Drop the Beat: Ten Books for Music Lovers

Whatever the genre or whoever the artist, music – and the artists who create it – has the profound ability to cross borders and speak to all of us. It has the capacity to both reflect on and critique the world in which it exists.  The music of the late John Lennon has left a profound legacy that resonates to this day. Bands like Oasis, Iron Maiden or the Rolling Stones have had long and illustrious careers and remain blazing stars in the popular culture firmament.

In honour of Record Store Day on 12 April, we’re looking at books that offer an in-depth look at iconic musical artists over the decades. Offering a new perspective on the history and impact of these musicians, this reading list offers an intimate look at their lives and creative processes. Uncover a new and fascinating side to the artists you already love.

1. Buzz Me In: Inside the Record Plant studios 

In the 1970s, Record Plant Studios was ground zero for the largest boom in record production in music history. Some of the world’s most popular artists recorded there, including  Stevie Wonder, Jimi Hendrix, the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac and John Lennon. With three recording studios (and a fleet of remote recording trucks), Record Plant was behind the greatest music of the seventies.

Written by two veteran music journalists, Buzz Me In charts the incredible evolution of Record Plant Studios tape by tape, starting in New York in 1968. Largely based on the memoirs and archives of studio co-founder Chris Stone, the book is supplemented by interviews with over 100 studio employees, music producers and recording artists. Discover the untold story, in all its brazen glory, of the recording of classic rock’n’roll as told by the insiders who gladly toiled behind the locked doors of the most prolific recording factory of all time.

Buzz Me In publishes on 17 June and is available for pre-order now

2. Pink Floyd: The Dark Side of the Moon 

Released over fifty years ago, Pink Floyd’s classic album The Dark Side of the Moon remains just as popular as ever.  Pink Floyd uncovers the visual history of this seminal album from its conception to the accompanying tours that spanned three years. Brimming with rare and unseen photographs of the band both onstage and backstage, this book gives an unparalleled insight into one of the most loved albums of all time.

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3. Imagine John Yoko 

In 1971, John Lennon & Yoko Ono conceived and recorded the critically acclaimed album Imagine at their home in Berkshire, England and at the Record Plant Studio in New York. The album’s core message is as relevant today as it was when it was released.

Imagine John Yoko is the definitive inside story of the making of the legendary album, in the words of John & Yoko and the people who were there. All the details come to life in revelatory detail: the locations, the creative team, the artworks and the lyrics. Personally compiled and curated by Yoko Ono, this book is a treasure trove of never-before-seen photos and footage.

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4. Oasis: Trying to Find a Way Out of Nowhere 

At the time of its release in 1994, Definitely Maybe – the first album from Oasis – became the fastest-selling debut album in British chart history. Over the following decade, Oasis continued to produce albums that remain popular to this day, a testament to their superstar status.

Oasis: Trying to Find a Way Out of Nowhere charts the dramatic career of Oasis on stage, backstage and in the studio through Jill Furmanovsky’s award-winning lens.  In this beautiful volume, overseen and edited by Noel Gallagher, Furmanovsky presents classic highlights and unseen images from her complete Oasis archive, which she describes as her best body of work, as well as insightful observations taken from notes she made at the time.

Oasis: Trying to Find a Way Out of Nowhere publishes on 23 September and is available for pre-order now.

5. Hardcore: The Cinematic World of Pulp 

Britpop band Pulp made big waves on the music scene in the nineties. In the almost thirty years since they released their extraordinary sixth studio album This Is Hardcore, many have been inspired by the band’s legacy. From the mid- to late 1990s, Paul Burgess was invited by frontman Jarvis Cocker to document their video shoots, live gigs and other events for the album. The resulting archive is now on full display in Hardcore: The Cinematic World of Pulp, a lush visual celebration of the album. Featuring unseen photography, behind-the-scenes interviews and revealing visuals, Hardcore brims with carefully curated images from Burgess’s archive, and holds up a mirror to the ingenious creative processes and characters behind the seminal record.

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6. The Rolling Stones: Unzipped 

The Rolling Stones burst onto the scene in 1962, and their impact and influence has been felt across genres, from rock music, art and design to fashion, photography and filmmaking. Unzipped brings together evocative archive photos, artworks, outtakes and memorabilia to present a comprehensive showcase for ‘the greatest rock’n’roll band in the world’. Peppered throughout with engrossing commentary by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood themselves, the book captures the compelling character and dynamic spectacle of the band through the decades.

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7. Iron Maiden: Infinite Dreams 

Hailed as pioneers of a new wave of British heavy metal in the 80s, Iron Maiden has come to embody a spirit of fearless creative independence. A pillar of the music industry for 50 years, Iron Maiden has developed a huge following around the world and across the generations.

Publishing later this year, Iron Maiden: Infinite Dreams traces the creative evolution of heavy metal’s most influential and enthralling band from 1975 to 2025. This magnificent visual book – rife with revelatory stories and intriguing insights from pivotal band members and management alongside never-before-seen photography from the Iron Maiden archives – is the definitive legacy volume, celebrating the band’s creativity, dedication, personality and success.

Iron Maiden: Infinite Dreams publishes on 7 October and is available for pre-order

8. Hip Hop Raised Me 

From its origins in the early 1970s through its breakthrough to the mainstream to the present day, hip-hop has had a huge influence on pop culture. Artists like Run DMC, Public Enemy, Eminem and Kendrick Lamar made music that provided inspiration and purpose to generation after generation of disaffected youths.

In Hip Hop Raised Me, DJ Semtex examines the massive and enduring impact of the genre over the last forty years by reflecting not just on his own life, but the lives of many others. To them, hip-hop served to fill in the gaps of education that school left behind. Packed with contact sheets, outtakes and glory shots of artists, alongside his definitive catalogue of interviews with hip-hop artists from the 1990s to today, Hip Hop Raised Me traces the characteristics and influence of hip-hop from its origins to the impact of contemporary artists and the global industry that is hip-hop today.

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9. Motown: The Sound of Young America 

Motown was more than a record label in its heyday: it was an entire cultural movement. Shaping the careers of so many of the greatest musicians of all time, the label produced more US number-one hits than the Beatles, Elvis Presley, the Rolling Stones and the Beach Boys combined.

Delving deep into the story of the record label, Motown: The Sound of Young America is an incredible visual narrative of its momentous contribution to music and American culture. Motown produced hit after hit by an impressive roster – including Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye and Diana Ross & the Supremes. Its vast archive of materials, backstories and personal accounts is superbly presented on the pages of this book.

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10. Dennis Morris: Music + Life 

A trailblazing photographer, Dennis Morris’s work is deeply rooted in music, and his adventures on the 1970s reggae and punk scene laid the groundwork for a six-decade career. As a teenager, he photographed Bob Marley on tour, and then went on to be the official photographer for the Sex Pistols. He also captured the greats of reggae, from Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry to Toots and Jimmy Cliff. Morris has also done plenty of trenchant documentary and street photography.

Dennis Morris: Music + Life is an exploration of the photographer’s vast body of work. The book showcases both Morris’s approach to race, culture and identity in 1970s Britain, and his encounters with music legends like Patti Smith, Gregory Isaacs, The Stone Roses and Radiohead.

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