‘THIS AIN’T NO DISCO: THE STORY OF CBGB’ BY ROMAN KOZAK. ‘MARQUEE: THE STORY OF THE WORLD’S GREATEST MUSIC VENUE’ BY ROBERT SELLERS & NICK PENDLETON.

CBGB was the birthplace of punk and new wave in America in the 1970s. The Ramones, Blondie, Television, Talking Heads and many other groundbreaking bands got their start in the rock club on New York’s Bowery. Years later, CBGB became the cauldron for New York hardcore. Originally issued in 1988 and out of print for decades, ‘This Ain’t No Disco: The Story Of CBGB’ is a detailed warts-and-all history, with memories, stories and gossip from dozens of insiders who worked, played or just hung out at CBGB. Written long before the legend overtook the reality — while the club was open and most of the principals alive — this is the real story, told in gritty, outrageous and sometimes hilarious detail. The text includes unguarded quotes from CBGB founder Hilly Kristal, Joey Ramone and Dee Dee Ramone (the Ramones), Clem Burke and Chris Stein (Blondie), David Byrne (Talking Heads), Jim Carroll, Willy DeVille (Mink DeVille), Annie Golden (Shirts), Richard Hell and Richard Lloyd (Television), Lenny Kaye (Patti Smith Group), Handsome Dick Manitoba (Dictators), Wendy O. Williams (Plasmatics) and others. This new edition includes a foreword by Chris Frantz of Talking Heads, 12 pages of photographs by Ebet Roberts and two pieces of historical reporting about the club’s closing in 2006.

Starting out as a jazz club on London’s Oxford Street before relocating to Soho’s Wardour Street, the Marquee moved with the times, presenting R&B with Alexis Korner, the Rolling Stones and the Yardbirds, transitioning to hard rock with the Who, Cream, Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. The club nurtured progressive rock with Jethro Tull, Yes and Genesis before giving its stage over to the bands that trashed them: the Sex Pistols, Stranglers, Damned, Sham 69, Generation X. The Marquee became home to the new wave (Adam And the Ants, the Jam, the Police) and to the New Wave Of Heavy Metal (Iron Maiden, Def Leppard). Thanks to the club’s international fame, AC/DC, Bryan Adams, Faith No More, Guns n’ Roses, INXS, Metallica, R.E.M., ZZ Top all played there. ‘Marquee: The Story Of The World’s Greatest Music Venue’ tells the club’s 30-year story in fascinating detail. Co-written by the son of the club’s founders, the book is packed with dates, memories, wild stories, musical milestones and behind-the-scenes drama, all as told by the musicians, management, staff and fans who were there.

There will be a This Ain’t No Disco launch party at 6pm on November 2 at Generation Records (210 Thompson Street in the West Village in New York City): a panel of CBGB legends — including (subject to change): Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz, photographer Ebet Roberts, Ramones tour manager Monte A. Melnick, musician/CBGB door person Deerfrance, CBGB booker Louise Parnassa Staley and musician/producer Jonathan Paley — will be on hand to share stories and answer questions.

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