Most Popular Books by Paul Morley

Joy Division: Piece by Piece is the definitive collection of writings on the legendary cult band. In addition to collecting all Morley''s classic works about the band from the late 1970s/early 1980s, this unique book includes his eloquent Ian Curtis obituary and his hindsight pieces on the significance of the group, framed by an extensive retrospective essay. Contemporary elements include Morley''s critique of the films ''24 Hour Party People'' – which told the story of the band''s record label, Factory – and ''Control'', for which the author visited the set during production. Most movingly, Morley includes the original text that grew into his literary work Nothing, which parallels the suicide of Curtis with that of his own father. He also evokes the zeitgeist and the ''psycho-geography'' of Manchester, which combined to produce the most uniquely intense rock group ever.

For readers of Mozart in the Jungle and Year of Wonder, a new history of and guide to classical music. Paul Morley made his name as a journalist covering the rock and pop of the 1970s and 1980s. But as his career progressed, he found himself drawn toward developing technologies, streaming platforms, and, increasingly, the music from the past that streaming services now made available. Suddenly able to access every piece Mozart or Bach had ever written and to curate playlists that worked with these musicians'' themes across different performers, composers, and eras, he began to understand classical music in a whole new way and to believe that it was music at its most dramatic and revealing. In A Sound Mind, Morley takes readers along on his journey into the history and future of classical music. His descriptions, explanations, and guidance make this seemingly arcane genre more friendly to listeners and show the music''s power, depth, and timeless beauty. In Morley''s capable hands, the history of the classical genre is shown to be the history of all music, with these long-ago pieces influencing everyone from jazz greats to punk rockers and the pop musicians of today.

The definitive guide to the world of contemporary and electronic music by the media''s top music pundit ''An exhilarating history of pop - a brilliant and joyous book'' Guardian ''A passionate, irresistible encouragement to listen more, and to listen better'' Sunday Times Has pop burnt itself out? Inspired by the video for Kylie Minogue''s hit single ''Can''t Get You Out of My Head'', acclaimed rock journalist Paul Morley is driving with Kylie towards a virtual city built of sound and ideas in search of the answer. Their journey bridges the various paradoxes of twentieth-century culture, as they encounter a succession of celebrities and geniuses - including Madonna, Kraftwerk, Wittgenstein and the ghost of Elvis Presley - and explore the iconic and the obscure, the mechanical and the digital, the avant-garde and the very nature of pop itself.

Respected arts commentator and author Paul Morley, an artistic advisor to the curators of the highly successful retrospective exhibition ''David Bowie Is...'' for the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, constructs a definitive story of Bowie that explores how he worked, played, aged, structured his ideas, influenced others, invented the future, and entered history as someone who could and would never be forgotten. Morley captures the greatest moments from across Bowie''s life and career; how young Davie Jones of South London became the international David Bowie; his pioneering collaborations in the recording studio with the likes of Tony Visconti, Mick Ronson, and Brian Eno; to iconic live, film, theatre, and television performances from the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, as well as the various encounters and artistic relationships he developed with musicians from John Lennon, Lou Reed, and Iggy Pop to Trent Reznor and Arcade Fire. And of course, discusses in detail his much-heralded and critically acclaimed finale with the release of Blackstar just days before his shocking death in New York.

Paul Morley grew up in Reddish, less than five miles from Manchester and even closer to Stockport. Ever since the age of seven Morley has always thought of himself as a northerner. What that meant, he wasn''t entirely sure. It was for him, as it is for millions of others in England, an absolute, indisputable truth. Forty years after walking down grey pavements on his way to school, Paul explores what it means to be northern and why those who consider themselves to be believe it so strongly. Like industrial towns dotted across great green landscapes of hills and valleys, Morley breaks up his own history with fragments of his region''s own social and cultural background. Stories of his Dad spreading margarine on Weetabix stand alongside those about northern England''s first fish and chip shop in Mossley, near Oldham. Ambitiously sweeping and beautifully impressionistic, without ever losing touch with the minute details of life above the M25, The North is an extraordinary mixture of memoir and history, a unique insight into how we, as a nation, classify the unclassifiable.

Michael Jackson died on June 25 2009 in Los Angeles, from of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication (according to Wikipedia). The one-time King of Pop was preparing for one last assault on the mainstream with a proposed 50 night run of shows at the 02 (thereby trumping his arch-rival, Prince, who had just concluded his legendary 21 Nights). His exhaustion, paranoia and general ill-heath were an open secret. He had lived many lives and inhabited many bodies; PT Barnum, Fred Astaire, and Peter Pan in one mortal coil. His death was mourned by hundreds of millions of fans but it was almost as if he had been dead for some time already. And in his death, in vivid technicolor, we relived the dreams, nightmares, fantasies, and perversions that we had all projected on to him for four decades. Paul Morley''s short biographical portrait of Michael Jackson looks at how we turned the most outrageous child star talent of the late 20th century into a monster; how his decline soundtracked the end of Pop and the end of American Imperialism; how his once staggeringly modern and funky music became secondary to the dysfunctional freak show of watching a vulnerable man literally disintegrate. Tender, erudite, and provocative, Morley''s monograph documents a tragedy that is so Shakespearean in scale that it obscures the legacy of the last of the great Song and Dance Men.

In the vein of Sound Man and The Soundtrack of My Life, a lyrical, warmhearted, and inspirational memoir from the founder of Island Records about his astonishing life and career helping to bring reggae music to the world stage and working with Bob Marley, U2, Grace Jones, Cat Stevens, and many other icons. Chris Blackwell, like the paradigm-shifting artists he came to support over his sixty-plus years in the music business, never took the conventional route. He grew up between Jamaica and London, crossing paths with Ian Fleming, Noel Coward, and Errol Flynn. After being expelled from an elite British school for rebellious behavior in 1954 at age seventeen, he moved back to Jamaica, and within five years, founded Island Records—the company that would make an indelible mark on music, shifting with the times, but always keeping its core identity intact. The Islander is the story of Blackwell and his cohorts at Island Records, who time and again, identified, nurtured, and broke out musicians who had been overlooked by bigger record labels, including Steve Winwood, Nick Drake, John Martyn, and Cat Stevens. After an impromptu meeting with Bob Marley and his bandmates in 1972, Blackwell decided to fund and produce their groundbreaking album Catch a Fire. He’d go on to work with Marley over the rest of his career, remain his close friend, and continually champion Jamaican culture and reggae music. In the ensuing years, Blackwell worked with U2, Grace Jones, the B-52s, Tom Waits, Robert Palmer, Tom Tom Club, and many other groundbreaking artists. He also opened the first Jamaican boutique hotel, on the property of Ian Fleming’s former home, Goldeneye, where all the James Bond books were written. Blackwell is a legendary as well as deeply humble raconteur, and reading The Islander is like spending a day with the most interesting man in the world.

Iconic music and film legend Grace Jones gives an in-depth account of her stellar career, professional and personal life, and the signature look that catapulted her into the stardom stratosphere. Grace Jones, a veritable “triple-threat” as acclaimed actress, singer, and model, has dominated the entertainment industry since her emergence as a model in New York City in 1968. Quickly discovered for her obvious talent and cutting-edge style, Grace signed her first record deal in 1977 and became one of the more unforgettable characters to emerge from the Studio 54 disco scene, releasing the all-time favorite hits, “Pull Up to the Bumper,” “Slave to the Rhythm,” and “I’m Not Perfect (But I’m Perfect for You).” And with her sexually charged, outrageous live shows in the New York City nightclub circuit, Grace soon earned the title of “Queen of the Gay Discos.” But with the dawn of the ’80s came a massive anti-disco movement across the US, leading Grace to focus on experimental-based work and put her two-and-a-half-octave voice to good use. It was also around this time that she changed her look to suit the times with a detached, androgynous image. In this first-ever memoir, Grace gives an exclusive look into the transformation to her signature style and discusses how she expanded her musical triumph to success in the acting world, beginning in the 1984 fantasy-action film Conan the Destroyer alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, then the James Bond movie A View to a Kill, and later in Eddie Murphy’s Boomerang. Featuring sixteen pages of stunning full-color photographs, Miss Grace Jones takes us on a journey from Grace’s religious upbringing in Jamaica to her heyday in Paris and New York in the ’70s and ’80s, all the way to present-day London, in what promises to be a no holds barred tell-all for the ages.

Morley revisits the past he has long struggled to forget: his childhood in Stockport, his teenage years, and the unfathomable suicide of his depressive father. He also considers how the deaths of Ian Curtis, Elvis Presley and Marc Bolan might have had an impact on the story.

Cosa avrebbero da dirsi la cantante australiana Kylie Minogue e il filosofo austriaco Ludwig Wittgenstein attraversando tutte le città del mondo su una Cadillac decappottabile? Chi crede che la filosofia non abbia nulla da dire alla musica pop e viceversa sarà costretto ad aprire le orecchie. In un incredibile e documentatissimo viaggio, traboccante di scoperte musicali, classifiche e avventure romanzesche, Paul Morley, famoso e fantasioso giornalista inglese, ci costringe ad ascoltare di più e meglio. Sul suo piatto da filosofo-dj girano Donna Summer e John Cage, Rachmaninov e i New Order, Guido d’Arezzo e Baudelaire, nel più esauriente, lucido e divertito remix della storia della cultura popolare. Un ritmo che ti entra dentro e ti fa muovere a tempo, sempre che tu riesca a stargli dietro.

Joy Division est devenu un groupe culte de la période post-punk. Ses quatre jeunes membres, qui durent supporter une pression écrasante, composèrent des chansons dont la force dramatique et la tension n’ont jamais été égalées. Paul Morley fut à la fois leur contemporain et leur compatriote du Nord de l’Angleterre. Il décrit ici en détail et de façon saisissante l’« humeur, l’atmosphère et le trouble fugitif » qui enveloppèrent ce groupe unique et son chanteur maudit, Ian Curtis. Voici ses écrits complets sur Joy Division, un recueil d’articles formant un récit intime de l’histoire courte et turbulente du groupe : de ses débuts sous le nom de Warsaw aux graves crises d’épilepsie de Curtis puis à sa fin tragique en mai 1980.

An insightful biography of one of the world''s greatest musicians, Bob Dylan, by bestselling author Paul Morley. As one of the world''s greatest musicians, Bob Dylan has enriched the American song tradition for over 50 years. With a talent that has been proven in the worlds of music, radio, art and poetry, Dylan is a man of many personas. From defying pop music conventions with protest songs such as "The Times They Are a-Changin''" to releasing three of the most influential rock albums of the 60s, he has not only extended the parameters of music genres but has also showed us the fluidity his craft. To mark Bob Dylan''s 80th birthday and 60 illustrious years in the arts, this insightful biography by bestselling author Paul Morley will explore the many voices of the folk icon.

Reprise des conférences du carême diffusées sur France Culture du 25 février au 1er avril 2007.

In the ten years since the death of David Bowie in 2016 there has been no loss of interest in and fascination with his life, music and driven, complex personality. He is definitely one musician, one performer, destined not to be forgotten. The significant grief and sadness that greeted Bowie''s death has evolved into a deeper, enduring love for his music, style, wit, artistic curiosity, sexual energy, flamboyant outsider spirit and insatiable, provocative appetite for life. Far Above the World will document one of the UK''s greatest creative artists, through the spectacularly colourful and vibrant journey of a man who constantly reinvented himself and his music. Bowie lived in the future, using the pop song to chronicle overwhelming and dangerous times, searching for the light, and creating a communication channel between post-war 20th century times and where(ever) we are now. This anniversary book will place him in the now and next, as much as is past, and argue that his songs, and his messages, reflections and warnings become ever more relevant and compelling as time passes.

Les mémoires tant attendus de Grace Jones ! Voici les mémoires tant attendus de la légendaire Grace Jones. Reine incontestée du spectacle, mannequin, muse, chanteuse, actrice, créature à la plastique si singulière, elle a incarné comme personne les années 1975-1985. Aussi l''exubérance et les dangers de cette décennie traversent-ils cette autobiographie, au casting idéal bien qu''hétéroclite : Andy Warhol, Jean-Paul Goude, Issey Miyake, Dolph Lungren, les vacataires du Studio 54 et ceux du Palace, Luciano Pavarotti, Jessica Lange... Mais ce qui fait de Grace Jones une artiste à part, c''est son goût pour l''avant-garde. Sa musique est un savant mélange de house, de reggae et d''électro, avec des tubes comme Pull up to the Bumper, Slave to the Rhythm, ou encore sa reprise mythique de La Vie en rose. Je n''écrirai jamais mes mémoires retrace le parcours de cette pionnière, de sa Jamaïque natale à sa conquête de New York puis de Paris. Une vie de combattante qui se poursuit encore et toujours, sans aucune concession aux facilités. Auteur, animateur, critique culturel, Paul Morley écrit sur la musique, l''art et le spectacle depuis les années 1970.

Mixes memoir and manifesto to create something paradoxical: an obituary for pre-digital ways of experiencing art that''s gleeful and inquisitive rather than emptily nostalgic.

Miss Grace Jones: dé vrouw die de muziekwereld vanaf de jaren tachtig domineerde. Herkenbaar aan haar excentrieke stijl en androgyne look en voortdurend een inspiratiebron voor grote sterren, zoals Lady Gaga, Rihanna en Basement Jaxx. In Mijn onvertelde leven doet de iconische legende voor het eerst gedetailleerd verslag van haar succesvolle carrière en persoonlijke leven. Jones vertelt hoe zij aan de discipline en religieuze jeugd op Jamaica wist te ontsnappen. Maar ook de hoogtijdagen in Parijs en New York in de jaren zeventig en tachtig, waar ze een van de onvergetelijke persoonlijkheden in de discoscene werd, komen uitvoerig aan bod. Eindelijk is ze zelf aan het woord: de artiest die het gezicht van de muziekindustrie met haar talent, individualiteit en stijl heeft veranderd. Een onvergetelijk levensverhaal!

Starting in 1956 with Sam Phillips at Sun Studios, this is a rich, eccentric, and definitive history of great record producers throughout the years. From Lee Scratch Perry to Nigel Godrich, Qunicy Jones to Phil Spector, King Tubby to Steve Albini, legendary music journalist and pop cultural commentator Paul Morley has crafted a unique and catholic survey of the magicians behind the music. He examines their unconventional methods in the studio, revealing how producers silently shaped the sounds that were made and committed to vinyl. Brimming with mad, brilliant anecdotes of wildly eccentric behaviour, Morley''s hidden history of modern music reveals how these offstage characters forged the musical landscape of the twentieth century.