Def Leppard tell all (or at least all they want to tell), Elton John says goodbye to the yellow-brick road, Wayne Hussey completes another Mission, Queen get the royal treatment and more. Welcome to your new reading list:
Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard
By Def Leppard
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Offering fans the most personal and comprehensive record of Def Leppard’s history to date, Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard is narrated by the band in their own words, illustrated with photography and memorabilia from the Def Leppard archives. Despite an average age of only 18, Def Leppard burst onto the hard rock scene in 1980 like a group of seasoned veterans. Thinking big from the very start, the blueprint for their music was, as singer Joe Elliott states, ‘Queen meets AC/DC.’ Def Leppard’s story is one of stratospheric highs and crashing lows, of triumph over adversity. While becoming one of the world’s best-selling music artists with blockbuster albums Pyromania and Hysteria, the band overcame drummer Rick Allen’s accident and the death of bandmate Steve Clark. During their 45-year history, Def Leppard have continued to make new music, with 12 studio albums to their name, including their 2022 release Diamond Star Halos, finding success with every record and tour. In a wide-ranging account from the band and archive text from past members, Definitely chronicles Def Leppard’s incredible story, from their humble beginnings rehearsing in a spoon factory in Sheffield to recording ground-breaking multi-platinum albums and touring sell-out stadiums around the world. With unlimited access to the Def Leppard vault, Definitely presents over four decades of the band’s history through handwritten correspondence, rare vinyl pressings, tour memorabilia, music video storyboards, draft album artwork, press cuttings, previously unpublished photographs and much more. Part memoir, part scrapbook, Definitely: The Official Story of Def Leppard is the ultimate record of Def Leppard’s legendary career.”
Elton John | Farewell
By Carolyn McHugh
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “During a dazzling 50-year musical career, Sir Elton John has risen from playing the piano in the pubs of Pinner in North London to become an award-winning global superstar with record sales of over £1 billion. Elton John | Farewell tells his extraordinary story and features the story of the Farewell Tour which runs through to July 2023. His 1970 breakthrough single Your Song began his domination of the pop charts and established his credentials to fill the post-Beatles landscape with his unique take on piano based ballads pop and rock. Not since ’50s stars like Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard had a man and his piano made such an impact on modern music. Few would have imagined that Elton’s early success and real emotional connection with his fans would be sustained over the next 50 years and see him become a singer songwriter extraordinaire and one of the most successful musical theatre composers in history. Flamboyant and prone to excess, Elton has overcome problems with drink drugs and his sexuality to become notable fundraiser and charity campaigner notably through the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Now married with two sons, Elton’s priorities have changed. Farewell Elton.”
Heady Daze: The Mission Years, 1985–1990
By Wayne Hussey
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Picking up where the critically acclaimed Salad Daze left off, Heady Daze sees Wayne Hussey revisit the years from 1985 to 1990 leading The Mission through their formation to global success. From headlining some of Europe’s major festivals, playing with U2, Robert Plant and The Cure and sweeping the U.K. music papers’ readers’ polls, to the excesses of touring the world and the lurid headlines that followed them wherever they ventured, it’s all here in this memoir packed full of candid moments and hilarious anecdotes.”
Dead Straight Guide to Queen
By Phil Chapman
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “Few bands embodied the pure excess of the ’70s like Queen. Theatrical, brilliant, even mercurial — there has never been another band like them, or a frontman like Freddie Mercury. Their performance at the 1985 Live Aid concert is the stuff of legend and We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions have become anthems at sporting events around the world. With one of the most iconic videos ever, Bohemian Rhapsody achieved even greater recognition through inclusion in the movie Wayne’s World. Their 1981 Greatest Hits album has sold more than 25 million copies to date. Queen were one of the biggest stadium-rock bands of the ’80s but the death of frontman, songwriter and producer Mercury at the start of the ’90s brought the band to a premature halt. This book tells the full story of the band and its members from pre-Queen to post-Freddie.”
Lipstick and Leather: On the Road with the World’s Most Notorious Rock Stars
By Kim Hawes
THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE: “What do Motörhead, Black Sabbath, Elvis Costello, Rush and Chumbawamba have in common? Kim Hawes, pioneering female tour manager. Hawes spent years sleeping underneath Lemmy from Motörhead… because her bus was beneath his on the tour bus. She feuded with the members of Black Sabbath, tripped mushrooms on stage with Hawkwind, faced down the Hells Angels and escalated band prank wars. She threw Madonna off her stage, turned down an invite from Nelson Mandela, and dealt with the aftermath of Chumbawamba drenching John Prescott. Through hard work, hard drinking and hard times, Kim refused to conform to others’ expectations. She hurled a TV through the glass ceiling of the male-dominated music industry, blazing a trail for young women today. She carved out a place for women in a largely man’s world, taking no crap and no prisoners while getting results other tour managers only dreamed of. This memoir of the nitty gritty of life on the road — the fights, the dares, the smashed hotel rooms and even an encounter with a Soviet submarine — is full of fresh stories about the famous names you think you know. Lipstick and Leather is a must-read for anyone who wants a fresh insight into life on the road.”
