Lead Sister: The Story of Karen Carpenter

London: Nine Eight

As one of the biggest-selling acts of the 1970s, sibling duo Richard and Karen Carpenter created lush soundscapes of melodic pop, producing global hits like ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’, ‘Top of the World’ and ‘Close to You’.

However, though ‘lead sister’ Karen is recognised as one of the greatest singers in popular music, the tragedy of her early death in 1983, at the age of just thirty-two, overshadows all that she achieved. She has long been portrayed as a victim, controlled by her family and exploited by the music industry.

This book reframes her life and legacy.

Through fresh interviews with friends, musicians, co-workers and lovers, Lucy O’Brien’s fascinating profile explores Karen’s contributions in the studio as a singer, drummer, arranger and producer, as well as tracing the roots of the Carpenters’ mesmerising sound. It also honours the lead sister’s achievements in the face of her struggle with anorexia, as viewed through the lens of new perspectives on eating disorders and mental health.

Despite her chronic illness, Karen was, above all, a creative, dedicated artist whose music delivers an emotional resonance that has captivated generations – and this is how she should be remembered.

• A Times Book of the Year 2023

‘This may well become the definitive biography of Carpenter.’
— US Library Journal, Starred Review

She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music

4th Edition, London: Jawbone

Drawing on more than 270 original interviews with female artists and women working behind the scenes in A&R, marketing, music publishing, and production, She Bop presents a feminist history of women in popular music, from 1920s blues to the present day.

This revised edition updates that story through many fresh interviews and new perspectives. Since She Bop was first published in 1995, digital streaming has transformed the music landscape. But has the issue of gender inequality changed too? In a new introduction and closing chapter, O’Brien celebrates the rise of unique women such as Billie Eilish, Lana Del Rey and rapper Cardi B, while also looking at the struggle of artists like Kesha, and wondering whether the pop industry has yet had its #MeToo moment.

Published in 2020 to celebrate the book’s 25th anniversary – in a year that marked 50 years of Women’s Liberation – this new She Bop features exclusive artwork by artist/musician Gina Birch. It will appeal to a huge cross-section of readers, from music fans to the LGBTQ audience and women of all generations.

‘A monumental history of women in the music business.’
— The Guardian

‘This book is a joy on many levels: O’Brien enthuses about music so elegantly that one immediately has to seek out the records she describes, and she forces you to reassess the exploitative images of female songwriters and musicians that were, and still are, being used every day.’
— Caitlin Moran

‘A contemporary classic.’
— Jazzreview.com

Dusty: The Classic Biography

London: Michael O’Mara

Dusty Springfield was a music icon. From sixties hits such as ‘Son of a Preacher Man’ and ‘You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me’ to her eighties collaboration with the Pet Shop Boys and beyond, she was a musical pioneer and the essence of authentic white soul. A member of the US Rock and Roll and UK Music Halls of Fame, international polls have named Dusty among the best female pop artists of all time.

This fully revised and updated biography explore her life and legacy. From a troubled childhood to sixties mod queen, her struggles with addiction and mental health issues, to her status as an influential LGBTQ heroine and enduring star, this is a must-have for Dusty and soul fans alike.

‘Provocative and deadly accurate.’
— Time Out

The Liverbirds: Our Life in Britain’s First Female Rock n’ Roll Band

London: Faber

By Mary McGlory & Sylvia Saunders, with Lucy O’Brien

In the early '60s, four friends from Liverpool formed a band. But this is not the 'fab four' story we know . . .

Mary, Sylvia, Valerie and Pamela - also known as The Liverbirds - were one of the world's first all-female rock'n'roll bands. At an early gig, backstage at the Cavern Club, a young John Lennon told them that 'girls don't play guitars'. But they took that as a challenge. Despite the early scepticism, they won over tough crowds, toured stadiums, recorded two hit albums, and played with the Kinks, Rolling Stones and Chuck Berry - all in the space of just five years.

Now, the two surviving members of the band tell their incredible story in full for the first time - capturing a lost era of liberation and rock'n'roll, as they thrived in the vibrant Merseybeat music scene and formed a friendship that has endured through the decades.

‘A powerful story, one that dances to its own distinctive beat.’
— The Sunday Times

It Takes Blood And Guts

London: Simon & Schuster

By Skin and Lucy O’Brien

Lead singer of multi-million-selling rock band Skunk Anansie, solo artist, LGBTQ+ activist and all around trail blazer – Skin is a global icon, and she has been smashing stereotypes for over thirty years. Her journey from Brixton to one of the most influential women in British rock is nothing short of extraordinary. 
 


‘It’s been a very difficult thing being a lead singer of a rock band looking like me and it still is. I have to say it’s been a fight and it will always be a fight. That fight drives you and makes you want to work harder… It’s not supposed to be easy, particularly if you’re a woman, you’re black or you are gay like me. You’ve got to keep moving forward, keep striving for everything you want to be.’


Born to Jamaican parents, Skin grew up in Brixton in the 1970s. Her career as an artist began in the ‘90s, when Skunk Anansie was formed in the sweat-drenched backrooms of London’s pubs. Since then she has headlined Glastonbury and toured the world, both as lead singer of Skunk Anansie and as a solo artist.

Her success has been groundbreaking in every way, which has come at a personal cost. She has always been vocal about social and cultural issues, and was championing LGBTQ+ rights at a time when few artists were out and gay.
 


Told with honesty and passion, this is the story of how a gay, black, working-class girl with a vision fought poverty and prejudice to write songs, produce and front her own band, and become one of the most influential women in British rock.


‘A beautiful, raw and exhilarating book that will leave you feeling empowered.’
— Fearne Cotton

Madonna: Like An Icon

2nd Edition, London: Corgi

The definitive biography of one of the world’s most famous women.



Madonna is the biggest-selling female recording artist in the world and one of our greatest living pop stars. With each pioneering album she has consistently reinvented her music and her image, transcending the world of pop to become a global cultural icon. In 2018, unbelievably, she is hitting her 60th birthday – yet she still remains as relevant as ever.



Lucy O’Brien’s extensive and well-researched biography looks at Madonna the artist, offering a detailed analysis of her music with input from acclaimed musicians and producers, as well revealing interviews from her intimate inner circle. She follows Madonna from her difficult childhood and those frenetic early years in New York, through the shocks and scandals of the 1990s Sex era to her twenty-first-century incarnation as an outspoken activist.



Providing a fascinating insight into her life, relationships and what motivates her as a woman and an artist, Madonna: Like an Icon is the definitive biography of one of the biggest stars in the world.

‘A mighty volume.’
— Mail on Sunday