DANIEL RACHEL

#2 UNCUT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023In 1979, 2 Tone exploded into the national consciousness as records by The Specials, The Selecter, Madness, The Beat, and The Bodysnatchers burst onto the charts and a youth movement was born.2 Tone was black and white: a multi-racial force of British and Caribbean island musicians singing about social issues, racism, class and gender struggles. It spoke of injustices in society and took fight against right wing extremism.The music of 2 Tone was exuberant: white youth learning to dance to the infectious rhythm of ska and reggae; and crossed with a punk attitude to create an original hybrid. The idea of 2 Tone was born in Coventry, masterminded by a middle-class art student raised in the church. Jerry Dammers had a vision of an English Motown. Borrowing 700, the labels first record featured Gangsters by The Specials backed by an instrumental track by the, as yet, unformed, Selecter. Within two months the single was at number six in the national charts. Dammers signed Madness, The Beat and The Bodysnatchers as a glut of successive hits propelled 2 Tone onto Top of the Pops and into the hearts and minds of a generation. However, soon infighting amongst the bands and the pressures of running a label caused 2 Tone to bow to an inevitable weight of expectation and recrimination. Still under the auspices of Jerry Dammers, 2 Tone entered in a new phase. Perhaps not as commercially successful as its 1979-1981 incarnation the label nevertheless continued to thrive for a further four years releasing a string of fresh signings and a stunning end-piece finale in (Free) Nelson Mandela. Told in three parts, Too Much Too Young is the definitive story of a label that for a brief, bright burning moment, shaped British culture.

***A wonderful document of the last great gathering of the pre-internet age. No camera phones, no social media, just a band and its fans as oneNoel GallagherStunning... The iconic images by Furmanovsky capture the glorious madness of it all. Rolling StoneFurmanovsky was a favourite of Oasis and given complete access at the event.The Telegraph***A ROUGH TRADE BOOK OF THE YEAR 2021On 10th and 11th August 1996, Oasis played the concerts that would define them, a band at the height of their powers playing to over 250,000 people.Twenty-five years on, this is the inside story of those nights, told through the breathtaking photographs of Jill Furmanovsky, granted unprecedented access to Oasis throughout that summer. Also includes newly obtained first-hand accounts from the people who were there - including Noel Gallagher and Alan McGee - in text by award-winning author Daniel Rachel.From relaxed rehearsals and warm-up concerts to Knebworth itself - backstage, onstage, flying high above the site - many of the stunning photographs in this book have never been seen anywhere before.This the definitive account of two nights that a generation will never forget.

WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY BILLY BRAGGOver the last seven decades, some of rock n rolls most celebrated figureheads have flirted with the imagery and theatre of the Third Reich. From Keith Moon and Vivian Stanshall kitting themselves out in Nazi uniforms to Siouxsie Sioux and Sid Vicious brandishing swastikas in the pomp of punk, generations of performers have associated themselves in troubling ways with the aesthetics, mass hysteria and even ideology of Nazism. Whether shock factor, stupidity, or crass attempt at subversion, rock n roll has indulged these associations in a way not accepted by any other artform. But how accountable should fans, the media, and the music industry be for what has often seemed a sleazy fascination with the eroticised perversions of a fascist regime?In This Aint Rock n Roll, award-winning music historian Daniel Rachel navigates these turbulent waters with extraordinary delicacy and care, asking us to look anew at the artists that have defined us, inspired us and given us joy - and consider why so many have been drawn to the imagery of a movement responsible for the twentieth centurys worst atrocities. Alongside a sensitive history of the Holocaust and an examination of the place it holds in our cultural consciousness, Rachel asks essential questions of actions often overlooked or underplayed, whilst neither casting sweeping judgement nor offering easy answers. In doing so, he asks us to reassess the history of rock n roll and sheds new light on the grim echoes of the Third Reich in popular culture and the legacy of twentieth (and twenty-first) century history as it defines us today.

***This is the story of the great lost Beatles album.The end of the Beatles wasnt inevitable. It came through miscommunication, misunderstandings and missed opportunities to reconcile.But what if it didnt end? What if just one of those chances was taken, and the Beatles carried on? What if they made one last, great album?In Like Some Forgotten Dream, Daniel Rachel - winner of the prestigious Penderyn Music Book Prize - looks at what could have been. Drawing on impeccable research, Rachel examines the the Fab Fours untimely demise - and from the ashes compiles a track list for an imagined final album, pulling together unfinished demos, forgotten B-sides, hit solo songs, and arguing that together they form the basis of a lost Beatles masterpiece.Compelling and convincing, Like Some Forgotten Dream is a daring re-write of Beatles history, and a tantalising glimpse of what might have been.Praise for Daniel Rachel:Walls Come Tumbling Down:Superlative...brilliant - Q MagazineTriumphant - The GuardianBrilliant - MojoIsle of Noises:In depth, scholarly - Q MagazineFascinating - The Guardian / NMEFantastic, insightful interviews - Noel GallagherDont Look Back in Anger:A-grade, A-list - The Sunday TimesA rollicking read - Mail on SundayRemarkable - Art ReviewBook of the Week - The Guardian

Isle of Noises features brand-new, exclusive, in-depth conversations with twenty-seven of the UKs greatest living musicians. Artists discuss their individual approach to writing, the inspiration behind their most successful songs, and the techniques and methods they have independently developed. It is an incredible musical journey spanning fifty years, from Waterloo Sunset by Ray Davies to The Beast by Laura Marling, with many lyrical and melodic secrets revealed along the way. Original handwritten lyrics from personal archives and notebooks (many never-before-seen) offer a unique glimpse into the heart of the creative process, and some of the greatest names in photography, including Jill Furmanovsky, Pennie Smith and Sheila Rock, have contributed stunning portraits of each artist. The combination of individual personal insights and the breadth and depth of knowledge in their collected experience makes Isle of Noises the essential word on classic British songwriting - as told by the songwriters themselves.

Walls Come Tumbling Down charts the pivotal period between 1976 and 1992 that saw politics and pop music come together for the first time in Britains musical history; musicians and their fans suddenly became instigators of social change, and the political persuasion of musicians was as important as the songs they sang. Through the voices of campaigners, musicians, artists and politicians, Daniel Rachel follows the rise and fall of three key movements of the time: Rock Against Racism, 2 Tone, and Red Wedge, revealing how they all shaped, and were shaped by, the music of a generation.Composed of interviews with over a hundred and fifty of the key players at the time, Walls Come Tumbling Down is a fascinating, polyphonic and authoritative account of those crucial sixteen years in Britains history.

The nineties was the decade when British culture reclaimed its position at the artistic centre of the world. Not since the Swinging Sixties had art, comedy, fashion, film, football, literature and music interwoven into a blooming of national self-confidence. It was the decade of Lad Culture and Girl Power; of Blur vs Oasis. When fashion runways shone with British talent, Young British Artists became household names, football was coming home and British film went worldwide. From Old Labours defeat in 1992 through to New Labours historic landslide in 1997, Dont Look Back In Anger chronicles the Cool Britannia age when the country united through a resurgence of patriotism and a celebration of all things British. But it was also an era of false promises and misplaced trust, when the weight of substance was based on the airlessness of branding, spin and the first stirrings of celebrity culture. A decade that started with hope then ended with the death of the peoples princess and 9/11 - an event that redefined a new world order. Through sixty-eight voices that epitomise the decade - including Tony Blair, John Major, Noel Gallagher, Damon Albarn, Tracey Emin, Keith Allen, Meera Syal, David Baddiel, Irvine Welsh and Steve Coogan - we re-live the epic highs and crashing lows of one of the most eventful periods in British history. Today, in an age where identity dominates the national agenda, Dont Look Back In Anger is a necessary and compelling historical document.

"A wonderful document of the last great gathering of the pre-internet age. No camera phones, no social media, just a band and its fans as one."-NOEL GALLAGHERSTUNNING The iconic images by Furmanovsky capture the glorious madness of it all. ROLLING STONE MAGAZINEFurmanovsky was a favourite of Oasis and given complete access at the event.-THE TELEGRAPHOn 10th and 11th August 1996, Oasis played the concerts that would define them, a band at the height of their powers playing to over 250,000 people.Twenty-five years on, this is the inside story of those nights, told through the breathtaking photographs of Jill Furmanovsky, granted unprecedented access to Oasis throughout that summer. Also includes newly obtained first-hand accounts from the people who were there including Noel Gallagher and Alan McGee in text by award-winning author Daniel Rachel.From relaxed rehearsals and warm-up concerts to Knebworth itself backstage, onstage, flying high above the site many of the stunning photographs in this book have never been seen anywhere before.This the definitive account of two nights that a generation will never forget.