Shop Newsletter |
Friday 31st July 2020 |
It's a pick of the pops special this week, as we look back over some highlights from recent editions of the newsletter, alongside a few new announcements.
Coming soon
Lisa McGee - Erin's Diary: An Official Derry Girls Book
Derry Girls is a candid period comedy about what it's like to be a teenage girl living amongst conflict. It's a time of armed police in armoured Land Rovers and British Army check points. But it's also the time of Murder She Wrote, The Cranberries, Salt-N-Pepa, Doc Martens and The X Files. And while The Troubles may hang over her hometown, Erin has troubles of her own, like the fact that the boy she's in love with (actually in LOVE with) doesn't know she exists. Or that her Ma and Aunt Sarah make her include her weirdo cousin Orla in everything she does. Or that head teacher Sister Michael refuses to acknowledge Erin as a literary genius. These are Erin's Troubles.
With Erin's inner take on everything that has happened so far, this book will both dive deeper into the events we have seen unfold on the screen and unveil brand new stories and never-before-revealed details about characters. Complete with newspaper clippings, doodles, poetry, school reports, handwritten notes from her friends, and much much more, Erin's Diary is "as warm, funny and brilliantly observed" as the TV series; a must-have for fans this Christmas.
Click through for a delightful video trailer.
Al Murray - The Last 100 Years And All That
A "brilliant and hilarious" new gallop through British history by everyone's favourite pub landlord and comedian, Al Murray.
1066 And All That, the famous tongue-in-cheek parody on British history has been a family favourite ever since it was first published in 1930. But so much has happened since then . . . and who better to provide an update than Murray?
Forget dusty, dry history books from your classroom days. This will bring the last 100 years alive as you discover historical facts that you never knew.
Richard Herring - The Problem With Men: When Is International Men's Day? (And Why It Matters)
For almost a decade, Richard Herring has been answering sexist trolls on International Women's Day when they ask 'when is International Men's Day?' in the mistaken belief there isn't one. If only the trolls had learned to use Google they'd realise that there is an International Men's Day - it's on November 19th.
In The Problem With Men, Richard expands on his Twitter discussions and tackles some of the big questions surrounding the problems of toxic masculinity - for women, but also for men. With Richard's signature humour and insight, The Problem With Men is a book for anyone striving for an equal society, all year round.
Julie Warren - It's All In The Mind: The Life And Legacy Of Larry Stephens
British popular culture would probably be very different had Larry Stephens not been born. We could now be living in a world without the Carry On films or Monty Python, and we may never have heard of Tony Hancock, Peter Sellers or Spike Milligan.
Stephens's promising career as a jazz pianist was interrupted by the war, and after serving as an officer with the commandos he moved to London and struck up a friendship with Tony Hancock, becoming the sole writer of his stage material. Hancock introduced him to Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe, Spike Milligan and Michael Bentine, and together they created The Goon Show - arguably the world's most influential comedy programme. As one of the main writers throughout its nine-year run, Stephens's experiences and acquaintances became themes and characters within the show.
But when he died in 1959, aged a horrendously young 35, his huge influence soon began to be forgotten. This, at long last, is his story.
Bottoms Up!
Based on the enormously popular television and radio sitcom Whack-O!, this uproarious comedy stars Jimmy Edwards in his signature role of a devious, cane-brandishing headmaster. Co-scripted by Michael Pertwee and Whack-O! writers Frank Muir and Denis Norden, Bottoms Up! is featured here as a brand new high definition transfer from original film elements in its as-exhibited theatrical aspect ratio.
Chiselbury School, allegedly, is an academy 'for the sons of gentlefolk'. Far from being gentlemen, however, the boys are an undisciplined rabble... it is, in fact, a school like no other! But Chiselbury's head, Professor Jim Edwards, is about to put into action a novel scheme to raise the school's profile...
A DVD version is also available.
Agatha Raisin - Series Three
Ashley Jensen returns as the titular amateur detective based on the best-selling novels by M.C. Beaton.
In these four feature-length mysteries, glamorous PR-executive-turned-sleuth Agatha Raisin formally opens her own private detective agency in the picturesque Cotswolds. Armed with her trademark tenacity and fashion flair, along with help from her friend Roy (Mathew Horne) and paramour James (Jamie Glover), Agatha uncovers the killers lurking in her sleepy village.
Keep It Up Downstairs
A classic Seventies "sex comedy", this bawdy period romp lampoons classic television series Upstairs, Downstairs and sees a host of stars shedding their Edwardian costumes to save the family silver - including Diana Dors, genre superstar Mary Millington, Willie Rushton, Françoise Pascal, Aimi MacDonald and erstwhile Artful Dodger, Jack Wild - in a brand new high definition transfer from the original film.
1904. Cockshute Towers, one of England's stateliest homes, is threatened with bankruptcy. Both masters and servants are enjoying dalliances of one kind or another amongst themselves - and none have any desire to give up their rewarding way of life! Can they work together to keep the stately pile solvent?
After The Fox
One of the world's greatest criminals and conmen, Aldo 'The Fox' Vanucci (Peter Sellers) has finally struck gold. But to traffic his embezzled bullion he must enact his most outrageous scheme yet - disguised as a neo-realist film director. Co-starring Victor Mature and Britt Ekland, and directed by Vittorio De Sica, After The Fox is a madcap comedy caper, at once both a zany heist farce and a riotous filmmaking satire.
This brand new restoration by the BFI comes packed with bonus features. Discover the long-overlooked Anglo-Italian comedy anew.
The First Team
The new BBC comedy from the makers of The Inbetweeners, The First Team follows the off-the-pitch escapades of three young football players - Mattie, Benji and Jack - as they find themselves struggling with their mercurial Italian manager Cesare, the team's eccentric American Chairman, resident hard-man Petey Brooks and ineffectual coach Chris Booth. All whilst living in fear of Olivia, their team's press manager, who can make or break them.
This series hasn't been getting great ratings, but for our money has some really good laughs, and is very accessible to all - even your football-hating correspondent thoroughly enjoys the series, whilst a football-obsessive friend has fallen for the sitcom big time. Don't miss out on the fantastic cast either; order your copy now.
After Henry - The Complete BBC Radio Series 1-4
All four series of the hugely popular BBC radio sitcom. After the death of her GP husband, widow Sarah (Prunella Scales) is battling to bring up her strong-willed 18-year-old daughter Clare (Mary Maddox), hindered by her meddling mother Eleanor (Joan Sanderson).
Living on the middle floor of the family home, with Clare downstairs and Eleanor upstairs, Sarah finds herself besieged from above and below as she tries to cope with the demands of both her mum and her daughter. Luckily, she finds solace at work, where her best friend and boss at Bygone Books, Russell, provides a sympathetic ear.
Adapted for television by Thames where it continued to be hugely successful, the original radio series is now available to download for the first time.
Code 404 - Series 1
John Major had it all: wife, best friend, glittering career in the police force... when his cover was blown and he met an untimely death. One year later, he's back - part AI and better than ever... or so he'd like to believe!
Full of glitches, he's got to track down the person who shot him, prove himself as a cop so as not to get shut down, save his marriage and his friendship with his partner to boot, in this brand new Sky One sitcom written by Daniel Peak (Not Going Out, Horrible Histories, Two Pints Of Lager And A Packet Of Crisps).
The fantastic Daniel Mays and Stephen Graham star, with support from Anna Maxwell Martin, Rosie Cavaliero and Richard Gadd.
Tom Allen - No Shame
"When I was 16 I dressed in Victorian clothing in a bid to distract people from the fact that I was gay. It was a flawed plan."
The working-class son of a coach driver, and the youngest member of the Noel Coward Society, Tom Allen grew up in 90s suburbia as the eternal outsider. In these "hilarious, honest and heart breaking stories" Tom recalls observations on childhood, his adolescence, the family he still lives with, and his attempts to come out and negotiate the gay dating scene. They are written with "his trademark caustic wit and warmth, and will entertain, surprise and move you in equal measure".
No Shame is a "very funny, candid and emotional ride of a memoir" by one of comedy's fastest-rising stars.
The Mary Millington Movie Collection
This special edition Blu-ray box set (individually numbered and limited to 3,000 units) features model and actor Mary Millington's most glamorous film roles in brand new HD restorations, including: Come Play With Me (1977), The Playbirds (1978), Confessions From The David Galaxy Affair (1979), Queen Of The Blues (1979), Mary Millington's True Blue Confessions (1980) plus Respectable: The Mary Millington Story (2015), an in-depth documentary chronicling her extraordinary life.
This collector's edition is filled with scintillating extras, charting an often overlooked but vital period in the British cinema industry's history. Its curator, also Mary's biographer, has written a fascinating article about Mary, her films, and comedy and sexploitation films for us. If you're unfamiliar with her or any of these titles and terms, we'd urge a read now.
Landscapes Of Detectorists
Landscapes Of Detectorists considers the hit comedy programme's engagement with landscape, its ecological resonances, and its attention to place and identity.
This new book offers four distinct geographical readings of Detectorists - Innes M. Keighren attends to the sensory, technological, and emotional interpretation of landscape; Isla Forsyth examines the relationship between objects, memory, and place; the significance of verticality, the aerial, and groundedness is discussed by Andrew Harris; and Joanne Norcup considers the contested interconnections of gender, expertise, and knowledge making.
The collection is bookended by reflections on the creative processes and decisions that supported the journey of Detectorists from script to screen: in a foreword written by its writer-director, Mackenzie Crook, and in an afterword written by its originating producer, Adam Tandy.
Stewart Francis - Into The Punset
In December 2019, Stewart Francis said goodbye to stand-up - and with it a 20-year career in comedy - with his tour Into The Punset. The tour sold-out a multitude of venues across the UK and Ireland over the best part of two years, before an emotional finale at London's Eventim Apollo last Christmas. Now the show can be enjoyed at home in one of a trio of formats, all available to download immediately. As always, Stewart had the crowd rolling in the aisles with his unique brand of punmastery and one-liners, and now you can get the experience on your living room carpet.
Rich Hall's (US) Breakdown
Award-winning comedian (and American citizen) Rich Hall and a selection of comedians from both sides of the Atlantic reflect on the latest political events in the United States. Using a combination of stand-up, sketch and interview, Rich Hall's (US) Breakdown broadcasts live from the fictional IBBC network in Washington to the whole of America, as Rich and his producer Nick Doody take calls from every corner of the country to hear the concerns of voters and give us their take on the issues troubling the US electorate.
My Mum's A Twat
"My mum wasn't always a twat. But sometime after I turned 10, everything changed. She stopped taking me shopping. She regularly forgot my birthday. And she thought she could heal people." One girl's funny and honest account of losing her mum to a cult. Susan Wokoma performs in this teen-spirited and gangsta-rap-fuelled survival guide to growing up with an actual twat as a mum. Written by Anoushka Warden, directed by Debbie Hannan and music by The Last Skeptik, this production was produced by Fight In The Dog and Showroom Productions for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2019. My Mum's A Twat premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 2018. It was produced by Royal Court and Amy Powell Yeates.
Who Done It?
Comedy icon Benny Hill makes his screen-starring debut in one of the last Ealing comedies ever made under the studios' original management.
Co-starring Belinda Lee as a glamorous showgirl and David Kossoff as a dastardly foreign spy - and directed by BAFTA award-winning Basil Dearden - Who Done It? is presented here as a brand new high definition transfer from original film elements in its original theatrical aspect ratio.
A clumsy ice rink sweeper with delusions of grandeur, Hugo Dill fantasises about becoming a private investigator. When he wins both a bloodhound and a sum of money in a magazine competition, he decides the time is right to change career and fulfil his dream!
Not In Front Of The Children - The Complete BBC Radio Series
Wendy Craig stars in the complete Series 1 and 2 of the 1960s sitcom as heard on BBC radio, adapted from the hit television comedy of the same name.
With three young kids and a headstrong husband, frazzled housewife Jennifer Corner has her hands full. Everyday life can be chaotic and full of challenges - but no matter what crises the Corners encounter, Jen keeps the family together. In these 26 episodes, a shaky treehouse gets hubby Henry in trouble with the law, the couple's plans for a week free of the children go awry and Jen's money-making plans run into red tape - and worse!
Matt Forde - Politically Homeless
Part memoir, part behind-the-scenes insider view, Politically Homeless promises to be both a "fascinating and funny" book for anyone who feels annoyed by the current state of politics. Which should be around 65 million people in the UK alone.
Matt Forde has been obsessed with politics ever since he was 9 years old. Raised by a single mum on benefits in inner city Nottingham, he joined the Socialist Workers Party as soon as he could, foisted issues of Marxism Today on innocent bystanders and attended his first political party conference. From then on, despite some career suicide moments such as chatting to the Prime Minister at Number 10 while badly drunk, Matt's whole future looked wedded to the Labour Party as he started working for MPs in dingy back rooms in Nottinghamshire. But then Labour started to fall apart, and so did Matt's sense of purpose.
Dawn French - Because Of You
"This is a book about mothers and daughters, love and loss, mistakes and regret. It's a book about nature and nurture. Ultimately, it's a book about what makes us who we are - it is a story for all of us."
Following her bestsellers A Tiny Bit Marvellous, Oh Dear Silvia and According To Yes, Because Of You is Dawn French's new novel, told with her signature humour, warmth and love.
David Jason - A Del Of A Life: Lessons I've Learned
In celebration of Sir David Jason's 80th year, A Del Of A Life: Lessons I've Learned relives his extraordinary life and career from over 50 years in entertainment.
From a trainee electrician to one of Britain's most revered and loved actors, Jason shares heartfelt and hilarious wisdom with readers on subjects ranging from family to work, resilience to ebullience. Told with his characteristic warmth and wit, in this third volume of autobiography Jason shines a wonderful new light on the characters and shows that fans have come to love him for, from Del Boy to Granville, Larkin to Frost.
He says: "In my first two books, I enjoyed sharing my life with the great British public, and I was overwhelmed by their support and kindness. In my new book, A Del Of A Life, I am delighted to share with readers some of the hard-won lessons I've learned along the way - how to dream big, how to work hard, and how not to fall through the gap in the pub bar..."
Susie Donkin - Zeus Is A Dick
"In the beginning, everything was fine.* And then along came Zeus. *more or less"
Greek myths. Those tales of heroism, honour and... petty squabbles, soap-opera drama and more weirdness than Fifty Shades of Grey could shake a stick at. Did you know Aphrodite, goddess of love and beauty, was born of some discarded genitals? Or that Hera threw her own son off a mountain because he was ugly? Or that Apollo once kidnapped a boat full of people while pretending to be a dolphin?
And let's not even get started on Zeus - king of the gods, ruler of the skies and a man who's never heard of self-control. In fact, if there's one thing most Greek myths have in common, it's that all the drama could have been avoided if SOMEONE could keep it in their toga!
For more, see our full list of new releases and products coming soon.
Thanks for reading
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