Discover new sides to your musical heroes through their literature
The rock n roll pantheon is littered with legendary stories throughout their books, whether fiction or truth, and all sorts of shocking exploits, many of which have gone down in history and even crossed over into the realms of clich even now, it seems no world tour is complete without the odd TV being thrown out of the hotel room window.
But believe it or not, musicians arent just living and breathing stereotypes, and many of them have truly fascinating life stories to tell. If youre curious to find out more about what inspires and drives your favourite musicians, perhaps its worth delving into an autobiography or other assorted music reference books this spring.
Renowned as the hard-living frontman of the Happy Mondays, Shaun Ryder tells his unique story in Twisting My Melon, his autobiography. From his early years in Salford to the peak of the Madchester phenomenon and the depths of drug addiction, Shaun takes us through the highs and lows of the rock n roll lifestyle. Twisting My Melon provides us with a unique insight into a genuine cultural icon – who, incidentally, is now once again fronting the reunited Mondays – and gives us his inimitable, entertaining take on life in his own words.
Death of a Polaroid: A Manics Family Album, meanwhile, is a personal visual history of one of Wales most successful rock bands, the Manic Street Preachers. Compiled over a 20-year period by bassist and chief lyricist Nicky Wire, Death of a Polaroid is a collection of photographs – with accompanying text written by Nicky himself – illustrating the Caerphilly rockers evolution from the hungry punks of the Generation Terrorists era to the elder statesmen who crafted their critically-acclaimed 2010 album, Postcards from a Young Man. Death of a Polaroid provides us with the fascinating, richly-detailed story of a genuinely widely-admired, era-defining group.