Print & Design 717 Items

Original English Edition, translated from the Italian.
192 pp., with over 250 pictures in color and b/w.
Hardcover with extra strong boards. 16,5 x 24 cm

Marco Crescenzi, an expert about everything concerning the story of the Fab Four, traces the first years of the most famous band in the world, a period often missing in official biographies. He explores the Beatles path of fate and fortune, their struggles and inspired talent. This journey is enriched by an impressive mosaic of rare photos, rediscovered documents, and many details of concerts and appearances of these early days.The Beatles, the most renowned band in the history of music, didn‘t just spring into existence. Their journey began in the mid1950s when John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe, and Pete Best formed a group known as the Silver Beatles. They were simply four teenagers from Liverpool with a shared enthusiasm for American music and a dream to make it big.

Before they became the Beatles, they were the Quarrymen, a band started by John Lennon in 1956. The name change to „The Beetles“ was suggested by Sutcliffe, in honor of Buddy Holly‘s band, The Crickets. By August 1960, they had evolved into The Beatles we know and love today.

Their early years were filled with struggles and moments of both luck and genius. Playing gigs in places like Liverpool‘s Cavern Club and Hamburg‘s red-light district, they worked tirelessly, honing their craft. Their break came when they met Brian Epstein, who would become their manager, leading them to a contract with EMI.

This is the extraordinary story of the Beatles before they became The Beatles - a tale of determination, passion, and the will to succeed against all odds. As we mark the 60th anniversary of their first explosive hit „Love Me Do“, we celebrate not just the success they achieved, but the journey they took to get there.

As of today, The Beatles continue to make headlines, with the release of their final song ‚Now And Then‘ and a documentary shedding light on the full story behind it.

About the author:
Marco Crescenzi is an obsessive collector of anything concerning The Beatles. He currently works with the official Italian fan club “The Official Beatles Fan Club Pepperland”. He is also a contributor to its official publication, the magazine “Nothing’s Gonna Change Our Feeling”. The author has also written for the music collector’s magazine “RARO” and acted as consultant on many occasions to television programmes.

The artist Mau Mau has a body of work which stretches back to the 1990s. His street art has chronicled the evolving nature of UK counter-culture and larger world themes which have impacted it. Aside from walls, barns, boats and an array of other interesting places to paint, his work has appeared on prints, canvases, magazines, clothing and record covers and in exhibition spaces for over 25 years.

Talking Out of My Art is a chronological journey through Mau Mau’s artwork and features high-quality, full-colour photos of his most iconic artworks and an in-depth exploration of his life, influences, and artistic journey. Scroll down the page for an eight page preview.

The book is 245mm x 245mm, and the 240 pages are printed and bound on heavyweight 150gsm paper with a hardback cover.

Let the Music Play: How R&B Fell in Love with 80s Synths is the overlooked story of how R&B, disco and funk were transformed by the explosion of music tech in the era of ghetto blasters and Ronald Reagan. It traces how pioneers like Stevie Wonder and Herbie Hancock inspired a new generation of black musicians and producers to reinvent music with a whole new set of rules.

From superstars like Prince and Sade to production geniuses like Kashif and Jam & Lewis, it tells the fascinating stories of the artists involved and how they made some of the best-loved records of the era – creating a blueprint for music today.

Having failed at rapping, what’s next for an endlessly passionate rap nerd? In this sequel to the acclaimed memoir Wiggaz With Attitude, it turns out what’s next is a sometimes controversial career in rap journalism. Write Lines: Adventures in Rap Journalism tells the tale of hip-hop writing from the inside.

From death threats to interviewing Lauryn Hill while she’s in the shower. From calling Jay-Z a c*** to his face, to letting a notorious rapper sleep in his bath, it’s a hilarious, anecdote-studded tale that takes in hip-hop’s first ever magazine and lifts the lid on rivalries, squabbles and how music journalism really works.

Brutally honest, and endlessly opinionated, this story is also a love letter to hip-hop as it changed seismically through the decades. Write Lines charts those changes from the front line through encounters with many of the greats of rap: Chuck D, Missy Elliott, RZA, Eminem, Jazzy Jeff and Gang Starr among them. This is an unfiltered tale of hip-hop that is both heartfelt and scabrously funny.

“With its relatable take on growing up in the 80s, Andrew Emery’s Wiggaz With Attitude marked his card as a vivid memoirist. He might have failed as a wannabe rapper, but the music he loved gained multitudes from his work for Hip-Hop Connection. A pivotal force in the magazine’s 90s/00s heyday, never short of a telling opinion or four, Andrew set a high bar for its other writers to reach. Write Lines is a transportive account of his many travails in that murky world. Packed with eye-watering encounters and witty asides, his compulsive, self-deprecating and brutally honest reflections will resonate widely and change perspectives on rap journalism forever.” - Andy Cowan, HHC Editor & Publisher, author of B-Side: A Flipsided History of Pop.

A zippy and compact introduction to Street Craft, from guerrilla gardening to urban crochet.

Surprising, controversial and often simply beautiful, street craft is the next chapter in the story of street art - an explosion of creativity that is reclaiming and transforming urban space around the world.

Featuring: • Tasha Lewis’s blue butterfly swarms bring beauty to derelict corners of New York. • Spidertag intertwines sturdy rope and nails to construct abstract graffiti in Madrid. • Mademoiselle Maurice’s origami and lace graffiti bring a light touch to the streets of Paris and Hong Kong and many more.

'Frequently thought-provoking, often funny, and at all times non-threatening' GQ

'Political, pretty, provocative' Simple Things

About the Author: Riikka Kuittinen is a freelance curator and writer. A contributing writer to the online journal Photomonitor, she curated the V&A show ‘Street Art: Contemporary Prints’ (2010–12), which toured the UK, with a version shown in Libya. She is the author of Street Art: Contemporary Prints, and contributed to Phaidon Archive of Graphic Design, Modernism 1914–1939: Designing a New World and 1001 Paintings You Must See Before You Die.

Format:PLC (no jacket) Size:22.0 x 17.5 cm Extent:224 pp Illustrations:250 Publication date:2 February 2015 ISBN:9780500517840

Discover the exciting world of Africa's diverse and visually dazzling street art scene.

This visually rich survey – the first of its kind – showcases the work of over 200 artists and celebrates the explosion of street art in Africa over the last decade. Including twelve in-depth interviews with street artists active in Africa today as well as coverage of the continent’s major street art projects, collectives and festivals, it takes the reader on an introductory tour of the many African street art scenes, with a deeper focus on the most prominent players in Kenya, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.

Topics and projects covered include the monumental project Murais da Leba in Angola, which saw 6,000 square metres of wall covered by local graffiti and visual artists in the Serra da Leba mountain range; the cultural influences and idiosyncrasies of individual street art scenes, and how they mesh with local communities; and eL Seed’s project ‘Perception’, a huge multi-part mural stretching across more than fifty buildings in Cairo’s Zaraeeb neighbourhood, revealing a message of hope to its marginalized community in the artist’s distinctive ‘calligraffiti’ style.

Text commentaries elaborating on styles and processes, and social and cultural context, are peppered throughout the book, giving the reader further insight into a wealth of striking contemporary visual cultures – and helping make this a must-have for street art fans and practitioners.

About the Author: Cale Waddacor is a South African artist, musician, photographer and documentarian. Skateboarding through his home city, Johannesburg, he developed a passion for urban art and graffiti. He began photographing street artworks to document the country’s rising street art scene and launched the website Graffiti South Africa in 2011, which was made into a book of the same name in 2014.

Format:PLC (no jacket) Size:23.5 x 22.0 cm Extent:272 pp Illustrations:536 Publication date:17 September 2020 ISBN:9780500022825

A celebration of the visual artistry behind the evolution of sound recording with specially commissioned photography of iconic, rarely-seen artefacts from the collections of the EMI Archive Trust.

Charting the truly global story of the evolution of sound recording and playback, from Scott de Martinville’s invention of the phonautograph in 1857 to popular streaming services of today, this serendipitous volume details the four distinct ages of recorded sound – acoustic, electrical, magnetic and digital – documenting prototypes, rare examples of classic technology and other iconic artefacts from the vaults of the EMI Archives and beyond.

The Art of Sound showcases the hardware that changed the way we listened to music: from wax cylinder to stereophonic gramophone, acoustic horn to magnetic loudspeaker, valve radio to solid-state transistor, wire recorder to magnetic tape, Walkman to iPod, and compact disc to digital download. Facsimile blueprints splice the chapters: quirky, innovative and handsome patents from yesterday’s tomorrows. Archival catalogues, covers and industry ephemera, along with press shots of long forgotten stars, exemplify the sophisticated graphic and marketing approach of each era and every continent.

Music and audio expert Terry Burrows guides you through the evolution of every technological age in informative and engaging text punctuated with concise biographies of the great innovators, from Emile Berliner to Thomas Stockham.

An Electronic Sound Book of the Year 2017

'An essential read' Electronic Sound

'Lavishly illustrated ... strikes a good balance between the scientific and anecdotal' Classical Music

About the Author: Terry Burrows is an author, musician and producer. Best known as a cult performer under the alias Yukio Yung, Burrows has recorded with The Chrysanthemums, Asmus Tietchens and the duo Push-Button Pleasure. He is also a prolific author of more than 80 books relating to music history, tuition and technology, popular psychology and history.

Format:PLC (no jacket) Size:24.6 x 21.0 cm Extent:350 pp Publication date:1 June 2017 ISBN:9780500519288

The definitive inside story – told in revelatory detail – of the making of the legendary album and all that surrounded it: the locations, the artworks, the film, the documentary and the people who were there.

In 1971, John Lennon & Yoko Ono conceived and recorded the critically acclaimed album Imagine at their Georgian country home, Tittenhurst Park, in Berkshire, England, in the state-of-the-art studio they built in the grounds, and at the Record Plant in New York. The lyrics of the title track were inspired by Yoko Ono’s ‘event scores’ in her 1964 book Grapefruit, and she was officially co-credited as writer in June 2017.

Imagine John Yoko tells the story of John & Yoko’s life, work and relationship during this intensely creative period, featuring 80% exclusive, hitherto-unpublished archive photos and footage sequences of all the key players in situ, together with lyric sheets, Yoko’s art installations, and exclusive new insights and personal testimonies from Yoko and over 40 of the musicians, engineers, staff, celebrities, artists and photographers who were there – including Julian Lennon, Klaus Voormann, Alan White, Jim Keltner, David Bailey, Dick Cavett and Sir Michael Parkinson. It transports readers to home and working environments showcasing Yoko’s closely guarded archive of photos and artefacts, using artfully compiled narrative film stills, and featuring digitally rendered maps, floorplans and panoramas that recreate the interiors in evocative detail. John & Yoko introduce each chapter and song; Yoko also provides invaluable additional commentary and a preface.

All the minutiae is examined: the locations, the key players, the music and lyrics, the production techniques and the artworks – including the creative process behind the double exposure polaroids used on the album cover.

With a message as universal and pertinent today as it was when the album was created, this landmark publication is a fitting tribute to John & Yoko and their place in cultural history.

'Tells their love story like never before' Rolling Stone

'A luxurious scrapbook … Beatles geeks will salivate over it' Observer

'Deeply desirable … especially for [those] who covet the rare and beautiful … to see how this avant-garde duo lived and created art is powerfully inspiring' Harper's Bazaar Australia

'A Lennon fan could hardly ask for more' Washington Post

'Fans will be particularly enchanted' USA Today

'This book is near perfect' Spill

'Here, in a new book of interviews past and present, we see how their love affair, the making of the album and their pacifism intertwined' Financial Times

About the Author: John Lennon (1940–1980) was an English singer, songwriter and peace activist who co-founded the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music.

Yoko Ono is a globally renowned multimedia artist, singer, songwriter and activist. She married John Lennon in 1969 and became his creative partner and muse. She continues to work to preserve his legacy, funding, among other projects, Strawberry Fields in Manhattan’s Central Park, the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland and the ‘Imagine There’s No Hunger’ campaign.

Format:PLC (no jacket) Size:30.8 x 24.0 cm Extent:320 pp Illustrations:1362 Publication date:9 October 2018 ISBN:9780500021842

The definitive exploration of John Lennon’s first major solo album after the break-up of the Beatles.

Described by Lennon as ‘the best thing I’ve ever done’, and widely regarded by critics as his best solo album, John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band was released alongside the remarkable Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band on 11 December 1970. With first-hand commentary by John & Yoko, members of the Plastic Ono Band and other key figures in their lives, and packed with evocative and revealing letters, artworks and photographs, this incisive volume offers new insights into the raw emotions and open mindset of Lennon after marriage to Ono and the break-up of the Beatles.

Following their wedding in March 1969, Lennon and Ono decided that their future musical endeavours should be credited to a conceptual vehicle, the Plastic Ono Band. The band featured an ever-changing line-up of musicians, including Eric Clapton, Klaus Voormann, Ringo Starr, Alan White, George Harrison, Billy Preston and Jim Keltner, all of whom played live with Lennon and Ono, and contributed to their recordings. The fearless honesty that John & Yoko inspired in one another in their search for truth, meaning and peace had a huge impact on Lennon’s song writing, resulting in the creation of tracks that are intensely personal and unlike anything previously heard in popular music, including ‘Mother’, ‘Working Class Hero’ and ‘God’. This book takes those lyrics as a starting point and explores Lennon’s life, relationships and world view during this transformative period.

'A comprehensive, fascinating, well-produced, and finely printed publication that captures a moment of contemporary culture with breadth and depth. It brings then into now – and shows how similar and different life is today' Will Gompertz

'A handsome tome… never less than fascinating… The album was a high point in an astonishing career and the book does it justice' The Sun

'A hardback compendium of first-hand accounts about the band drawn from interviews over the years… It contains photos, lyrics, drawings and letters, and will be as interesting to Lennon completists as The Beatles Anthology was to general fans 20 years ago' Daily Telegraph

'A fine tribute to this intensely creative time in the couple’s joined-at-the-hip lives… A sumptuous and lovingly created example of the bookmakers’ art, an encyclopaedic extravaganza of reminiscences and memorabilia' The Budapest Times

About the Author: John Lennon (1940–1980) was an English singer, songwriter and peace activist who co-founded the Beatles, the most commercially successful band in the history of popular music. Yoko Ono is a globally renowned multimedia artist, singer, songwriter and activist. She married John Lennon in 1969 and became his creative partner and muse. She continues to work to preserve his legacy, funding, among other projects, Strawberry Fields in Manhattan’s Central Park, the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland and the ‘Imagine There’s No Hunger’ campaign.

Format:PLC Size:30.8 x 24.0 cm Extent:288 pp Publication date:29 October 2020 ISBN:9780500023433

Featuring fresh insights from Mick, Keith, Charlie and Ronnie, Unzipped digs deeper than ever before into the Stones’ archives to present a comprehensive collection of Stones artworks, instruments, stage outfits and notebooks alongside key work by some of the legends of rock photography.

For almost 60 years the Rolling Stones have helped shape popular culture around the globe. Unzipped captures the compelling character and dynamic spectacle of the band through distinctive photography and interviews with the Stones themselves, tracing their impact and influence on rock music, art, design, fashion, photography and filmmaking.

Evocative archive photos, artworks, outtakes and memorabilia, together with dazzling images of the band’s instruments and outfits, plunge you into the ever-changing world of the Stones. Many of the instruments and outfits are paired with pertinent archive photos, so you can examine the detail and see the objects in use. Peppered throughout with engrossing and insightful new commentary by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood, the book also features a compelling introduction by Anthony DeCurtis, which chronicles their career, and perceptive articles by some of their most important creative collaborators, including Buddy Guy, Don Was, Anna Sui, John Varvatos, Martin Scorsese, Shepherd Fairey, Patrick Woodroffe and Willie Williams.

Bold, glamorous and captivating – and beautifully bound and finished – Unzipped is the perfect showcase for ‘the greatest rock ’n’ roll band in the world’.

'An evocative photo-led exploration of the band’s close-on 60-year career' Choice

'This handsome tome has much to offer the Stones fan who thought they knew everything' Record Collector

About the Author: The Rolling Stones - Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood - have all been interviewed specially for the exhibition and accompanying book. Anthony DeCurtis is an author and music critic. He has written for the New York Times, Relix and Rolling Stone, for which he is a contributing editor.

Format:Hardback Size:31.7 x 24.1 cm Extent:288 pp Illustrations:400 Publication date:7 October 2021 ISBN:9780500023853

A unique visual reinterpretation of Stuart Murdoch’s favourite Belle and Sebastian songs.

Belle and Sebastian frontman and lyricist Stuart Murdoch invites Black Isle artist Pamela Tait to reinterpret twenty songs visually. Tait’s gentle and dreamlike characters evolve from the worlds of Murdoch’s songwriting, coming to life on the page in a creative exchange between two curious minds.

Track Listing If You’re Feeling Sinister The Boy Done Wrong Again The Rollercoaster Ride Simple Things Slow Graffiti You Made Me Forget My Dreams Beautiful Piazza, New York Catcher I’m a Cuckoo Another Sunny Day The Ghost Of Rockschool God Help the Girl Nobody’s Empire The Cat with the Cream Ever Had a Little Faith? Today (This Army’s for Peace) I’ll Be Your Pilot There Is an Everlasting Song This Letter Do It for Your Country

About the Author: Stuart Murdoch is a Scottish musician, writer and filmmaker. He is the founding member, lead singer and songwriter for Belle and Sebastian. Pamela Tait is a Scottish artist who lives on the Black Isle. She expresses her own folklore through illustration, seeing patterns and faces in her surroundings.

Format:PLC Size:22.0 x 15.0 cm Extent:128 pp Publication date:25 August 2022 ISBN:9780500296851

A bold, stylish look at the global rise of Korean culture and style in the words and images of those shaping and living it.

K-pop, K-fashion, K-drama, K-beauty: over the last decade, K-style has exploded onto the global scene. What is behind this phenomenon? Where does K-Style go from here? Make, Break, Remix: The Rise of K-Style makes no attempt to define or categorize, instead celebrating the eclectic, multi-faceted nature of K-Style and its home city of Seoul.

Through interviews with eighteen tastemakers who are shaping K-style across creative sectors, from 1Million Studio's Lia Kim to rock band leader Hwang Soyoon, world famous tattooist Doy to Asia’s leading designer Teo Yang, Fiona Bae tells untold stories from true insiders, exploring a sense of identity in their work, how living in Seoul affects them and their creative output, and the decade of changes that has brought about the current K-style. Interwoven with these texts, five distinct photo-essays from celebrated photographer less_TAEKYUN KIM (recent credits including Vogue Korea, GQ Korea, i-D Korea) capture the vibrant energy of Seoul's streets and the incredible style of its youth.

Contributors such as Blackpink songwriter and A&R Danny Chung, add their own vital perspectives on the scene, while fashion journalist Sukwoo Hong sits down with brands to watch for his K-fashion directory such as PAF(Post Archive Faction). Designed by Hezin O, with a distinct typography that blends Hangul and Roman writing systems, this is an inventive, genre-breaking look at K-style in the words of those shaping it.

'For me, constantly thinking about Korean-style storytelling, Make Break Remix is an amazing inspiration. Storytelling consolidates all cultural phenomena from design, fashion and music, and this rare and enchanting book, filled with intimate interviews with trailblazers and images of the daring youth in Seoul, will open your eyes to how creativity across fashion, music, and lifestyle in Korea is collectively generating explosive energy' Kim Ji-yeon, producer of Netflix series Squid Game

'None of the musicians, fashion designers and other young artists in this book are K-pop superstars. They are rather pioneers in subcultures, where K-pop mass trends have often germinated. Through interviews and a rich photographic illustration of the artists’ work and attitudes, this unusual but essential book helps explain what drives K-style today' Choe Sang-hun, Seoul bureau chief, The New York Times

'Make Break Remix takes a deep dive into the cultural juggernaut’s impact on fashion and beyond … this unique ability to “make, break, and remix” has birthed incredible talent via South Korea’s underground' Dazed

'There seems to be a shortage of publications with a credible explanation for the peak popularity of Korean culture. Make Break Remix: The Rise of K-Style takes on two major questions: Why has K-style garnered so much attention and popularity globally? And what lies ahead for the Korean cultural trend? Deep-diving into 16 Korean creators’ creative processes, the book extracts the essence of each creator’s distinct identity and their perspective on the rise of K-style' Wallpaper*

'Introduces readers to some of the Korean stars behind the scenes, the style makers whose creativity and daring make k-style so vibrant' Forbes

About the Author: Seoul-raised and London-based, Fiona Bae consults with artists, designers, architects, and cultural institutions through her communications consultancy.

Format:Paperback with Jacket Size:22.0 x 15.0 cm Extent:304 pp Illustrations:303 Publication date:22 September 2022 ISBN:9780500024546

The definitive history of the iconic ‘90s videogame TV show, written by host Dominik Diamond.

GamesMaster: The Oral History charts the highs and lows of Channel 4’s iconic and anarchic UK videogames entertainment show. First broadcast in 1992 amid a brash youth television takeover, the ambitious and sometimes chaotic production of GamesMaster is as much a story of the 1990s, set against a backdrop of videogame console wars, Britpop and a curious new thing called the World Wide Web. This definitive retrospective is guided by show host Dominik Diamond and features over 40 contributors, including production crew, celebrity guests and the games-playing members of the public who became either playground heroes or defeated outcasts vying for the iconic Golden Joystick prize.

'Any fan of GamesMaster should come away from this book having learned something new, but it would be an interesting read even for those who never saw the show. In any case, we can’t imagine any way to have done it better' Retro Gamer

'Superb' Time Extension

About the Author: Dominik Diamond is a Scottish television and radio presenter and newspaper columnist. He is best known as the original presenter of Channel 4’s video gaming programme GamesMaster, as host of The Dominik Diamond Breakfast Show on XFM Scotland and as a columnist for the Daily Star.

Format:PLC Size:23.0 x 16.0 cm Extent:320 pp Illustrations:100 Publication date:6 October 2022 ISBN:9780500025918