The Island Book of Records Volume II
1969-70
Edited by Neil Storey
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- Format: Hardcover
- Pages: 432
- Price: £85.00
- Published Date: November 2024
Description
The second volume of this highly collectable series, covering the pivotal years of 1969-70.
The Island Book of Records Volume II documents the years 1969-70, during which Island sought to build on its success with the Spencer Davis Group by seeking out new British rock talent. By the end of the period, Island was emerging as a major British label, one that could boast releases from Jethro Tull, Nick Drake, King Crimson, John and Beverley Martyn, Fairport Convention and Cat Stevens.
Featuring material from recent interviews and from media interviews of the time, and including a comprehensive discography of 45s, The Island Book of Records Volume II is lavishly illustrated with gig adverts (very many at venues that no longer exist), concert tickets, flyers, international LP variants, labels, LP and 45 adverts and other ephemera collector's dream.
Reviews
Praise for volume 1:
One of The Telegraph's Best Music Books of 2023
One of Shindig! magazine's Books of the Year 2023
'It's like entering the record shop of your dreams.'
David Hepworth, author, podcaster and Radio Times columnist
'Eyewitness accounts underpin a vault-load of memorabilia across 390 elegant pages where the footnotes are as fascinating as major events in what is an exemplary piece of musical archaeology.'
Phil Alexander, MOJO
'I had the pleasure of running Island Records for a decent stretch, but in my time there I never saw such a staggering overview of the early years compiled like this new book! The images, the details, the stories, everything! Rather amazing!'
Ted Cockle, former head of EMI Records
'LP-sized and weighing in at 390 pages, it's both an elegant coffee table book and a proper history, with a sizeable amount of written information to complement the fascinating photographs of record covers, artists and other ephemera, including gig adverts, concert tickets and flyers.'
Peter Mason, Morning Star
'This is the anecdote rich inside story of the eventful first decade in the life of the maverick label which carved a distinctive niche within the UK's booming record biz of the 60s' as told by a cast of label employees, photographers, musicians, producers, and the man who started it all, Chris Blackwell.'
Grahame Bent, Shindig!
Contents
Preface - for those viewing in black and white, the pink is behind the brown
Well, alright - the brief lives of Blind Faith, a Wooden Frog and Ginger Baker's Air Force
El pea - every Island LP (including those scheduled but not released) issued during 1969 and 1970
Crash - the untimely death of Martin Lamble
The man in the tight trousers - Guy Stevens keeps on running
Change of address - the move from Oxford Street to Notting Hill
Men of Harlech - Julian Lloyd and Nick Drake go walkabout
On Old Church Street a dairy - the rise and rise of Sound Techniques
Mannequins and waxworks - a bespoke studio in Basing Street
Green wings - Chrysalis emerges
I am ex-army, broadminded and tolerant... - Pete Townshend causes mayhem in Record Retailer. October 11, 1969
I climbed on the back of a giant albatross - one song causes Traffic to snarl up
John Barleycorn - a song for summer
The maestro - Woody's box of tricks
Looking back - the Hollywood Festival (by Phil Shaw)
Keeping tabs - the track by track evolution of Mona Bone Jakon (by Paul Samwell Smith)
Plymouth Guildhall - Emerson, Lake and Palmer take their first bow
Full page - Island by design
Speakers Corner - an album cover is shot
Prefix and suffix - an illustrated guide to Island's 45s (1969-70)
Who's who - an A-Y of Island people
Give thanks and praise
Young gifted and black - Trojan go their own way
Editor
Neil Storey has spent almost fifty years at the heart of the music industry. He joined the Island sales force in 1974 before going on to co-run the press office into the mid-1980s.