The first official account of the iconic record label.

BREAKING DOWN THE WALLS OF HEARTACHE: HOW MUSIC CAME OUT

The first definitive monograph of graphic designer Vaughan Oliver, one of the most consistently innovative & significant graphic designers to have emerged in the last 15 years.

One of the most tangible aftershocks of Punk was its urgency to prompt individuals into action. Document your reality: do it yourself. From this, a generation of young men were inspired and, with often zero financial planning or business sense, in a bedroom, garage or shed, labels such as Factory, Rough Trade, Mute, 4AD, Beggars Banquet, Warp, Domino and Creation began, shifting the musical landscape and trading on an ethos and identity no brand consultant would now dare dream of. Musicians were encouraged to do whatever the hell they wanted and damn the consequences. From humble beginnings, some of our most influential artists were allowed to thrive: New Order, The Smiths, Depeche Mode, Orange Juice, Cocteau Twins, Sonic Youth, Happy Mondays, Primal Scream, Aphex Twin, Teenage Fanclub, My Bloody Valentine, Autechre, Broadcast, Vampire Weekend, The White Stripes and Artic Monkeys to name but a handful. This is the story, set to an incredible soundtrack, of the enormous scale of the passions, the size of the egos, and the true extent of the madness of the mavericks who had the vision and bloody-mindedness to make the musical landscape exciting again.

The only novel by the twentieth century's most acclaimed surrealist painter, a richly visual depiction of a group of eccentric aristocrats in the years preceding World War II “The book is so full of visual invention, so witty, so charged with an almost Dickensian energy that it's difficult not to accept its author's own arrogant evaluation of himself as a genius.” — Observer In swirling, surreal prose, the iconic artist Salvador Dalí portrays the intrigues and love affairs of a group of eccentric aristocrats who, in their luxury and extravagance, symbolize decadent Europe in the 1930s. In the shadow of encroaching war, their tangled lives provide a thrilling vehicle for Dalí's uniquely spirited imagination and artistic vision. Hidden Faces beckons readers to enter the bizarre world already familiar to us from Dali's paintings. The story unfolds in vividly visual terms, beginning in the Paris riots of February 1934. The journey leading to the closing days of the Second World War constitutes a brilliant and dramatic vehicle for Dali's unique vision. “Start the first page and you are in the presence of an old-fashioned baroque novel, intelligent, extravagant, as photographically precise as his paintings but not so silly ... Dali notices everything ...” — Guardian

Goodnight and Good Riddance: How Thirty-Five Years of John Peel Helped to Shape Modern Britain is a social history, a diary of a nation's changing culture, and an in-depth appraisal of one of our greatest broadcasters, a man who can legitimately be called the most influential figure in post-war British popular music. Without the support of John Peel, it's unlikely that innumerable artists - from David Bowie to Dizzee Rascal, Jethro Tull to Joy Division - would have received national radio exposure. But Peel's influence goes much deeper than this. Whether he was championing punk, reggae, jungle or grime, he had a unique relationship with his audience that was part taste-maker, part trusted friend. The book focuses on some 300 shows between 1967 and 2004, giving a thorough overview of Peel's broadcasting career and placing it in its cultural and social contexts. Peel comes alive for the reader, as do the key developments that kept him at the cutting edge - the changes in his tastes; the changes in his thinking. Just like a Peel show, Goodnight and Good Riddance is warm, informative and insightful, and wears its enthusiasm proudly.

“A thoughtful, entertaining history of obsessed music collectors and their quest for rare early 78 rpm records” (Los Angeles Times), Do Not Sell at Any Price is a fascinating, complex story of preservation, loss, obsession, and art. Before MP3s, CDs, and cassette tapes, even before LPs or 45s, the world listened to music on fragile, 10-inch shellac discs that spun at 78 revolutions per minute. While vinyl has enjoyed a renaissance in recent years, rare and noteworthy 78rpm records are exponentially harder to come by. The most sought-after sides now command tens of thousands of dollars, when they’re found at all. Do Not Sell at Any Price is the untold story of a fixated coterie of record collectors working to ensure those songs aren’t lost forever. Music critic and author Amanda Petrusich considers the particular world of the 78—from its heyday to its near extinction—and examines how a cabal of competitive, quirky individuals have been frantically lining their shelves with some of the rarest records in the world. Besides the mania of collecting, Petrusich also explores the history of the lost backwoods blues artists from the 1920s and 30s whose work has barely survived and introduces the oddball fraternity of men—including Joe Bussard, Chris King, John Tefteller, and others—who are helping to save and digitize the blues, country, jazz, and gospel records that ultimately gave seed to the rock, pop, and hip-hop we hear today. From Thomas Edison to Jack White, Do Not Sell at Any Price is an untold, intriguing story of the evolution of the recording formats that have changed the ways we listen to (and create) music. “Whether you’re already a 78 aficionado, a casual record collector, a crate-digger, or just someone…who enjoys listening to music, you’re going to love this book” (Slate).