Mark Blake

Between the late '60s and early '80s, design house Hipgnosis created some of the most iconic and ubiquitous album artwork of all time. Their original lifespan coincided with the golden age of the 12-inch LP, beginning just as the Beatles' Sgt Pepper made the record sleeve the ultimate blank canvas and ending just as new technology looked set to usurp vinyl. Having originally been approached to design an album cover for their friends Pink Floyd, students Aubrey 'Po' Powell and Storm Thorgerson would go on to define the visual identity of rock and roll for the next fifteen years, swiftly gaining international prominence for their famed The Dark Side of the Moon artwork. This paved the way for other major musicians to set foot in the surreal photo-design world of Storm and Po, resulting in seminal Hipgnosis creations for the likes of Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney, Genesis, Black Sabbath, ELO and Yes. In this authorised account, with access to previously unpublished material and exclusive contributions from David Gilmour, Jimmy Page, Peter Gabriel, Roger Waters, Robert Plant and even Aubrey Powell himself, Mark Blake goes behind the scenes of the Hipgnosis partnership to reveal the pioneering ambition and grand vision that led to their success, as well as the clashing egos and artistic differences that undermined it. The Hipgnosis story also offers hitherto-untold insight into some of music's most legendary bands, as viewed through the prism of the people who shaped their imagery and cultural legacy. With the work of Hipgnosis continuing to be referenced, reproduced and revered worldwide, Us and Them serves as a celebration, a cautionary tale and a compelling human drama, exploring the vital intersection between art and music.

Bohemian rapsody, We are the Champions, We Will Rock You, I Want to Break Free - a sor szinte a végtelenségig folytatható. A könnyűzenén maradandó nyomot hagyó Queen legendája máig töretlen, a zenekar sikerei és befolyása semmihez sem mérhető. A többek közt a Pink Floyd és a Led Zeppelin sztoriját feldolgozó elismert rock újságíró, Mark Blake most a Queen teljes történetét hozza el: A-tól Z-ig. A zenekar még élő tagjai, pályatársak, barátok és riválisok visszaemlékezései révén új és alig ismert történetek és anekdoták sora bontakozik ki: hogyan lett a zenekar neve majdnem The Rich Kids; hogyan "ugrálta ki magát" a Queenből a banda elfeledett basszusgitárosa, és hogyan alapította meg első zenekarát Freddie Mercury egy indiai bentlakásos iskolában. Emellett a Queen karrierjének sorsfordító eseményeiről, a legendás dalok keletkezésének kulisszatitkairól és a zenekar tagjai közötti bonyolult viszonyokról is olvashatunk. A Kind of Magic - a Queen A-tól Z-ig nem csupán a zenekar rajongói számára kihagyhatatlan olvasmány, hanem azoknak is, akik jobban meg akarják ismerni a rockzene aranykorát.

Bohemian ?rapsody, We are the Champions, We Will Rock You, I Want to Break Free – a sor szinte a végtelenségig folytatható. A könnyűzenén maradandó nyomot hagyó Queen legendája máig töretlen, a zenekar sikerei és befolyása semmihez sem mérhető. A többek közt a Pink Floyd és a Led Zeppelin sztoriját feldolgozó elismert rock újságíró, Mark Blake most a Queen teljes történetét hozza el: A-tól Z-ig. A zenekar még élő tagjai, pályatársak, barátok és riválisok visszaemlékezései révén új és alig ismert történetek és anekdoták sora bontakozik ki: hogyan lett a zenekar neve majdnem The Rich Kids; hogyan „ugrálta ki magát” a Queenből a banda elfeledett basszusgitárosa, és hogyan alapította meg első zenekarát Freddie Mercury egy indiai bentlakásos iskolában. Emellett a Queen karrierjének sorsfordító eseményeiről, a legendás dalok keletkezésének kulisszatitkairól és a zenekar tagjai közötti bonyolult viszonyokról is olvashatunk. A Kind of Magic – a Queen A-tól Z-ig nem csupán a zenekar rajongói számára kihagyhatatlan olvasmány, hanem azoknak is, akik jobban meg akarják ismerni a rockzene aranykorát.

A SUNDAY TIMES POP BOOK OF THE YEAR A DAILY TELEGRAPH MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR A DAILY MAIL MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR A TIMES MUSIC BOOK OF THE YEAR ('Of the many Led Zeppelin biographies marking the band's 50th anniversary, this is the most illuminating') OBSERVER BEST BOOKS OF 2018 'An enthralling and rigorously researched book' Sunday Times 'Blake has talked to everyone, and the stories are both lurid and melancholy' Mail on Sunday 'A juicy saga of excess all areas, Mark Blake's biography of Led Zeppelin's notoriously combative manager, Peter Grant, reads at times like an all-you-can-eat buffet of guilty pleasures . . . a riotous roller coaster' The Times 'A tale as expansive and complex as the man himself' Mojo 'To say Bring It On Home is a rambunctious page-turner is an understatement; but despite all the violence and weirdness, you can't help liking the "real" Peter Grant who emerges here' Planet Rock The late Peter Grant managed Led Zeppelin to global stardom. But his life story was every bit as extraordinary and dramatic as the musicians he looked after. For the first time ever, the Grant family have allowed an author access to previously unseen correspondence and photographs to help build the most complete and revealing story yet of a man who was a pioneer of rock music management, but also a son, a husband and a father. Published to coincide with Led Zeppelin's 50th anniversary, Bring It On Home charts Peter Grant's rise from wartime poverty through his time as a nightclub doorman, wrestler and bit-part actor to the birth of rock'n'roll in the 1950s. From here, it explores his pivotal role in the formation of Led Zeppelin and charts the impossible highs and lows of life on the road with rock's most outrageous band. Bring It On Home includes almost 100 new interviews with family members, friends, musicians and rival managers, and walk-on parts for Sharon Osbourne, Bob Dylan, Stanley Kubrick, Freddie Mercury, Elizabeth Taylor, the FBI, the CIA, the Mafia - and Elvis Presley. As Grant's son Warren says now: 'My dad knew everyone.' It is the first biography to reveal the truth behind Led Zeppelin's demise, Grant's subsequent fall from grace amid death threats and the shadow of organised crime, and his final days as a man who shunned the excesses of the music industry in favour of his friends and family. With access to several previously unpublished interviews - including Grant's last and most revealing yet - Bring It On Home sheds new light on the story of rock's greatest manager and one of the giants of modern music history.