The ‘Anarchy in the UK Tour’ should have just been a collection of twenty gigs like any other, spanning venues across the UK… It was December 1976, and a coach drove off down a London street like any other. On board were the Sex Pistols, The Clash and The Heartbreakers, while The Damned, who were also on the bill, followed behind. However, two days earlier on the Today Show, tour, the Sex Pistols’ had lit a fire in the popular consciousness. What should have been an inconsequential three-minute interview descended into farce when the show’s host goaded Sex Pistols’ guitarist Steve Jones into saying ‘something outrageous’. Local councils began to ban the tour and agreed “Most of these groups would be vastly improved by sudden death”. Author Mick O Shea dissects the whirlwind that followed these punk-rock heavyweights and the sheer force of their rebellion against popular culture. He has interviewed band members, managers, roadies and audiences to tell the true story of how anarchy once gripped the nation.

The story of the birth of Punk, with a capital P, in the only country where it was a mainstream movement: the UK, told entirely by eye-witnesses whose words, then and now, have been held up to the light of hindsight.

With its own fashion, culture, and chaotic energy, punk rock boasted a do-it-yourself ethos that allowed anyone to take part. Vibrant and volatile, the punk scene left an extraordinary legacy of music and cultural change. John Robb talks to many of those who cultivated the movement, such as John Lydon, Lemmy, Siouxsie Sioux, Mick Jones, Chrissie Hynde, Malcolm McLaren, Henry Rollins, and Glen Matlock, weaving together their accounts to create a raw and unprecedented oral history of UK punk. All the main players are here: from The Clash to Crass, from The Sex Pistols to the Stranglers, from the UK Subs to Buzzcocks—over 150 interviews capture the excitement of the most thrilling wave of rock ’n’ roll pop culture ever. Ranging from its widely debated roots in the late 1960s to its enduring influence on the bands, fashion, and culture of today, this history brings to life the energy and the anarchy as no other book has done.

From packing the right equipment to keeping enough gas in the tank to get home, every aspect of making a successful tour with a band is addressed in this comprehensive guide. More than 100 luminaries and leading organizations from the world of touring--among them Chris Connelly, Henry Rollins, the House of Blues, and the Vans Warped Tour, as well as club owners, tour managers, and even sex advisors--provide handy insider know-how along with insight on mistakes commonly made by novice bands. Chapters address the nitty-gritty of touring, with instructions on how to secure venues and publicity, how to stay healthy on the road, and how to keep the budget in the black. Loaded with hundreds of years' worth of collective hands-on experience from those steeped in the music business, this is a must-have resource for creating an unforgettable tour.

From the creator of Godspeed: The Kurt Cobain Graphic and Eminem: In My Skin comes an explosive new graphic novel about the rise and fall of The Sex Pistols. Thanks to Steve Parkhouse’s wonderfully vivid illustrations and Jim McCarthy’s clever distillation of the script that rewrote rock ‘n’ roll and much else besides, the Pistols’ story returns to the rough and tumble of the comic strip from which it derived so much of its initial inspiration. England’s original punks explode from the pages with the same disrespect for authority that had the British establishment up in arms during the Queen’s 25th anniversary jubilee. And no one would have enjoyed this take on the Pistols more than the tale’s real casualty, Sid Vicious, who devoured comics almost as much as he did the destructive stuff.

“The most interesting book I have read in years. . . . WTF?! is like Freakonomics on steroids.” —Steven D. Levitt, New York Times–bestselling coauthor of Freakonomics Did you know that “pre-owned” wives were sold at auction in nineteenth-century England? That today, in Liberia, accused criminals sometimes drink poison to determine their fate? How about the fact that, for 250 years, Italy criminally prosecuted cockroaches and crickets? Do you wonder why? Then this book is for you! Introducing us to a cast of colorful characters, economist Peter T. Leeson explains how to use economic thinking to reveal the hidden sense behind seemingly senseless human behavior—including your own. Leeson shows that far from “irrational” or “accidents of history,” humanity’s most outlandish rituals are ingenious solutions to pressing problems—developed by clever people, driven by incentives, and tailor-made for their time and place. "A fascinating tour of some of the world’s strangest customs and behaviors, led by a brilliant, funny, and eccentric tour guide dedicated to the proposition that no matter how strange it looks, there’s always a reason for it—and a lesson to be learned by discovering that reason.” —Steven E. Landsburg, author of The Armchair Economist

A Biography of Ian Moss 'I met Moet at Steve's house - he was in a band with Mardy and Robert. He was a sour-faced cherub but as I was to find out, as sharp as a pin.' - Bob Williams.'In 1970/71, he was the only kid in the class who went home for lunch, apart from myself, but found time to bring back a record that he'd bought during that break time which within weeks would attain the upper reaches of the music charts.' - Steve Mardy. 'WHAT TWAT SPAT? WHAT TWAT SPAT? WHAT TWAT SPAT?' - Steve Middlehurst. 'I believe Moet may be slightly bipolar. He has great bellowing highs and deep worthless lows. This is a common trait of depression, bipolar, call it what you like. It's sometimes called Life.' - Craig Scanlon. 'I would call him an emotionally charged mastodon; a complex intellectual who thinks with his penis. But I love him.' - Jon Rowlingson.