Rockabilly had its roots in country, blues, folk, hillbilly, R&B;, boogie- woogie and most other indigenous Deep South forms of popular song that you could strum three chords along to or howl down a cheap microphone. This book charts the rise (and fall) of the original '50s wave of rockabillies.
Slang is the language of pop culture, low culture, street culture, underground movements and secret societies; depending on your point of view, it is a badge of honour, a sign of identity or a dangerous assault on the values of polite society. Over several centuries and across international borders, VULGAR TONGUES is the story of how the English language of Shakespeare's day fragmented and twisted into all kinds of shapes, as people like pickpockets, beggars, sailors, musicians, gangsters, whores, politicians, gypsies, soldiers, gays and lesbians, policemen, rappers, cockneys, biker gangs and circus folk seized the King's or Queen's English by the throat and took it to places it would probably regret in the morning.
Containing thousands of examples of hipster slang drawn from pulp novels, classic noir and exploitation films, blues, country and rock'n'roll lyrics and other related sources from the 1920s to the 1960's, Straight From the Fridge, Dad lays down the righteous jive, perfect for all hipsters, B-girls, weedheads, moochers, shroud-tailors, bandrats, top studs, gassers, snowbirds, trigger-men, grifters and long gone daddies...
Over seven centuries London has changed dramatically - from walled medieval settlement to bustling modern metropolis. Capital Crimes tells the story of crime and punishment in the city, -from the killing of infamous 'questmonger' Roger Legett during the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 through to the hanging of Styllou Christofi in 1954.
A revised and expanded edition of Max Decharne's much-loved and previously out-of-print 'King's Road'. The book serves as a social history of the famed road in West London, and focuses on the music, trends, and cultural output of the area.
The story of Britain's first youth counterculture