Music books

‘There were fist-fights down at CD:UK’ – 90s pop remembered by those who lived through it

Conflict between bands, conflict within bands, booze, breakdowns and awards-show agony: in these extracts from oral history Reach for the Stars, Five, Steps, Pete Waterman and more spill about the dark side of the decade

Michael Cragg

25, Mar, 2023 @11:55 AM

Quartet: How Four Women Changed the Musical World by Leah Broad review – off-key hymn to pioneers

This gushing celebration of composers who triumphed against the odds never quite communicates their place in history and leaves a hole at the centre where the music should be

Oliver Soden

05, Mar, 2023 @11:00 AM

Quartet by Leah Broad review – Britain’s great female composers

A welcome celebration of four brilliant and colourful contributors to the 20th-century classical scene

Erica Jeal

01, Mar, 2023 @12:00 PM

Factory flaw: hunt for stolen 1977 sign that put Manchester on pop music map

The very first Factory club night was advertised with this poster. Now its designer wants it back to complete a major archive

Vanessa Thorpe Arts and Media Correspondent

22, Jan, 2023 @9:00 AM

In Good Hands by Alice Farnham review – notes from the podium

A leading female conductor tells her story and offers tips for aspiring ‘arm-flappers’

Caroline Crampton

19, Jan, 2023 @9:00 AM

The Creative Act by Rick Rubin review – life lessons from the bearded beat master

The co-founder of Def Jam Records and the man behind countless hits, from the Beastie Boys and Jay-Z to Neil Young, offers artistic wisdom that is both gnomic and pertinent

Kitty Empire

10, Jan, 2023 @7:00 AM

Nonfiction to look out for in 2023

From insights into siblings and anorexia, via the stories of trailblazing women and Boris Johnson’s time at No 10, here are the titles that will define the year

Rachel Cooke

01, Jan, 2023 @10:00 AM

2023 in books: highlights for the year ahead

The best fiction and nonfiction to look forward to in the new year, from Zadie Smith to Simon Schama, Margaret Atwood to Rory Stewart

Justine Jordan and David Shariatmadari

31, Dec, 2022 @9:00 AM

Transformer by Simon Doonan review – a walk on the wild side

The former creative director of Barney’s remembers a beautifully transgressive moment in pop culture

Jim Farber

15, Dec, 2022 @9:00 AM

‘You don’t have to be Bono or Bruce’: the business behind the current glut of music books

In 2022, you can’t budge for new music memoirs and scene histories. But who’s reading them, where’s the quality control – and the diversity?

Michael Hann

09, Dec, 2022 @8:00 AM

Five of the best science fiction and fantasy books of 2022

A deep space community, a compelling critique of empire, a UFO novel like no other and more

Adam Roberts

03, Dec, 2022 @9:00 AM

The best music books of 2022

Black women in pop, British heavy metal, and the story behind Chirpy Chirpy, Cheep Cheep

Alexis Petridis