Showing results by publisher "Headline" in Biographies & Memoirs

James Acaster wakes up heartbroken and alone in New York, his relationship over, a day of disastrous meetings leading him to wonder if comedy is really what he wants to be doing anymore. A constant comfort in James' life has been music, but he's not listened to anything new for a very long time. Idly browsing 'best of the year' lists, it dawns on him that 2016 may have been a grim year for a lot of reasons, but that it seemed to be an iconic year for music. And so begins a life-changing musical odyssey, as James finds himself desperately seeking solace in the music of 2016....

Ricky Hatton in Las Vegas...what could possibly go wrong? Ricky Hatton's brilliance as a boxer, his down-to-earth demeanour and his live-wire sense of humour have made him a national treasure. Five of Ricky's biggest and most explosive fights took place in the boxing Mecca of Las Vegas. Tens of thousands of British fans followed him there to watch these monumental bouts and to soak up the unique atmosphere in Sin City.

From award-winning comedian and writer Katy Wix comes Delicacy - a different kind of memoir from an astonishing new voice. Twenty-one snapshots of a life - some staccato, raw and shocking, some expansive, meditative and profound, underpinned with moments of startling humour that shatter the darkness - all beginning with a single memory. A memory of cake.

Rob Halford has long been known for his legendary voice. As the front man of Judas Priest, his vocals have always been tremendous, and tremendously influential. In 2020, he brought his voice to a glorious autobiography. Fans, readers and listeners loved Halford's frank and open narrative, as well as his terrific insight and sense of humour. Now, in Biblical, Halford runs his expert eye over all facets of the hard rock history and the heavy metal world.

No Hollywood scriptwriter could possibly have envisioned the breathless, adrenaline-pumping climax to the 2021 Formula 1 season. On the very last lap of the final race of an unbelievably arduous and controversial season, Red Bull's Max Verstappen nervelessly overtook the seven-time World Champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes to clinch the first place that thrust the young prodigy to the narrowest of victories and to his first World Drivers' title. He followed up by taking the 2022 title as well.

Football fans will love this insight into the life and mind of Big Sam. With nearly 20 years as a player - plus almost 25 years as a coach and manager - under his belt, Sam Allardyce is one of the most recognisable figures in British football. 'Big Sam' has been a robust defensive general throughout the seventies and eighties, and an imposing touchline presence as a gaffer since 1994. Over the last four decades, Allardyce has seen it all.  

At the epicentre of England's historic triumph was Ben Stokes, the talismanic all-rounder with an insatiable appetite for The Big Occasion. He contributed an absolutely critical 84 runs off 98 balls when England batted, a seemingly nerveless innings of discipline and maturity. Thrillingly, it was enough to tie the scores at 241 runs each, so the match reverted to a Super Over - just six balls for each side to bat in the ultimate in sporting sudden death. Stokes and his batting partner, Jos Buttler, saw England to 15 runs off their over. 

Neko Case has long been revered as one of music's most influential artists, whose authenticity, lyrical storytelling, and sly wit have endeared her to a legion of critics, musicians, and lifelong fans. In The Harder I Fight, The More I Love You, Case brings her trademark candour and precision to a memoir that traces her evolution from an invisible girl 'raised by two dogs and a space heater' in rural Washington state to her improbable emergence as an internationally-acclaimed talent.

Anderson was a leading member of British intelligence for over three decades. She played key roles in both World Wars, worked in Bletchley Park and in the Middle East, and was among the top three female codebreakers in the world. She is famous in musicology circles as being the first to decipher the letters and diaries of Mozart and Beethoven. In 1961 Germany awarded her their highest honour, the Order of Merit First Class, completely ignorant of the fact that the interpretative skills they were honouring were the same utilised to defeat their military only a few years previously.

During the first 30 years of her life, comedy script writer Sara Gibbs had been labelled a lot of things - a cry baby, a scaredy cat, a spoiled brat, a weirdo, a show off - but more than anything else, she'd been called a Drama Queen. No one understood her behaviour, her meltdowns or her intense emotions. She felt like everyone else knew a social secret that she hadn't been let in on, as if life was a party she hadn't been invited to. Why was everything so damn hard?

Taking 36 songs from his back catalogue, folk-punk icon Frank Turner explores his songwriting process. Find out the stories behind the songs forged in the hedonistic years of the mid-2000s North London scene, the ones perfected in Nashville studios and everything in between. Some of these songs arrive fully formed, as if they've always been there; some take graft and endless reworking to find 'the one'. In exploring them all, Turner reflects with eloquence, insight and self-deprecating wit on exactly what it is to be a songwriter.

Forthright and frank, Read's well-respected views on the game and its future are a must-listen for rugby fans, and his take on the myriad personalities and the peccadilloes of his teammates, coaches and opponents will be sure to surprise and delight. From the playing fields of Papakura to the summit of the sport, Read has faced every challenge head on. His life story is no exception.

Nick Duerden has spent many years interviewing the most famous musicians on the planet. Without exception, they are at their most interesting when they've peaked, and when they are on their way down. In many ways, this is when these former idols are at their most heroic, too, because they reveal themselves not only to be humane and sensitive, but also still driven to create, to fulfil their lingering dreams, to refuse to live quietly. 

None of This Rocks is a memoir by Joe Trohman—lead guitarist and cofounder of Fall Out Boy—that unfolds like a double album full of revealing stories from his youth and his experiences of modern rock and roll stardom. With wit and wisdom, and maybe a little bit of whining, Trohman grapples with depression, his mother's brain cancer, antisemitism, pills, petty larceny, side hustles, and pop punk at the turn of the century.

Mark Clattenburg found himself in the centre circle, whistle in hand, at the start of 450 Premier League matches during a highly eventful 13-year career in football's top flight. He has shaken hands with, issued red and yellow cards to, and been sworn at by hundreds of players. He has been screamed at and shared jokes with dozens and dozens of managers. And he's felt the wrath of thousands upon thousands of irate fans. His autobiography is the ultimate guide to what it's really like to be in the referee's spotlight.

On 5 December 2002, trainee pilot Nathan Gray walked away from an 'unsurvivable' crash at RAF Wittering in Cambridgeshire. His instructor, seated behind him, was killed instantly. Despite the physical pain and mental scars, he found the strength and resilience to continue his flying career. Today Commander Nathan Gray is one of the UK's elite test pilots - the best of the best.

Jimmy Bullard may not have had the perfect hair-do, his Granada Ghia may not have been the flashiest of cars, and he definitely didn't have a string of Page 3 girls trying to sell kiss and tell stories about him to the tabloids. But what he has in spades is a genuine love for The Beautiful Game that few of his peers can match. One of the last graduates from football's old school, Jimmy actually worked in the real world - including as a painter and decorator - before turning pro. Maybe that's why he played football with a smile on his face, always says what's on his mind, and is no stranger to a spot of mischief.

Kieron Dyer's memoir, Old Too Soon, Smart Too Late, is the first intimate and unsparing portrait of the failures and excesses of the generation of English footballers made rich beyond their wildest dreams by the post-1990 World Cup boom in the game and the explosion of the Premier League. It shares the same brutal honesty and self-awareness of the best-selling No Nonsense by Joey Barton and GoodFella by Craig Bellamy.

Leigh-Anne Pinnock's life changed overnight when she became part of the first ever girl band to win the X-Factor. The multi-platinum selling supergroup Little Mix, went on to become one of the biggest girl bands of all time. Launched into chart-topping global fame, Leigh-Anne was living her childhood dream of becoming a popstar. But behind the scenes, as a Black woman within an industry and team with little diversity, Leigh-Anne was struggling with her identity and felt completely lost. In her highly anticipated memoir, Leigh-Anne shares her journey.

On 1 September 2004, Chechen and Ingush militants took more than a thousand people captive at a school in the Caucasus region of southern Russia. Working as a correspondent, Tom Parfitt witnessed the bloody climax in which 314 hostages died, more than half of them children. The experience left Tom emotionally shredded, struggling to find a way to return to his life in Moscow and put to rest the ghosts of the Beslan siege. Having long been fascinated by the mountainous North Caucasus, Tom turned to his love of walking as a source of both recuperation and discovery.