Stuart Maconie Libri

The official story of the most significant British band of the 90s. Now updated with fresh interviews including insights into lead singer Damon's new act, Gorillaz, that is sweeping awards on both sides of the Atlantic. This is the story of bitter rows with record companies, farcical feuds with Oasis, fist fights with each other, struggles with the bottle, foundering romances and a love-hate relationship with America. Drawing on the hours of exclusive interviews he has done with the band since their early days, Stuart Maconie offers a gripping insight into this intense, hedonistic quartet. Updated with fresh interviews including insights into Damon's award-winning new act Gorillaz. The official story of Blur, told through exclusive interviews.

'He is as funny as Bryson and as wise as Orwell' ObserverIt was the spirit of our finest hour, the backbone of our post-war greatness, and it promoted some of the boldest and most brilliant schemes this isle has ever produced: it was the Welfare State, and it made you and I.

Cider with Roadies is the true story of a boy's obsessive relationship with pop.From Stuart's four minutes in a leisure centre with MC Hammer to four days in a small van with Napalm Death it's a life-affirming journey through the land where ordinary life and pop come together to make music.

In Hope and Glory Stuart Maconie goes in search of the days that shaped the Britain we live in today. Stuart goes to Orgreave and Windsor, Wembley and Wootton Bassett, assembling a unique cast of Britons from Sir Edmund Hillary to Sid Vicious along the way.

From the author of 250,000-copy bestseller Pies and Prejudice: In Search of the North A New Statesman nonfiction pick for 2023 A Bookseller One to Watch

Just where and what is “Middle England?” Is Slough really as bad as Ricky Gervais makes out? From Shakespeare to Midsomer Murders, Stuart Maconie goes in search of the truth, with plenty of stop-offs for tea and pastries.

A northerner in exile, stateless and confused, hearing rumours of Harvey Nichols in Leeds and Maseratis in Wilmslow, Stuart goes in search of The North. Delving into his own past, this is a funny journey in search of where the cliches end and the truth begins.

Everyone talks about 'Middle England'. Sometimes they mean something bad, like a lynch mob of "Daily Mail" readers, and sometimes they mean something good, like a pint of ale in a sleepy Cotswold village in summer twilight. But just where and what is Middle England? Stuart Maconie didn't know either, so he packed his Thermos and sandwiches and set off to find out...Is Middle England about tradition and decency or closed minds and bigotry? Is it maypoles and evensong, or flooded market towns and binge drinkers in the park?Stands the church clock still at ten to three, and is there honey still for tea? And is Slough really as bad as Ricky Gervais and John Betjeman make out? Does Middle England hark all the way back to Arthurian legend and Merrie England, or is it a modern concept borne of Top Gear and Princess Diana? From Shakespeare to JK Rowling, Vaughan Williams to Craig David, William Morris to B&Q, "Morte D'Arthur" to "Midsomer Murders", Stuart Maconie leads the expedition, with plenty of stop-offs for tea and pastries, to discover the truth. (Large Print Edition)