7 great books about pop music
Tonight the Music Seems So Loud is a portrait of one of Britain's most beloved musicians – George Michael – and an account of a strange and turbulent period of British history.
This National Year of Reading 2026, the whole nation is invited to Go All In – to discover how reading can make the things they already love even richer. As a lifelong fan of pop music, Sathnam Sanghera joins us to share his favourite books about pop music and pop legends.
"It has been said that writing about music is like dancing about architecture, but what can I say? I love both music and architecture, I enjoy writing and (in certain circumstances) dancing, and actually music writing has, in my opinion, produced some of the most beautiful literature around. Looking back, pop lyrics were the first kind of creative writing I ever tried outside school, and music criticism the first kind of journalism I got addicted to. Here are ten music books I have enjoyed as much as some of my favourite albums and singles."
Sathnam Sanghera, author of Tonight the Music Seems So Loud: The Meaning of George Michael
How Music Works by David Byrne
Everyone knows the lead singer of Talking Heads as a startlingly original performer. He turns out he is a startingly original writer too. In this non-linear book, Byrne uses autobiography, music criticism, and even music theory to make you re-see and re-hear pop music.
Lost in Music: A Pop Odyssey by Giles Smith
Most books about pop music are about people who have made it, or people who are, at least, good musicians. This memoir is about neither: it's a hilarious, illuminating book about a man who failed to be a professional musician and the painful fact that 99 percent of pop careers end in failure.
Feel by Chris Heath
There's a chilling moment in Robbie Williams's official biography, when the writer asks the pop star's father about his son's success, and Williams Snr admits to sometimes being star struck. It's a startling admission, gets to the dark truth about celebrity and is just one of a hundred profound insights in the book. A dark, irresistible read.
You Don't Have To Say You Love Me by Simon Napier-Bell
Is there anyone in the world of music who has enjoyed a rich a life as Napier-Bell? As well as being Wham's manager in the 1980s, he managed the Yardbirds, Marc Bolan, and Japan, co-wrote 'You Don't Have To Say You Love Me' for Dusty Springfield, and got into scrapes with everyone from Brian Epstein to Keith Moon. This book captures some of the excitement.
Dickens and Prince: A Particular Kind of Genius by Nick Hornby
This title managed the impossible and got me reading Dickens. I took against the Victorian writer at university and the closest I've got to his work as a middle-aged man is watching The Muppet Christmas Carol. However, I'm a massive Prince fan, and the fascinating comparison of the two men opened up my heart to the Victorian writer.
Mr Pikes: The Story Behind The Ibiza Legend by Tony Pike with Matt Trollope
You might recognise Pike as the moustachioed man who appears in the video for Wham's 'Club Tropicana'. But he was more than an extra: for years he ran the Balearic boho bolthole where the video was filmed and had fascinating relationships with guests/friends including George Michael, Freddie Mercury, Julio Iglesias and Grace Jones.
One Two Three Four: The Beatles in Time by Craig Brown
I don't even like the Beatles that much! But I found this book harder to resist than the most bingeable boxset. Brown is a genius, and this book tells readers as much about the history of postwar Britain as the band.
About Tonight the Music Seems So Loud: The Meaning of George Michael by Sathnam Sanghera
He wrote one of the biggest hits of our age in 'about an hour' in his childhood bedroom.
He would go on to collaborate with some of the greatest musicians of all time, from Aretha Franklin to Stevie Wonder.
He was a pop star who bleached his hair blonde, wore tiny shorts and, at the same time, critiqued his own image mercilessly.
He lived through the AIDS crisis and one of the most homophobic periods of British history and yet when he finally came out, he did so boldly and unapologetically.
Wham! were the first Western pop group to play in Communist China and he repeatedly broke boundaries in music too.
Ten years after his death, George Michael is still everywhere: the annual success of 'Last Christmas', new covers of his songs, and endless memes on social media.
Tonight the Music Seems So Loud is at once a kaleidoscopic portrait of one of Britain’s most beloved musicians and an account of a strange and turbulent period of British history. In his unconventional and enthralling book, bestselling author Sathnam Sanghera explores the connection between music and politics, exposes what secrecy does to the soul, and reveals how fame rots the sense of self. Throughout, Sanghera captures, joyfully and poignantly, one of Britain’s greatest artists in all his musical glory.
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