Nothing is Real: The Beatles Were Underrated And Other Sweeping Statements About Pop

Pop music is a simple pleasure. Is it catchy? Can you dance to it? Do you fancy the singer?

But what's truly fascinating about pop is our relationship with it. David Hepworth delves into the human side of pop. He's interested in how people create this music and, more importantly, what it means to us. In this collection of essays written throughout his distinguished career, Hepworth demonstrates how it's entirely possible to take music seriously without draining the life out of it.

From the enduring legacy of The Beatles to the dramatic decline of the record shop, via the bewildering nomenclature of musical genres, Hepworth uses his characteristic insight and humour to ask some essential questions about music and, indeed, about life itself. Is it all about the drummer? Are band managers misunderstood? And is it appropriate to play 'Angels' at funerals?

As Pope John Paul II famously said, 'of all the unimportant things, football is the most important'. David Hepworth believes the same to be true of music, and this selection of his best writing, covering the music of the last fifty years, shows you precisely why.