the years – and addresses the devastating tragedy that led to the band’s split.

Told through frank confession, wry humour and searing emotional honesty, this is the incredible tale of a trailblazing woman and a seminal band.

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‘The greatest book ever written on British independent music’ Guardian
‘One of the best British music books of the last ten years’ Mojo

Founded by Alan McGee in 1983, Creation Records achieved notoriety as the home of Primal Scream, the Jesus and Mary Chain and other anti-Establishment acts. During the Britpop boom of the mid-90s, the astonishing success of Oasis brought Creation fame on the world stage. In 1999, however, McGee announced his shock departure as his label’s influence over a generation of British music came to a confusing and disappointing end. Containing interviews with Creation musicians, employees, supporters and detractors, this is the inside story of Creation Records – and of British music since the 1980s.

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As a renowned recording-studio maven, Trevor Horn has been dubbed ‘the man who invented the ’80s’.

His production work since the glory days of ZTT represents a veritable ‘who’s who’ of intelligent modern pop, including the likes of ABC, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, Pet Shop Boys, Seal, Simple Minds, Grace Jones and Yes – among many others.

This book is Trevor’s story in his own words, as told through the prism of twenty-three of his most important songs – from the ones that inspired him to the ones that defined him.

This play-by-play memoir transports readers into the heart of the studio to witness the making of some of music’s most memorable moments, from the Buggles’ ground-breaking ‘Video Killed the Radio Star’ to Band Aid’s perennial ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’, via hits such as ‘Relax’, ‘Poison Arrow’, ‘Owner of a Lonely Heart’ and ‘Crazy’.

Offering unrivalled access to the dark arts of the producer’s world and the even darker arts of the music business itself, prepare for some adventures in modern recording…

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The complete lyrics from cultural icon and bestselling author Nick Cave, spanning his entire career to date, with a new foreword by Andrew O’Hagan

From Nick Cave’s writing for The Birthday Party, through highly acclaimed albums like Murder Ballads, Henry’s Dream, DIG, LAZARUS, DIG!!! and Ghosteen, this is a must-have book for all fans of the dark, the beautiful and the defiant – for all fans of the songs of Nick Cave.

‘The greatest living songwriter’ NME

‘A glowing wire, a mainline to meaning ad feeling and art’ New Yorker

‘Nick Cave is a true lyrical master. He can conjure empathy and hope out of thin air, light out of darkness’ Cillian Murphy

‘His lyrics – so rich in the toils of love, so committed to memory and everlasting presence – are the best-made of his generation’ Andrew O’Hagan

‘A poetic craftsman’ Will Self

‘Alternative rock legend’ Billboard

‘Cave’s genius rings loud and clear’ Evening Standard

Cover art by Aleksandra Waliszewska

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**A SUNDAY TIMES, GUARDIAN & TELEGRAPH MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR 2022**

**INDEPENDENT BOOK OF THE MONTH**

**GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE DAY**

**FINANCIAL TIMES ‘BEST SUMMER BOOKS 2022’ PICK**

‘Incredibly moving.’ – Guardian

‘Entertaining.’ – Telegraph

‘Most books about pop stars focus on the way we turn average human beings into demi-gods. In writing a book about how they have to turn back into humans Nick Duerden has done both us and them a service.’ – David Hepworth

‘Funny, poignant and often inspirational.’ – Mat Osman

The desire for adulation is a light that never goes out. We live in a culture obsessed by the notion of fame – the heedless pursuit of it; the almost obligatory subsequent fallout. But what’s it like to actually achieve it, and what happens when fame abruptly passes, and shifts, as it does, onto someone else?

This is the point at which pop stars are at their most heroic, because they don’t give up. They keep on striving, keep making music, and refuse simply to ebb away. Some sustain themselves on the nostalgia circuit, others continue to beaver away in the studio, no longer Abbey Road, perhaps, so much as the garden shed. But all of them, in their own individual ways, still dare to dream.

Exit Stage Left features tales of drug addiction, bankruptcy, depression and divorce, but also of optimism, a genuine love of the craft, humility and hope. This is a candid, laugh-out-loud and occasionally shocking look at what happens when the brightest stars fall back down to earth.

‘Exit Stage Left is the book I’ve long wanted to read about the PTSD-like after-effects of pop stardom – and Nick Duerden is the perfect writer for the job. The pop star’s bittersweet lot is represented with flair and empathy.’ – Pete Paphides, author of Broken Greek

‘Exit Stage Left is a funny and poignant book, drawing on Duerden’s considerable experience as a journalist and interviewer . . . he understands what motivates this strange bunch of people.’ – Andy Miller, Spectator

‘Fame is the brightest candle, but in this brilliant collection of interviews, Nick Duerden answers the question: what does a candle do after it’s burned out?’ – David Quantick

‘Duerden finds fascinating layers of humanity, pathos, humour and wisdom in equal measure. A brilliant book, for artists and fans alike.’ – Frank Turner

Featuring brand new interviews with the likes of: Bob Geldof, Shaun Ryder, Robbie Williams, Roisin Murphy, Stewart Copeland, Billy Bragg, Wendy James, Alex Kapranos, Joan Armatrading, Leo Sayer, Gary Lightbody, Lisa Maffia, Tim Booth, Bill Drummond, Rufus Wainwright, David Gray, and Justin Hawkins.

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‘In the Spring of 1989, shortly after my twenty-seventh birthday, as I stood in the sleet at a bus stop in Colchester, it dawned on me that I had probably, all things considered, failed in my mission to become Sting. At least, for the time being.’

Lost in Music is about growing up with pop music – about hearing it, buying it, loving it, and attempting to play it in public for money. A brilliant combination of the confessional and the unapologetic, this is a book for anyone who has ever treasured vinyl, or sung into a roll-on deodorant in front of the bedroom mirror and dreamed of playing Wembley.

Praise for Lost in Music

‘Very, very funny . . . Giles Smith is a wonderful writer’ Nick Hornby

‘A wonderfully funny pop-music memoir . . . You don’t have to know who Nik Kershaw is to laugh out loud at the chapter about him’ Sebastian Faulks, Spectator

‘One of the best books about music that you will ever read . . . It is impossible to read Lost in Music without laughing out loud’ Daily Telegraph

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‘Probably the best Bush book to date.’ – Record Collector

Kate Bush: the subject of murmured legend and one of the most idiosyncratic musicians of the modern era. Comprising fifty chapters or ‘visions’, Running Up That Hill is a multi-faceted biography of this famously elusive figure, viewing her life and work from fresh and illuminating angles.

Featuring details from the author’s one-to-one conversations with Kate, as well as vignettes of her key songs, albums, videos and concerts, this artful, candid and often brutally funny portrait introduces the reader to the refreshingly real Kate Bush.

Along the way, the narrative also includes vivid reconstructions of transformative moments in her career and insights from the friends and collaborators closest to Kate, including her photographer brother John Carder Bush and fellow artists David Gilmour, John Lydon and Youth.

Running Up That Hill is a vibrant and comprehensive re-examination of Kate Bush and her many creative landmarks.

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Desmond Child is the ultimate hitmaker, contributing to some of the biggest smash global hits that helped ignite the success of music icons KISS, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Ricky Martin, Katy Perry, and countless others. In Livin’ On A Prayer, he reveals how he climbed his way to the top and beyond amid extraordinary circumstances and shares his very personal and unbelievable journey that shaped him into an artist of international renown.

For over half a century, Desmond Child has collaborated with the world’s most celebrated artists creating timeless hits, such as Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer” and “You Give Love A Bad Name” as well as Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” and “The Cup Of Life” amongst his vast catalog. But in Livin’ On A Prayer, Desmond himself takes center stage to share his transformational story from misfit outsider to cultural pacesetter.

In collaboration with legendary music biographer David Ritz, Child recounts his unconventional upbringing as his colorful family fled Cuba in the 1960s and fell into poverty. He details his shocking discovery at age 18 that the man he called “dad” was not his biological father after all, and he courageously bares his soul about navigating the trials of being a Latino gay man in the macho world of rock and roll. His is a story of willing himself to succeed and overcome impossible odds to establish himself as one of the most influential composers and lyricists of all time.

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A SUNDAY TIMES, ROUGH TRADE, ROLLING STONE, MOJO AND UNCUT BOOK OF THE YEAR
LONGLISTED FOR THE PENDERYN MUSIC BOOK PRIZE

New York, 2001. 9/11 plunges the US into a state of war and political volatility-and heralds the rebirth of the city’s rock scene. As the old-guard music industry crumbles, a group of iconoclastic bands suddenly become the voice of a generation desperately in need of an anthem.

In this fascinating and vibrant oral history, acclaimed journalist Lizzy Goodman charts New York’s explosive musical transformation in the early 2000s. Drawing on over 200 original interviews, Goodman follows the meteoric rise of the artists that revolutionised the cultural landscape and made Brooklyn the hipster capital of cool-including The Strokes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, LCD Soundsystem, Interpol, and Vampire Weekend.

Joining the ranks of classics like Please Kill Me, Our Band Could Be Your Life, and Can’t Stop Won’t Stop, Meet Me in the Bathroom is the definitive account of an iconic era in rock-and-roll.

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Celebrate 40 years of WHAM! with the Sunday Times bestseller from one half of the world’s most famous bands

‘I couldn’t put it down. Such a fantastic book’ Chris Evans, Virgin Radio
________

School mates. Band mates. Soul mates . . .

When Andrew Ridgley took George Michael, the new boy at school, under his wing, he discovered a soul mate.

In Wham! George and Me, Andrew tells the story of how they rode a rollercoaster of success around the world while making iconic records and surviving superstardom with their friendship intact. It is a memoir of love, music, the flamboyant 1980s and living in a pop hurricane.

No one else can ever tell their story – because no one else was there . . .

Forty years on from their explosion into pop music, Andrew Ridgeley tells the inside story of Wham!, his life-long friendship with George Michael and the formation of a band that changed music.
________

‘A joyous celebration of the Wham! years. For anyone who was a teenager in the early 1980s, it will take you on a nostalgia trip. It’s an honest but affectionate account of a remarkable duo who remained true to their origins and their friendship throughout it all’ Daily Express

‘As infectious as their music’ Daily Mirror

‘A remarkably generous memoir. In more than one sense, the biography of a friend’ Spectator

‘A great story’ Saturday Live, Radio 4

‘A lovely book. A love letter to George’ Graham Norton, BBC One

‘Charming, heartfelt . . . there’s a real poignancy to Ridgeley’s description of Wham!’s glory days’ Sunday Times

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