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Beat Merchants is an in-depth examination of every
aspect of the British beat group's origins, emergence, climax and endless
aftermath from first pre-war stirrings to why 'Sounds of the Sixties' nights
still prevail. En route, the book takes in the growth of local
alternatives to mainstream pop and the exploitation of regional 'Sounds' and
'Beats'; the impact on the rest of the world; individual triumphs and
tragedies; sex and drugs; wealth and poverty; break-ups and reformations;
'wilderness years' and revivals, and the intriguing present-day state of
affairs. Beat Merchants $(14.95) (MERAC001)
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Waiting at the gates of Heaven for you..... Who could forget the taunting lyrics of Terry, as sung by the inimitable Twinkle? Or the classic Leader of the Pack, in which a young lover accelerates into the night - and tragically - a brick wall? Once no playlist was complete without its DEATH DISC - that heady mix of music and morbidity that reached its dizziest heights in the golden age of the '50s and '60s. What happened? From teenage traumas and traffic accidents to tributes and real-life terminators, DEATH DlSCS traces the history, themes and value of the phenomenon that left no gravestone unturntabled. Death Discs $19.95 (MERAC002)
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Jacques Brel remains a figurehead and a grey
eminence of modern songwriting. Despite a reluctance to sing in English, a
refusal to work in north America in opposition to the Vietnam war, and
withdrawing from concert appearances in 1966, Brel reached an international
market by proxy when his material was translated and often emasculated as
witnessed by the evolution of 'Ne Me Quitte Pas' into the showbiz standard 'If
You Go Away'. The only English language account, "Jacques Brel -The Biography" is a candid exploration of Brel's life and work and his fundamental influence on such disparate word-smiths as Mort Shuman, Ray Davis, David Bowie, Jarvis Cocker and Scott Walker, who was perhaps the foremost interpreter of his work. Jacques Brel $14.95 (MERAC003)
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It is almost twenty years since George
Harrison made his dazzling solo debut with the triple album, All Things
Must Pass, and over twenty years since the height of Beatlemania, but he is
still thought of as 'The Quiet One'. Never dismissing his Fab
Four past, George has been the readiest of the group to venture beyond pop
music via such diversions as his exploration of Indian culture and the
underwriting of Handmade Films, once a pillar of British cinema. But as Alan
Clayson shows it hasn't been easy: rivalries within The Beatles hardly
encouraged his artistic development and George's growth as a composer was
foremost among the pressures that caused the sun-dering of the group -
particularly when his 'Something' emerged with Paul McCartney's 'Yesterday' as
one of the most covered songs of all time. The Quiet One $14.95 (MERAC004)
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Hamburg - The Cradle Of British Rock is a
frank and often brutal account of how British idols-in-waiting pre-pared for
fame: the music, the personalities, the club scene, the sex, the transvestites,
the drugs, the return home... Mention of British pop groups in Hamburg's red light district still brings out strange stories of what people claim they saw and heard. But what cannot be disputed is the groups' success: after outclassing native bands in the German clubs, acts like The Beatles returned home to spearhead what became known as the 'Merseybeat' phenomenon in 1963. Hamburg $19.95 (MERAC005)
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When he replaced Pete Best as The Beatles' drummer
just as they were about to record their first single, 'Love Me Do', Ringo
Starr became, according to many, the luckiest man in pop music.
Straight Man Or Joker? Follows Ringo through his entire life, tracing his careers as a musician and actor, his romantic liaisons, health problems, the battle and ultimate triumph over alcoholism, his barnstorming global solo tour in 1989, right up to the Anthology compilations. This is the first biography to detail the not always rock-steady life and times of the man who anchored the world-famous Merseybeat. Ringo Starr $14.95 (MERAC006)
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To the Average Joe, Serge Gainsbourg is
synonymous with 'Je T'Aime...Moi Non Plus' on which he and Jane Birkin
simulated the sounds of erotic congress. But this 1969 Number one was but a
sideshow in an eye-stretching career in which he bestrode Gallic culture not
only as a singing composer, but as a novelist, film director and actor. The first full biography in English, View From The Exterior reveals the whole, outrageous story. Serge Gainsbourg $19.95 (MERAC007)
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After almost two decades out of the charts, he made a stunning return in
1988 when, as a member of the The Traveling Wilbury's - alongside Bob Dylan,
Tom Petty, George Harrison and Jeff Lynne - the groups debut album sold an
amazing 2 million copies. Suddenly a new generation of pop star admirers,
including U2 and K.D. Lang, were clamoring to work with him just as the
Beatles, Elvis and Johnny Cash had decades earlier. Indeed, a Top Ten comeback
with "You Got It" and the release of the posthumous Mystery
Girl album to critical acclaim suggested at, had he lived, the Big O's
best may have been yet to come. Roy Orbison $19.95 (MERAC008)
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