{"title":"Books by Andrew Wild","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9781781555996","title":"Pink Floyd","description":"Pink Floyd Song by Song takes a fresh look at the songs which led to Pink Floyd becoming the third best-selling band of all time. From 'Arnold Layne' to 'Louder Than Words', Pink Floyd wrote about anger, isolation, regret, dismay, and fear. These themes, not always obvious starting points in popular music, were married to a rare dynamism in rock music. Pink Floyd's most successful period critically and musically-the eight albums from 1970 to 1983-combine the pithy lyrics of Roger Waters, the soulful voice and breath-taking guitar solos of David Gilmour and, until 1979, the jazz influenced piano and keyboard abilities of the late Richard Wright. These three together wrote the band's best work, usually in combinations of twos and threes but also individually. When working together as equals, the three principals of Pink Floyd were significantly more than the sum of their individual strengths.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56304022126965,"sku":"9781781555996","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781781555996_1bbb225e-432d-4331-8163-06d1c4235b3e.jpg?v=1786026204"},{"product_id":"9781789521856","title":"Phil Collins in the 1980s","description":"Phil Collins was everywhere in the 1980s. He had more top forty singles in the US than any other artist during the 1980s: fourteen as a solo artist and eleven with Genesis, along with two number one albums. Add to this, twenty-five solo \/ group hit singles and eight number one albums in the UK. He also recorded with artists as diverse as Peter Gabriel, John Martyn, Frida, Robert Plant, Mike Oldfield, Marti Webb, Al Di Meola, Adam Ant, Eric Clapton, Phil Bailey, Band Aid, Marilyn Martin, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, Chaka Khan and Tears For Fears - another thirty-five albums or standalone singles, some of which were massive global hits.    He also found time, somehow, to tour with Plant and Clapton in addition to his extensive in-concert duties with Genesis and as a solo artist. And perform at Live Aid. At both concerts. That's around six hundred live concerts in total between 1980 and 1989. There's no doubt that the guy was busy in that period!   Amidst the overwhelming commercial success and ahead of any other career plan Phil Collins was and is a musician. His ubiquity between 1980 and 1989 hides ten years of magnificent music and this book examines Phil Collins' musical output through these ten tumultuous years.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56305754964341,"sku":"9781789521856","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781789521856_db01271d-c75e-4f9e-ad2c-cd6c5e646802.jpg?v=1786026986"},{"product_id":"9781789523553","title":"The Beatles 1962 to 1966 On Track","description":"\u003cbr\u003eOther than ‘I Me Mine' and some minor overdubs, The Beatles' entire EMI\/Apple catalogue was recorded in fewer than seven years: from 4 September 1962 through to 20 August 1969. Twelve albums, twenty-two singles, two standalone EPs, 213 songs. That in itself is remarkable enough.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   But the quality of t he music, the rapid development of musical complexity and the innovations in studio production lifted The Beatles above every other band. The Fab Four were not always fab. But that some writers take the time and expend energy to point this out and purposefully diss perfect songs such as ‘Yesterday' merely serves to remind us that, most of the time, The Beatles were unarguably brilliant.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAuthors Andrew Wild and Alberto Bravin have listened to, digested and discussed the entire Beatles back catalogue to remind them why they love their music. How do they affect us today? Answer: they were bloody good.  They still are.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e   This first volume covers the period 1962 to 1966 - from 'Love Me Do' to 'Tomorrow Never Knows', and the early albums – that were different in the UK and the USA, to Rubber Soul and Revolver. Four years of outstanding music.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56306705891701,"sku":"9781789523553","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781789523553_ae5051a6-bda6-4203-8317-c39329061758.jpg?v=1786027078"},{"product_id":"9781789521054","title":"Fleetwood Mac In The 1970s","description":"Music fans tend to divide into two camps at the mention of Fleetwood Mac. There are those who think of the multi-million-selling five-piece that formed in the mid-1970s and released Rumours, the biggest selling album of all time. But there are those who adopt a self-appointed 'cooler' stance, preferring the late-sixties blues band fronted by the virtuosic guitarist Peter Green. But that's not the whole story. Between May 1970, when Green left his own band to be replaced by the bass player's wife, to the beginning of 1975, when Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac, there were five years of what can only be described as turmoil. One by one, talented musicians such as Jeremy Spencer, Danny Kirwan, Bob Weston and Bob Welch joined and left the band. While it's impossible to ignore the skill and longevity such classic songs as 'Rhiannon' and 'Don't Stop' and albums Fleetwood Mac, Rumours and Tusk, there are an equal number of half-forgotten classic songs from the first half of the 1970s and many deep album cuts that have been overlooked. Here is the story of Fleetwood Mac in the 1970s - the music, the people, the tours, the rumours, the failures and the successes.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56306890015093,"sku":"9781789521054","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781789521054_a4375ed9-e311-4ca0-9025-277e16e03ace.jpg?v=1786026958"},{"product_id":"9781789521412","title":"Eric Clapton Solo On Track","description":"Of all of the 'classic' British rockers who came to prominence in the 1960s, only a very few have achieved significant, sustained success through to the present day. A list that comprises Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones should also include Eric Clapton. His critical and commercial accomplishments with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Cream, Blind Faith and his first solo album between 1965 and 1970 was followed the inexplicable failure of the Layla album, released under the semi-pseudonym of Derek \u0026amp; The Dominos. Clapton withdrew into heroin addiction for several years.   In 1974, his 'comeback' album, 461 Ocean Boulevard, returned him to the top three in both the UK and America. Always a strong concert draw, Clapton has released another sixteen top twenty albums since. Even 'Layla' returned to the charts in 1982.   Eric Clapton Solo reviews and analyses all of Clapton's studio albums since 1974, as well as successful collaborations with BB King and JJ Cale. It's been a long, varied journey: the laid-back rocker of the 1970s; the commercial sheen of the 1980s; the polished, acoustic yuppie music and hard blues of the 1990s; the slick R \u0026amp; B stylings of the 2000s and the roots homages of the 2010s. All of this was underpinned by the skill and talent of Britain's greatest blues guitarist and a hugely underrated vocalist","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56306945556853,"sku":"9781789521412","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781789521412.jpg?v=1786026962"},{"product_id":"9781838491840","title":"A MIRROR OF DREAMS","description":"\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback \/ softback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56307752173941,"sku":"9781838491840","price":24.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781838491840_dd68a809-de87-4e82-8333-00e52a34a9e1.jpg?v=1786027835"},{"product_id":"9781838491888","title":"A PLAYGROUND OF BROKEN HEARTS","description":"\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Paperback \/ softback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56313009996149,"sku":"9781838491888","price":29.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781838491888_a9ff7e5a-4f9c-45a6-bda6-0555b893ae9a.jpg?v=1786027837"},{"product_id":"9781789523799","title":"Apple Of My Eye","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Beatlespioneered so much in the recording studio during their short time together thatit's easy to forget that they formed their own record company in April 1968.Their business plan: to find and fund new musical talent. By the end of theyear Apple had signed James Taylor and struck lucky with Mary Hopkin. Themuch-admired Badfinger followed, along with albums by obvious associates (BillyPreston, Ravi Shankar, Yoko Ono) and not-so-obvious (John Tavener, Modern JazzQuartet, Radha Krishna Temple) with mixed financial and artistic success.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut The Beatles were not businessmen and theearly optimism of shiny newness soon soured into chaos. Major acts such as 10ccand Crosby, Stills \u0026amp; Nash slipped through their fingers. Allen Klein wasappointed to sort out the mess, but disenfranchised nearly everybody. Paul leftThe Beatles and sued the others. In 1975, The Beatles' partnership was legallyterminated and Apple Records, a vanity label in all but name, was quietly putto sleep.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eApple Of My Eye revisits each of the albumsand singles released by Apple between 1968 and 1975, underpinned by thebusiness and legal context of the last days of the world's greatest band.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56368158310773,"sku":"9781789523799","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781789523799_e51e0f7c-4d73-4a85-8206-541de7c66332.jpg?v=1786027096"},{"product_id":"9781789524628","title":"The Doobie Brothers On Track","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Doobie Brothers On Track tells the story of a band that helped define one of the most transformative decades in popular music. Formed in California in 1970, The Doobie Brothers blended blues, folk and R\u0026amp;B with tight harmonies and road-tested musicianship.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir early hits—'Listen to the Music’, ‘Long Train Runnin’’, ‘China Grove’ and ‘Black Water’—captured the easygoing optimism of the West Coast while reflecting a country in transition after the upheavals of the 1960s.As the decade unfolded, the band evolved alongside the changing sound of rock. Guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter brought a jazz sensibility from his time with Steely Dan, while singer and keyboardist Michael McDonald introduced smooth, soulful textures that reshaped the group’s identity. With Takin’ It to the Streets and the Grammy-winning Minute by Minute, The Doobie Brothers became one of the few bands able to bridge bar-band grit and radio polish without losing credibility.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book places their journey within the broader story of 1970s American music—a period of genre-blending, studio innovation and shifting cultural moods. Drawing connections to contemporaries like Little Feat and Steely Dan, it explores how The Doobies balanced experimentation with accessibility and why their songs continue to resonate today. More than a band biography, it’s a portrait of resilience and reinvention—how a group rooted in California’s club scene learned to adapt, thrive and keep audiences listening for over fifty years.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56369177723253,"sku":"9781789524628","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781789524628_074e57d2-2acf-43bf-8ba6-984cf7fa918a.jpg?v=1786027102"},{"product_id":"eric-clapton-sessions","title":"Eric Clapton Sessions","description":"Since 1963 Eric Clapton has contributed to two hundred albums by other artists: from very famous to the obscure and the unexpected: Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, The Rolling Stones, Sting, Phil Collins, Rod Stewart, all four of the Beatles, Martha Veléz, Jonathan Kelly, Corey Hart, Stephen Bishop, Hawkwind, Ray Charles, Kate Bush, The Tony Rich Project, Toots and the Maytals and Mary J. Blige.    If you've never heard (for instance) ‘Beat of the Night' by Bob Geldof, ‘Sexual Revolution' by Roger Waters or ‘I Wish It Would Rain Down' by Phil Collins, this book tells you about Eric's part in those recordings and many more, as well as his more notorious collaborations with the likes of The Beatles, Bob Dylan – and Ed Sheeran!   Indeed, this book puts these into context across nearly sixty years of documented sessions. If you've never delved into Eric's contributions to other artist's recordings, then this is a handy guide to help the reader find his way into such a lengthy and successful second career. If his own albums are the main story, then these recordings run alongside: an alternative history of one of rock's most prolific musicians","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57487652159861,"sku":"9781789521771","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781789521771.jpg?v=1786354879"},{"product_id":"band-on-track","title":"The Band On Track","description":"The Band’s music is often described in terms of nostalgia, yet its character is more complex. Rather than simply revisiting established American traditions, the group engaged in a careful reinterpretation of blues, folk, country and gospel forms, reshaping them into a distinctive and cohesive body of work.   Their songs frequently evoke American settings, voices and histories while avoiding strict regional or historical literalism. Across recordings such as ‘The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down’, ‘King Harvest (Has Surely Come)’ and ‘Tears Of Rage’, the listener encounters narratives shaped as much by memory and reflection as by event, producing a sense of temporal ambiguity that became central to the group’s aesthetic.   Equally significant was The Band’s collective structure. In contrast to the star-driven model that defined much of late twentieth-century rock, narrative authority and musical focus within the group remained distributed. Songs like ‘The Weight’, ‘Up on Cripple Creek’ and ‘The Shape I’m In’ reveal an approach grounded in ensemble interplay, conversational phrasing and shifting vocal perspectives.   This collaborative ethos, however, also proved difficult to sustain under the pressures of success and scale. The celebratory concert, film and album The Last Waltz arguably capped rock music’s great first era. The band reformed a few years later and eventually released a further three albums. Sadly, the five members of The Band’s classic line-up are now dead. What remains is the durability of the recordings themselves. The Band’s most enduring work has secured a distinctive place within the broader history of popular music.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57507694608757,"sku":"9781789526554","price":16.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781789526554.jpg?v=1787042815"},{"product_id":"his-love-art-music-and-faith","title":"His Love: Art, Music and Faith","description":"Geoff Mann was many things: artist, poet, playwright, singer, actor, songwriter, self-confessed ‘wobbly’ musician, husband, father, curate and vicar.   Often irreverent, never compromising, Geoff packed more into his thirty-six years than most do in three-score and ten. He released fifteen albums, performed hundreds of concerts, including at the Reading and Greenbelt festivals, exhibited his art at ten galleries, and cared for both his family and his church members.   This official biography – written with the full cooperation of the Mann family – takes a fresh and detailed look at Geoff's life, from his childhood in Manchester through his student years in Reading, his time as a professional artist, and the two tumultuous years with Twelfth Night. Also covered is his subsequent musical career, including The Bond, Eh! Geoff Mann Band and his collaborations with Marc Catley and Clive Nolan. Geoff also appeared in several gospel musicals, produced several releases for other artists and wrote a play which was produced at the Edinburgh Festival.    His Love describes Geoff’s sudden and unexpected conversion to Christianity, his subsequent calling to be a vicar, his impact as a curate, and his resilience and humour in the face of a terminal illness. The book also celebrates Geoff’s continuing influence and includes unpublished poems, unseen photographs and the recollections of his closest friends, bandmates and musical peers.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57680054649205,"sku":"9781789526592","price":20.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9781789526592.jpg?v=1792423006"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-andrew-wild.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}