Because publishers never sleep, on Christmas day last, as many people now know, we sent out an invitation to download, for free, the first title on our brand new imprint, Rocket 88 Books (‘music books with extra thrust’); ‘Rocket 88: Classic Singles‘. We have a raft of new titles intended for R88 in the coming months, among them a companion volume, ‘R88 Classic Albums’, which is as quirky as the Singles book. There’ll also be the autobiography of Glen Matlock, ‘I Was A Teenage Sex Pistol’, and a fascinating and an intriguing book about Nick Drake, titled ‘Pink Moon’ (below) by a Danish poet named Gorm Henrik Rasmussen (who is the only writer to have interviewed the tragic singer’s parents, back in the early 1970s).

Over the course of the year we’ll announce and publish a wide range of music books, some of which will be reprints of classic, ‘lost’ texts and some of which will be brand new titles. R88 books will be far-reaching, vitally critical and entertaining, covering essentially interesting areas of music and the vast history of pop culture. And later in 2012, we will launch another new publishing imprint, called Nostromo. For now that’s all we can say about it, but there’s a clue in the name as to what it’ll be like. Or not.

Our work for publishers carries on apace, and next month will see the publication in America of our latest large format, lavishly illustrated appreciation (that’s marketing speak for you!) of the great Barbra Streisand (Retrospective) who’ll be—whisper it soft—70 years old on April 24 this year. We like to think of the book as a ‘Glee-ful’ appreciation of La Streisand. Hopefully her legions of fans will agree.

Meanwhile, two of our authors are regularly blogging and both worth a read if you get the time. Peter Silverton’s ‘Psycho’ blog, http://petersilverton.blogspot.com is as eclectic as the man himself. He’s also tweeting brief and hilarious excerpts from his most recent book, Filthy English. Johnny Morgan’s Rum Do http://johnnymorgansrumdo.blogspot.com includes personal takes on music, fashion, disco, growing up (as if) and letting loose. There are some great images and hyperlinks on both blogs. There are also some questionable fashion statements…

Spirit of Talk Talk will be a richly designed and beautifully illustrated volume packed with the band’s signature cover artwork. Celebrated illustrator, and Talk Talk cover artist, James Marsh has remastered and chronicled all of the iconic artwork that he produced for the band throughout their 10 year reign in the 80’s. The book will feature James’ original cover concept sketches, hand written lyrics from Mark Hollis, as well as various ephemera, posters, and related items of interest to fans. There will also be lovely unseen photos of the band from 3 sessions with photographer Richard Haughton.

Renowned rock music writer and enormous Talk Talk fan Chris Roberts is writing the main essay and there are also 80 written contributions from bands, label owners, DJs and creatives, all of whom have been inspired or influenced by the music and art of Talk Talk – including Elbow’s Guy Garvey, Depeche Mode’s Alan Wilder, Weezer’s Patrick G. Wilson, Pink Floyd’s Rick Wright,  Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry, author Luke Rhinehart, presenter Mark Radcliffe, designer Wayne Hemingway and artist Sir Peter Blake to name just a few.

Find out more about the book and register your interest over at spiritoftalktalk.com.

This new ebook edition features many of the photographs and ephemeral material found in the original hardback, which we produced back in 2008. It’s still the only book to have been created by the band themselves, and it’s now more accessible than ever.

The Clash ebook now available in iTunes, and on Kindle.

We’ve also just met The Society For The Preservation & Propagation of Disco, and would urge all true disco freaks to sign up at their facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/groups/139597869458527/

And finally, we’re about to go all Punk & Post Punk. An old friend in New York has just part of his truly unique and exhaustive collection of flyers, posters, handbills and memorabilia from 1976-1982 currently on show at the Steven Kasher Gallery until the end of this week (August 19, 2011). It’s the Rude & Reckless: Punk/Post-Punk Graphics exhibition. If you’re in Manhattan, get down there quick before it all disappears. Though much will reappear in book form, soon, we hope. http://www.stevenkasher.com

Morgan’s book contains a cool photograph of Ringo dancing in 1964 at London’s then exclusive Ad Lib Club, and tells the story of how the drummer inspired the creation of one of New York’s earliest discotheques, Arthur’s. You should  also check out the man who helped make The Shirelles one of the Fab Four’s fave bands and who went on to be one of disco’s most prolific and successful producers; Van Mcoy.

He’s in Disco; The Music; The Times; The Era, too (p. 212). (Do The Hustle.)

Because we do not usually create the covers for the books which we produce for Sterling Publishing  in New York, it’s always something of a pleasant surprise when we get the finished article. We had no idea that Art of The LP, for instance, was being sold in a red, clear plastic slipcase until we saw a copy. The cover for Disco is not quite so different to an early design we created a couple of years ago, but it does have the title word printed in raised, embossed pink neon dots over a sparkling disco ball.

Inside there are 256 large, matt-art pages filled with color, glamor, dancers, musicians, discos and divas who made the original movement (1969-1979) such a fantastic, organic scene. The book traces the evolution of the club scene from Paris immediately post-WWII through London and on to New York, where the private loft party scene at the end of the 1960s saw the birth of DJ culture, 12″ singles and the Gay Rights movement, which played a key role in establishing Disco’s dominance of the clubs and charts in the 1970s. From James Brown to Madonna, Disco profiles everyone from Isaac Hayes to the O’Jays, Allen Toussaint and The Meters to Gloria Gaynor—who wrote a foreword for the book—and Sylvester, ending with current queen of Disco, Lady Gaga.

The story includes the regrettable, semi-racist anti-disco movement which resulted in the public burning of disco records, the overkill suffered in the wake of Saturday Night Fever and the emergent club scene of the 1980s. Then there’s the top 100 disco dance tunes to argue about.

Summer’s here and the time is right; Disco is available now via Amazon, B&N and discerning bookstore everywhere.

Writing in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Alexander Gorkow says “this book is a sensation […] the most amazing coffee table book in years”.

On German television channel ZDF, arts magazine show Aspekte described the book as “opulent”, and used its publication to examine Syd’s enduring influence on Pink Floyd – tying in with Roger Waters’ current German tour with The Wall. The programme was first broadcast on Friday, but if you missed it you can watch it online now.

Presenter Luzia Braun discusses the "opulent" Barrett book on Aspekte, ZDF German television

Barrett review in Germany's Süddeutsche Zeitung. The paper called it "the most amazing coffee table book in years".

Writing in Mojo, Mark Blake hails the “extraordinary achievement” of authors Russell Beecher and Will Shutes in gathering so many rare and unseen photographs, letters, and artworks by and about Syd. Blake’s particular favourites include shots of Pink Floyd performing at a UFO club night (“taken so close you can almost feel the static off Rick Wright’s satin shirt”), the letters Syd wrote to girlfriends Jenny Spires and Libby Gausden-Chisman (“playful, funny and touching, with no hint of the troubled soul Barrett would become”) and the artworks Syd created after finishing his studies. Blake concludes: “Beautifully packaged, eruditely written and full of insight (but, inevitably, tinged with sadness), Barrett feels like the ultimate work of art”.

Over in Classic Rock, the legendary Mick Farren is equally taken by the comprehensiveness of the book’s content and the “sumptuous and immaculate” quality of its finish – indeed “the whole presentation subscribes to the concept of the book as a work of art in itself”. For Farren, this isn’t necessarily a good thing. The book, suggests the standfirst above Farren’s review, risks being “almost too perfect to be useful”. But Farren’s suggestion that Syd’s “romantic legend” could be about to “eclipse the actual value of the artist’s work” is roundly rejected by fans on the Barrett book Facebook page, for whom the book – and the Idea Generation Gallery exhibition that accompanied it – have finally given Syd the recognition he deserves.

Throughout the Barrett project, our use of Facebook has allowed us to build an extraordinarily close relationship to the book’s readers, with whom we’ve shared almost the entire production process through all manner of multimedia updates. So it’s no surprise that fans have turned to the Facebook page to tell us what they think of the finished product. “Amazing”, “fantastic”, “wonderful”, “beautiful”, “superb” and “well worth the wait” are, we’re happy to say, a pretty representative sampling of the reaction.

Last but not least, we’ve also enjoyed the odd admiring glance from friends and colleagues in the book trade. Barrett got a very warm reception at last month’s London Book Fair, and the book was also on display last week at the Winter & Company Discover exhibition – a showcase of special products using the company’s marvellous cover materials (including the cloths and leathers used for Barrett).

Meanwhile, the book continues to sell well, with the limited-run Signature Edition (containing an extra book of rare images, and signed by one of Syd’s siblings) proving particularly collectable. Grab one before they’re gone at barrettbook.com.

Barrett reviewed in Mojo magazine

Barrett reviewed in Classic Rock magazine

Barrett in fine company at the Winter & Company Discover show

We are extraordinarily grateful to Elosie Rowley, Rachel Wood and Megan Thomas at Idea Generation who worked like demons to stage the exhibition, and to Hector Proud.

Many wonderful people were able to come along and celebrate Syd’s life and work with us and to view the artworks, letters and photographs. We hope everyone enjoyed the event as much as we did.

Here are just a few snaps from the night, there are many more over on our Barrett book facebook page. Some of the friends and colleagues who were good enough to attend were: Will Shutes, Russell Beecher, Rosemary Breen, Jenny Spires, Viv Brans, Libby Gausden-Chisman, Adam Ritchie, Anthony Stern, Steve Wilkins, Irene Winsby, Nigel Lesmoir-Gordon, Warren Dosanjh, Glenn Povey, Storm Thorgerson, Hoppy, Barry Miles, Duggie Fields, Jeff Dexter, Iggy, Noel Fielding, Graham Coxon and Captain Sensible – and many more! Can you spot any of them in the images?

Thanks to all who made it such a special evening.

The book is published to coincide with the opening of the Syd Barrett: Arts & Letters exhibition at London’s Idea Generation Gallery, where tonight’s launch party is taking place. The last couple of weeks have seen a flurry of press interest in the joint project, with coverage by Reuters, BBC Radio 4′s Woman’s Hour, and the BBC World Service today alone. The book and exhibition were also  featured in the Sunday Times, Independent, Daily Telegraph and – last night – on  Radio 4′s flagship arts show Front Row, with presenter John Wilson touring the exhibition with Blur guitarist and Syd fan Graham Coxon (see video below).

But behind all the excitement, tonight’s event marks a real milestone for Essential. Authors Russell Beecher and Will Shutes have done a frankly incredible job tracking down the rare and unseen photographs, letters and artworks featured in the book, and we’ve been tremendously proud to have made this stunning book the latest of our direct sale projects. Find out more about it over on the Barrett website, and watch the Facebook page for photos from the event.