From Abracadabra by the Steve Miller Band to Zoom by ELO this indispensable innovatively designed book celebrates fifty years of British album charts telling you everything you could possibly want to know about every album to reach the Top 100. With new feature material covering a huge range of areas bands & history its an essential part of any serious music fans collection. The Virgin Book of British Hit Albums covers everything from the classics (Sgt Pepper Nevermind The Dark Side of the Moon) to the dodgy (Spiceworld Seriously Orchestra) & the downright bizarre (Smurfs Go Pop! Seventies Dinner Party). Where else are you going to find out that: Bridge over Troubled Water spent 307 weeks in the charts: Pavarotti has topped the album charts twice: Lily Allen went triple-platinum in 2006 with Alright Still: Oasis sold 356 000 copies of Be Here Now in one day alone: Both Gary Glitter & Mariah Carey released an album called Glitter. ...

The second in this new series The Virgin Book of Hit Singles" is the most-up-to-date & comprehensive record of the music charts available today & a perfect collectable complement to " The Virgin Book of Hit Albums" & " The Virgin Book of Top 75 Charts." Now enhanced & fine-tuned & drawn from the Official Charts Company Data since 1952 " The Virgin Book of Hit Singles" features the most comprehensive easy to read & accessible music chart data & information. It's all here
- expanded artist biographies side notes of interest label & catalogue numbers peak positions number of weeks on chart & weeks at number one. Also

Includes:: EP charts. " The Virgin Book of Hit Singles" is essential reading & reference for any music lover."


...

The charts are the evening news of the music industry. Collected here they show the rapid rise or demise of each single as it enters the charts either winning over a large audience or just making music for its own smaller group of fans. Top 40 Charts" is required reading for every music buff & for anyone else whod like to know what song was number one on their birthday or any other memorable day. With every Top 40 singles chart from 1960 to the present day this is the definitive chart book. It

Includes:: the song title act record label & total number of weeks on chart for every single as well as a detailed history of the pre-1960s charts published using data from the Official Charts Company."

...

I am Moth a girl from the lowest part of Chrystie Street born to a slum-house mystic & the man who broke her heart. So begins THE VIRGIN CURE a novel set in the tenements of lower Manhattan in 1871. As a young child Moths father smiled tipped his hat & walked away from her for ever. The summer she turned twelve her mother sold her as a servant to a wealthy woman with no intention of ever seeing her again. These betrayals lead Moth to the wild murky world of the Bowery filled with house-thieves pickpockets beggars sideshow freaks & prostitutes where eventually she meets Miss Everett the owner of a brothel. Miss Everett caters to gentlemen who pay dearly for companions & the most desirable of them all are young virgins like Moth. Through the friendship of Dr Sadie a female physician Moth learns to question & observe the world around her where her new friends are falling prey to the myth of the virgin cure to heal the incurable & tainted. She knows the law will not protect her that polite society ignores her & still she dreams of answering to no one but herself. Theres a high price for such independence though & no one knows that better than a girl from Chrystie Street... ...

The court of the Queen Elizabeth is a hot-bed of intrigue & ambition... It is a place where reputations can stand or fall on the merest hint of scandal. Lingering rumours even surround the Virgin Queen herself despite the fate of those foolish enough to besmirch her reputation. Recently arrived in court Nell de Lacey is surprised to discover that many think she bears more than a passing resemblance to the younger queen. That coupled with an old mystery about a missing portion of the Queens past some years prior is enough to set tongues wagging. & wherever the truth lies even the rumour is sufficient to place Nell on a dangerous path that could all so easily end with her head on a block... ...

The shocking thing about the girls was how nearly normal they seemed when their mother let them out for the one & only date of their lives. Twenty years on their enigmatic personalities are embalmed in the memories of the boys who worshipped them & who now recall their shared adolescence: the brassiere draped over a crucifix belonging to the promiscuous Lux; the sisters breathtaking appearance on the night of the dance; & the sultry sleepy street across which they watched a family disintegrate & fragile lives disappear. ...

John Balmforth provides readers with a look at the history of Virgin Trains as they celebrate 15 years of service. Emerging from the franchising process in the 1990s Virgin Trains although branded as a single entity was in fact the product of two distinct franchises: the West Coast Main Line & Inter City Cross-Country. The two franchises were to a considerable extent amongst the most difficult on offer
- the former as a result of its ageing infrastructure & rolling stock & the latter due to the convoluted route network over which it operated
- & in its early years of operation Virgin Trains suffered significant adverse comment. However as the WCML modernisation scheme was gradually completed & as the new high-speed Voyager & Pendelino units came into service so the performance of the franchises enhanced as did the companys reputation. However come franchise renewal the Cross-Country franchise was modified & reallocated to Arriva leaving Virgin Trains to continue operating the West Coast franchise. This album will mark the 15th anniversary of Virgin Trains & will be packed with colour illustrations portraying the evolution of Virgin Trains operations over the period from 1997 to 2012.

...

This title is about England's forgotten Queen. England 1469. A daughter of Warwick the Kingmaker Anne Neville cannot dictate her own future. Her marriage will be political made purely to advance her family's interests. But at the age of fourteen her father's treason forces her into exile & into an uneasy betrothal with Edward of Lancaster. Edward is changeable & completely controlled by his powerful mother Margaret of Anjou. In a hostile impoverished court Anne finds herself at the mercy of other's whims. On her wedding night the audience assembled to witness her bedding instead witnesses a royal humiliation. At the point of consummation Queen Margaret forbids the act. Anne went to her husband's bed a virgin & she will remain so. The battle for the crown of England rages & Anne's husband must fight for his cause. But he is foully done to death by Richard Duke of Gloucester
- a man who twice before has been betrothed to Anne. Anne must decide where her loyalties lie. & during the reign of King Edward the wrong decision could mean death.
...

Sumptuous historical novel set in the court of Elizabeth I from Sunday Times No.1 bestseller Philippa Gregory the author of The Other Boleyn Girl. Elizabeth I has acceded to the throne of England a position she has waited & schemed for all her life. She is surrounded by advisers all convinced that a young woman cannot form political judgements. Elizabeth feels that she can rely on just one man: her oldest friend Robert Dudley. It is soon plain that he is more than merely a friend. In a house in the countryside waits a very different woman Amy Robsart
- Robert's wife. She has no taste for life at court & longs for the day when her husband will return home. She has loved him since she was a girl but now they are adults she hardly sees him. Meanwhile the pressure grows for Elizabeth to marry for it is unthinkable that a queen should rule on her own. Elizabeth's preference is clear but he is unavailable. But what if the unthinkable were to happen... Philippa Gregory blends passion personalities & politics in this stunning novel of the Tudor court & a country divided.
...

Getting old? Get over it! For too long those in short skirts have been telling us oldies we dont matter: youre out of touch! Get out of the way grandma! The next generation is coming through. Well enough is enough. Because getting old is great. For a start you no longer need to care what anyone thinks. You can let
- if youve got any left
- your hair down. No one will tell you off for grumbling. & no one minds if you forget (or pretend to forget) who youre talking to. Being rude has never been so easy
- or liberating. & thats not all you can get away with now that youve seen it all (and done most of it)... Let Virginia Ironside take you through the top twenty reasons why getting old is good for you
- & let the young & dumb keep their callow youth!



...