{"title":"Books by John Tucker","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"9783940822048","title":"Neat \u0026 Tidy","description":"Launched on its true path with the release of Don't Touch Me There' by Tygers of Pan Tang at the end of 1979 Neat Records was arguably the most influential and innovative heavy metal label of the early Eighties. Irrevocably tied in with the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, the Tyne \u0026amp; Wear-based independent embodied the genre like no other label. Acclaimed for its releases and derided by its critics for trying to take on the major record labels at their own game, Neat Records did more to further the cause of heavy metal at the time of the NWOBHM than any other label, and in launching the careers of Raven and Venom it was instrumental in the splintering of what was then just heavy metal into speed metal, thrash metal and death metal, subgenres which soon developed a life of their own and changed the face of the metal scene forever; furthermore, a number of its other discoveries like Heavy Pettin', Tobruk and, of course, the Tygers themselves, would go on to sign to major labels with varying degrees of success. This book examines the label, its bands and their releases though both new interviews with many key players in the Neat Records' story such as label boss David Wood and producer Steve Thompson, and Raven's John Gallagher and Jeff 'Mantas' Dunn from Venom, as well as contemporary articles and reviews.  Already spending all his pocket money and school dinner money on records, John Tucker became hooked on Neat as soon as he came across Don't Touch Me There'. A few years later he started writing the label's promotional magazine Lead Weight, and then once the Neat catalogue had been sold to Sanctuary Records he worked on a number of CD re-issues of classic Neat material. His first book \"Suzie Smiled: The New Wave of British Heavy Metal\" was greeted with many great reviews (\"immersed in the scene himself as a fanzine writer, photographer and indeed failed musician, John Tucker provides a fascinating and humorous worm's eye view of one of the most important periods in heavy metal history\" said Kerrang! in 2008) and since then he has collaborated with Saxon's Biff Byford and Diamond Head's Brian Tatler -- two luminaries of the period -- on their autobiographies.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56309905064309,"sku":"9783940822048","price":19.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9783940822048_3b87716c-8c37-41a6-86d5-e00aaa2bdfbb.jpg?v=1786031562"},{"product_id":"9783931624446","title":"Saxon -- Never Surrender (or Nearly Good Looking)","description":"For over thirty years, Saxon has been led from the front by charismatic and larger-than-life vocalist Biff Byford. In 'Never Surrender', he tells his story for the first time, from his working class childhood as a terribly shy schoolboy in Yorkshire through the mega-days of the early Eighties to the band's Twenty-First Century rise to fame once more. Sometimes tragic, sometimes funny, but always brutally honest, 'Never Surrender' lifts the lid on the myths surrounding Saxon, as well as revealing the hard work and heartaches it takes to make it to the top and stay there.","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56311066394997,"sku":"9783931624446","price":15.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9783931624446_affbc93e-d7c9-4934-9aa3-38cb122cab74.jpg?v=1786031540"},{"product_id":"111-places-in-richmond-that-you-must-not-miss","title":"111 Places in Richmond That You Must Not Miss","description":"Welcome to 111 Places in Richmond That You Must Not Miss, a collection of the sites and experiences that make the River City such a special place. To those who don’t know Richmond, Virginia, USA, you’ll find the city itself to be a hidden gem, the cradle of 400 years of American history, steward of the magnificent James River, and the unlikely home to heralded culinary masters.   To those who do know Richmond, the self-deprecating but proud populace inured to its remarkable features, by flipping through these pages you will uncover secrets about your city, new and old. You know Hollywood Cemetery, but do you know the final resting place of our famous psychic horse? Have you kept an open mind about our smaller neighbours to the North and South and gazed at the Heavens from “the Center of the Universe” or seen the Petersburg residence constructed entirely from tombstones?","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57680092463477,"sku":"9783740830618","price":13.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9783740830618.jpg?v=1792423117"}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/collections\/author-john-tucker.oembed","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}