This Ain't Rock and Roll
Pop Music, the Swastika and the Third Reich
Billy Bragg Book order (chronological)
Billy Bragg crafts music that compellingly blends folk, punk, and protest song elements. His lyrics often explore potent political and romantic themes, reflecting a career spanning over three decades. Bragg is celebrated for his distinctive fusion of music and activism, offering listeners an authentic voice with significant social resonance. His work continues to engage audiences with its raw honesty and thoughtful commentary.
The Three Dimensions of Freedom
- 112 pages
- 4 hours of reading
Musician and activist Bragg diagnoses the crisis of accountability in Western democracies in this new series of political pamphlets. He argues that accountability is the antidote to authoritarianism, and that without it, people can never truly be free.
Ghostly Tales
- 176 pages
- 7 hours of reading
Fully illustrated with gorgeously spooky art, this handsome gift book showcases the best of the Victorian ghost story.
More than twenty of the UK’s finest musicians discuss the magic and reveal the secrets behind their art in a rare collection of conversations about fifty years of classic British songwriting.
The History of the NME
High Times and Low Lives at the World's Most Famous Music Magazine
- 240 pages
- 9 hours of reading
The Sex Pistols sang about it, Nick Hornby claims he regrets not working for it. The fights, the bands, the brawls, the haircuts, the egos, and much more—the definitive book about the infamous music magazine. For 60 years, since it was founded in 1952, the New Musical Express has played a central part in the British love affair with pop music—and has been essential for American connoisseurs to remain in-the-know as well. This authoritative history is an insider's account of the high times and low lives of one of the world's most influential music magazines. It explains the stories behind the stories that kept readers coming back week after week—the office brawls, the former staffers who launched their careers there (Tony Parsons, Julie Burchill, Nick Kent, Mick Farren, Steve Lamacq, and Stuart Maconie), and the bands who owe their success to the magazine. Snotty, confrontational, enthusiastic, and sarcastic: the new issue of the NME was the high point of any music fan's week, whether they were listening to The Beatles, Bowie, or Blur.
This volume tells the remarkable true story of one man's journey from the darkness of British fascism - and the astonishing price he had to pay.