Forgot to add this in my last post - someone was disappointed that the 
Mika CD was more like Scissor Sisters than Queen:  To be honest, I'd 
probably rather listen to the Sisters!

By far and away my favourite Rock and Roll book has got to be Please 
Kill Me: the Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeill and Gillian 
McCain.  First hand accounts of mainly American "Punk  Rock" from the 
Velvets through to the death of Johnny Thunders via MC5, Stooges, 
Blondie, Television, Ramones, Pistols etc.  Many, many classic stories 
from the main players, some of which are undoubtedly embellished (if not 
entirely fabricated) but it's all good stuff.    England's Dreaming and 
this make good companion pieces, although Jon Savage's book is much more 
high-brow - I much prefer the Please Kill Me scuzzy approach.

Gary Valentine's New York Rocker was also a good read.

Giles Smith's Lost In Music has some laugh-out-loud moments, especially 
if you have ever been a vinyl junkie, one passage about browsing through 
racks looking at sleeves of albums you know you already own, is priceless.

Back to Mika ....