Lavender, starting college in 1969, has embraced a student underworld of drugs, image and cooler than thou. But can he hide his past? Because behind his wild and witty persona, Matthew, who has 'made it big' in the university's alternative culture, is a shy and sensitive romantic - a 'feeling type', bullied at school and restricted by parents, who knows absolutely nothing about sex. He finds himself embarked on a number of deeply-felt but unpredictable relationships, learning the hard way about intimacy, self-esteem and commitment. In conflict with his parents, he takes up residence at a commune where he witnesses some supremely laughable examples of 60s free self-expression. He grows and matures, gradually revealing his true, compassionate self through contact with children and his strange but empathetic mentor, Angel. In the end he finds himself returned to his childhood experiences by the sea, learning a whole new outlook on youth, relationships and who he has become. Full of deep characterization, poetic, passionate, ironic and sometimes wildly comic, Aphrodite's Children is a book for lovers of literature and rock culture alike. A searchingly written, clear-eyed account of the 'me' generation, revealing the confusion behind the cool. A window on an era, and a skilfully observed portrait of the intricacies of the heart.

When her RAF husband is posted to Cyprus for three years, Emily Blackwell jumps at the opportunity to escape her cosy life in the Cotswolds. Embracing everything the island has to offer, she reinvents herself, only to find that this new life brings its own heartache and tragedy. In a modern take on the myth of Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love, Emily's experiences on Cyprus change her, and she comes to question everything she thought she knew about herself and her former existence. But the choices she makes will affect not only her, but everyone she loves...

Terror strikes the peaceful future Earth when humanitys linked consciousness abruptly goes silent. Young professor Eddy Afford had planned a self-indulgent time-traveling excursion, but when the disconnected world plunges into anarchy, Eddy finds himself transported to an earlier hostile Earth populated by mutated Punx and militaristic Tagents. Stranded for a year in this dangerous era with his lovable telepathic quadrapet Rover, they befriend the mighty horse Quixote. Together they take up the quest to save Eddys ex-girlfriend Aphrodite from malefic imprisonment in the Singing Dome where women are compelled to sing music so eloquent it bends the laws of nature. During his personal quest, Eddy obtains the Journal of The Muse that reveals the humanity-saving quest he must assume in locating, protecting, and guiding The Five Musicianers to their destinies in composing a musical perfection that will revive the Quintessence, defeat a malicious overlord, and set Eddys future world right again.

A comprehensive, scholarly accessible study, in which the authors draw upon poetry and mythology, art and literature, archaeology and psychology to show how the myth of the goddess has been lost from our formal Judeo-Christian images of the divine. They explain what happened to the goddess, when, and how she was excluded from western culture, and the implications of this loss.

The greatest albums of all time . . . and how they happened. Organised chronologically and spanning seven decades, The MOJO Collection presents an authoritative and engaging guide to the history of the pop album via hundreds of long-playing masterpieces, from the much-loved to the little known. From The Beatles to The Verve, from Duke Ellington to King Tubby and from Peggy Lee to Sly Stone, hundreds of albums are covered in detail with chart histories, full track and personnel listings and further listening suggestions. There's also exhaustive coverage of the soundtrack and hit collections that every home should have. Like all collections, there are records you listen to constantly, albums you've forgotten, albums you hardly play, albums you love guiltily and albums you thought you were alone in treasuring, proving The MOJO Collection to be an essential purchase for those who love and live music.

Aphrodite explores the many myths and meanings of the Greek goddess of love, sex and beauty. One of the most widely worshipped and popular deities in Greek antiquity, Aphrodite emerges from the imaginations of the ancient Greek writers and artists as a multifaceted, powerful and charismatic figure. This volume explores the importance of Aphrodite for the ancient Greeks, as well as her enduring influence as a symbol of beauty, adornment, love and sexuality in contemporary culture. In a wide-ranging investigation of the universality of Aphrodite’s power and significance, this volume illuminates the numerous intricate levels of divinity embodied by the alluring figure of Aphrodite. Aphrodite offers new insights into the ancient texts and artistic representations of the goddess, as well as a comprehensive survey of the current scholarship about the origins and interpretations of Aphrodite, whilst also highlighting her eternal popular appeal across cultures and generations. A goddess of love who is not afraid to enter the battlefield; a goddess of bodily adornment who is the first to appear totally nude; a goddess born of the sea who emerges into the open sky: Aphrodite is a polyvalent deity, plural in nature, function and significance.

Since Sonicbond Publishing launched at the end of 2018, iwe have published books that span most genres in popular music, from easy listening to psychedelia and from pop to metal. However, it is in the world of progressive rock that we have found our most comfortable home. This book features eleven chapters from books on some of the greats of the genre, including from our On Track series Yes, Genesis, Caravan, ELP, Gentle Giant, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd, Porcupine Tree and Steve Hackett solo. Our Decades series offers up chapters on Marillion in the 1980s and Van Der Graaf Generator in the 1970s and our Year In series has a chapter on Aphrodite’s Child’s seminal 666. This is just the tip of the iceberg, though, and for the up-to-date list, check out the complete stocklist at the back of this book. The book contains two exclusive pieces that you won’t find in printed books anywhere else. Nick Holmes’ detailed chapter on Porcupine Tree’s Closure/Continuation can be found in the current E-book but not yet in the printed version. Stephen Lambe has rewritten his own chapter on Yes’ ‘lost album’ Talk, released 30 years ago. Contents: Closure/Continuation (2022) from Porcupine Tree On Track (Revised Edition) by Nick Holmes (to be published in 2025) Talk (1994) from Yes On Track by Stephen Lambe. Revised version for future Editions Aphrodite’s Child – 666 (1972) from 1972: The Year Progressive Rock Ruled The World by Kevan Furbank If I Could Do It All Over Again It Again I’d Do It All Over You (1970) from Caravan On Track by Andy Boot Tarkus (1971) from Emerson, Lake & Palmer On Track by Mike Goode Wind & Wuthering (1976) and the Spot The Pigeon EP from Genesis On Track by Stuart Macfarlane Acquiring The Taste (1971) from Gentle Giant On Track by Gary Steel Songs From The Wood (1977) from Jethro Tull On Track by Jordan Blum 1985: The Heart That We Have Live from Marillion in the 1980s by Nathaniel Webb Meddle (1971) from Pink Floyd On Track by Richard Butterworth Defector (1980) from Steve Hackett On Track by Geoffrey Feakes 1975: The Undercover Men From Van der Graaf Generator In The 1970s by Steve Pilkington