New Musical Express (NME) is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a free publication, before becoming an online brand which includes its website and radio stations.
Terence Francis Eagleton is an English literary theorist, critic, and public intellectual. He is currently Distinguished Professor of English Literature at Lancaster University.
Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Sir Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year. Penguin revolutionised publishing in the 1930s through its inexpensive paperbacks, sold through Woolworths and other high street stores for sixpence, bringing high-quality fiction and non-fiction to the mass market. Its success showed that large audiences existed for serious books. It also had a significant impact on public debate in Britain through its books on culture, politics, the arts, and science.
Viva Hate is the debut solo studio album by English singer Morrissey. It was released on 14 March 1988 by HMV, six months after the final studio album by the Smiths, Strangeways, Here We Come (1987).
The Smiths is the debut studio album by English rock band the Smiths, released on 20 February 1984 by Rough Trade Records. After the original production by Troy Tate was felt to be inadequate, John Porter re-recorded the album in London, Manchester and Stockport during breaks in the band's UK tour during September 1983.
Adrian Anthony Gill was a British journalist, critic, and author. Best known for his food and travel writing, he was also a television critic, was restaurant reviewer of The Sunday Times, wrote for Vanity Fair, GQ, and Esquire, and published numerous books.
Stuart Maconie is an English radio DJ and television presenter, writer, journalist, and critic working in the field of pop music and popular culture. He is currently a presenter on BBC Radio 6 Music where, alongside Mark Radcliffe, he hosts its weekend breakfast show which broadcasts from the BBC's MediaCityUK in Salford. The pair had previously presented an evening show on BBC Radio 2 and the weekday afternoon show for BBC Radio 6 Music.
Penguin Classics is an imprint of Penguin Books under which classic works of literature are published in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Korean among other languages. Literary critics see books in this series as important members of the Western canon, though many titles are translated or of non-Western origin; indeed, the series for decades from its creation included only translations, until it eventually incorporated the Penguin English Library imprint in 1986. The first Penguin Classic was E. V. Rieu's translation of The Odyssey, published in 1946, and Rieu went on to become general editor of the series. Rieu sought out literary novelists such as Robert Graves and Dorothy Sayers as translators, believing they would avoid "the archaic flavour and the foreign idiom that renders many existing translations repellent to modern taste".
Alan Gerard Fletcher was a British graphic designer. In his obituary, he was described by The Daily Telegraph as "the most highly regarded graphic designer of his generation, and probably one of the most prolific".
"The Last of the Famous International Playboys" is a song by British solo artist Morrissey. Co-written by Morrissey and former Smiths producer Stephen Street, the song was Morrissey's third release after the Smiths break-up. Morrissey was inspired lyrically by the East End gangster brothers the Kray Twins, whom he believed to be an example of the media glamourizing violent criminals. Street took influence from the Fall for the song's music, with the intro also resembling that of The Man Who Sold the World by David Bowie. The single was the first Morrissey solo single to feature his former Smiths bandmates Andy Rourke, Mike Joyce, and Craig Gannon.
"Interesting Drug" is a song by English singer-songwriter Morrissey. Co-written by Morrissey and former Smiths producer Stephen Street, the song was Morrissey's first fourth release after the Smiths break-up. Morrissey was inspired lyrically by the drug culture in the English lower class, which he felt was being clamped down on by a power-hungry government. The single was the second and final Morrissey solo single to feature his former Smiths bandmates Andy Rourke, Mike Joyce, and Craig Gannon.
"Sing Your Life" is a single by English singer-songwriter Morrissey released in April 1991. It was the second single taken from the Kill Uncle album. On release this was Morrissey's lowest charting single in the UK charts, reaching only number 33. One of the single's B-sides was a cover version of "That's Entertainment" by The Jam which had backing vocals by Chas Smash, a.k.a. Carl Smyth the second singer of the band Madness. Vic Reeves also recorded backing vocals for the song, but they weren't included in the final version. He is thanked in the sleeve notes.
The English alternative rock band the Smiths released four studio albums, three extended plays (EPs), one live album, 10 compilation albums, 25 singles, one video album and 13 music videos on the Rough Trade, Sire and WEA record labels. The band was formed in 1982 in Manchester by vocalist Morrissey, guitarist Johnny Marr, bass player Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce.
"Hairdresser on Fire" is a 1988 song by Morrissey, first released as a B-side to his debut solo single "Suedehead". Co-written by Morrissey and producer Stephen Street, the song features lyrics expressing Morrissey's frustration with being unable to see his hairdresser.
Attack Records ran originally from 1969 to 1980 as an imprint of Trojan Records. Notable artists included The Pioneers, Gregory Isaacs, I-Roy, Big Youth and The Upsetters.
Penguin Random House LLC is a multinational conglomerate publishing company formed in 2013 from the merger of Penguin Group and Random House.
Hatchet Job of the Year was a British journalism award given annually from 2012 to 2014 to "the writer of the angriest, funniest, most trenchant book review of the past twelve months". It was awarded by The Omnivore, a review aggregator website, with the aim to "raise the profile of professional critics and to promote integrity and wit in literary journalism". The prize was a year's supply of potted shrimp.
Steven Patrick Morrissey, known professionally as Morrissey, is an English singer, songwriter, and author. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 1987. Since then, he has pursued a successful solo career. Morrissey's music is characterised by his baritone voice and distinctive lyrics with recurring themes of emotional isolation, sexual longing, self-deprecating and dark humour, and anti-establishment stances.
A Promised Land is a memoir by Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. Published on November 17, 2020, it is the first of a planned two-volume series. Remaining focused on his political career, the presidential memoir documents Obama's life from his early years through to the events surrounding the killing of Osama bin Laden in May 2011. The book is 768 pages long and available in digital, paperback, and hardcover formats and has been translated into two dozen languages. There is also a 28-hour audiobook edition that is read by Obama himself.
