Over the past fifteen years, Steampunk – a mash-up of Victorian and sci-fi aesthetics with a splash of punk rock attitude – has gone from being a literary movement to a part of pop culture and a way of life. This subculture celebrates the inventor as an artist and hero, re-envisioning and crafting retro technologies including antiquated airships and steam-powered robots. The Steampunk aesthetic now permeates movies, comics, fashion, art and more, and has given a distinct flavor to iconic events such as Maker Faire and the Burning Man festival. The Steampunk Bible is the first book of its kind, a fully illustrated compendium tracing the roots and history of this subculture, from the work of its godfathers Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, to the key figures who coined the word that would spawn a literary genre, to the vast community of craftsmen and artists who translated that spark into a lifestyle with clothing and accessories such as goggles, corsets, pocket watches, and with an attitude to match.This ultimate resource, filled with scores of illustrations and photographs, will appeal to aficionados and novices alike as author Jeff VanderMeer takes the reader on a wild ride through the clockwork corridors of Steampunk past, present and future.

Price : £ 12.75

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Mark Blake’s history of Pink Floyd – the first for fifteen years – has already been acknowledged as the final word on this remarkable band’s life. Lucidly written, incorporating over a hundred new and exclusive interviews, it covers Pink Floyd from their Cambridge beginnings in the early sixties to their triumphant re-formation at Live 8 in 2005 24 years after their last live performance together and the death of their troubled founder-member Syd Barrett a year later. Pink Floyd’s albums like Dark Side of the Moon remain some of rock’s biggest sellers of all every year on CD; Both David Gilmour and Roger Waters continue to do arena and stadium gigs, and the market for this book will exist for many years. In hardback it has reprinted four times already. Aurum’s earlier book about the Clash by Blake’s Mojo stablemate Pat Gilbert, Passion is a Fashion, has so far sold over 22,000 in paperback – and the Floyd cult is far larger. Everyone has commented on the superb “flying pig” cover art and the spine treatment visible right across the bookshop: both are retained for this paperback edition.Mark Blake is a contributing editor at Mojo and Q magazines, and the editor of books on Punk and Bob Dylan. He is currently editing The Wit & Wisdom of Keith Richards for Aurum. He lives in Croydon.

Price : £ 6.99

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In “Post Everything”, Luke Haines demonstrates that the only way to survive the tyrannical scourge of Britpop is to become an Outsider. The ‘avant-garde Arthur Scargill’ calls upon the nation’s pop stars to down tools and go on strike. We learn the story of Haines’ post-Britpop art house trio Black Box Recorder (Chas and Dave with a chanteuse), we meet a talking cat, two dead rappers (Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur), a mystical England football manager, and a shady transgender German Professor – exponent of a dangerous and radical ‘Beatles denial’ cult and author of “The Theorem of the Moron” (the most important book about rock that you’ve never heard of). Haines even finds time to write a musical for the National Theatre. Blisteringly funny and searingly scathing, “Post Everything” may quite possibly be the first and only truly surreal comic rock memoir. It even contains a killer recipe for scrambled eggs.

Price : £ 6.19

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The paperback will have a brand new chapter on the band’s historic decision to re-form after so many years in order to play at the LIVE8 concert, including Sir Bob’s intervention! Plus new, never before seen, photos of the band both onstage and backstage at the concert. One of the most fascinating rock bands ever, Pink Floyd was formed in 1965. After a year in the London ‘underground’ experimenting with revolutionary techniques like lights which matched their music, they released their first single in 1966. Their breakthrough album, THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, was released in 1973 and stayed in the charts until 1982, the longest a record has ever been continuously in the charts, becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time. In 1975 they released WISH YOU WERE HERE which reached iconic status, then in 1979 THE WALL went to number 1 in almost every country in the world. The movie version of THE WALL starring Bob Geldof was released in 1982, becoming a cult favorite. In the 1980s a rift developed between the band members which culminated in law suits.Only recently have there been reconciliations which have allowed founder member Nick Mason to write his personal take on the band’s history.

Price : £ 7.69

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The paperback will have a brand new chapter on the band’s historic decision to re-form after so many years in order to play at the LIVE8 concert, including Sir Bob’s intervention! Plus new, never before seen, photos of the band both onstage and backstage at the concert. One of the most fascinating rock bands ever, Pink Floyd was formed in 1965. After a year in the London ‘underground’ experimenting with revolutionary techniques like lights which matched their music, they released their first single in 1966. Their breakthrough album, THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON, was released in 1973 and stayed in the charts until 1982, the longest a record has ever been continuously in the charts, becoming one of the best-selling albums of all time. In 1975 they released WISH YOU WERE HERE which reached iconic status, then in 1979 THE WALL went to number 1 in almost every country in the world. The movie version of THE WALL starring Bob Geldof was released in 1982, becoming a cult favorite. In the 1980s a rift developed between the band members which culminated in law suits.Only recently have there been reconciliations which have allowed founder member Nick Mason to write his personal take on the band’s history.

Price : £ 7.69

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Best known for her role in cult comedy TV hit, Benidorm and for playing Maggie Conlon in Ken Loach’s remarkable film Ladybird Ladybird, Crissy Rock is a hugely popular actress and comedienne. But Crissy’s path to success was far from easy and her life has been plagued by trauma and turmoil. Never has there been a more honest and disturbing biography ever written; never has there been so much to tell. Crissy Rock’s poor but idyllic young life was plunged into darkness at the age of eight, when her grandfather began to abuse her both physically and sexually. Pregnant and married to a violent bully at sixteen it seemed that trouble and turmoil would always stalk her. Having finally escaped her violent marriage, Crissy began to turn her life around. Having firmly established herself on the comedy circuit she was then cast in Ladybird Ladybird for which she won Best Actress at the Berlin Film Festival. This is one of the most astonishing books you will ever read.

Price : £ 5.19

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Spanning Tom Waits’ extraordinary 40-year career, from “Closing Time” to “Orphans”, “Lowside of the Road” is Barney Hoskyns’ unique take on one of rock’s great enigmas. Like Bob Dylan and Neil Young, Waits is a chameleonic survivor who’s achieved long-term success while retaining cult credibility and outsider mystique. From his perilous ‘jazzbo’ years in ’70s Los Angeles to the multiple-Grammy winner of recent years – by way of such shape-shifting ’80s albums as Swordfishtrombones – this exhaustive biography charts Waits’ life step-by-step and album-by-album. Affectionate and penetrating, and based on a combination of assiduous research and deep critical insight, this is a outstanding investigation of a notoriously private artist and performer – the definitive account to date of Tom Waits’ life and work.

Price : £ 7.69

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Over the past fifteen years, Steampunk – a mash-up of Victorian and sci-fi aesthetics with a splash of punk rock attitude – has gone from being a literary movement to a part of pop culture and a way of life. This subculture celebrates the inventor as an artist and hero, re-envisioning and crafting retro technologies including antiquated airships and steam-powered robots. The Steampunk aesthetic now permeates movies, comics, fashion, art and more, and has given a distinct flavor to iconic events such as Maker Faire and the Burning Man festival. The Steampunk Bible is the first book of its kind, a fully illustrated compendium tracing the roots and history of this subculture, from the work of its godfathers Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, to the key figures who coined the word that would spawn a literary genre, to the vast community of craftsmen and artists who translated that spark into a lifestyle with clothing and accessories such as goggles, corsets, pocket watches, and with an attitude to match.This ultimate resource, filled with scores of illustrations and photographs, will appeal to aficionados and novices alike as author Jeff VanderMeer takes the reader on a wild ride through the clockwork corridors of Steampunk past, present and future.

Price : £ 11.38

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Good old Dad and his good old Dad’s car. As solid and dependable as the man himself if a little less balding Dad’s car was almost a member of the family whisking you to exciting days out or just to visit boring relatives in distant parts of the country to the chant of ‘are we nearly there yet?’ Like the man behind the wheel Dad’s car made you feel safe and secure because it was as reassuring and sensible as he was. Maybe in an idle moment Dad dreamt of driving something rakish and fast just like in idle moments he dreamt that your Mum was Twiggy but the demands of family life meant soft tops hard suspension and anything even remotely sporty were off the cards. Even anything less than four doors would have been wildly hedonistic. But although the family car may not have been the very essence of rock ‘n’ roll Dad was proud of it. Spanning the 1950s to the ’80s this is a celebration of the heyday of the Dad car. From much loved family workhorses like the Ford Cortina and Vauxhall Viva to the rakish excitement and playground kudos of the Rover 3500 and Citroen CX all the great Dad cars are here. Reflecting a time before people carriers and lifestyle off roaders when the nearest thing to an airbag was hiding behind your fat brother this is a celebration of simple honest cars that were as flawed and as loveable as your Dad himself.

Price : £ 8.19

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