Copyright

Fourth Estate

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.4thEstate.co.uk

First published by Fourth Estate in 2015

Copyright © Erik Didriksen 2015

Cover Layout Design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2015

Cover illustration by Martin Hargreaves

Illustrations here, here and here courtesy of the Wellcome Library, London

Erik Didriksen asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008137199

Ebook Edition © October 2015 ISBN: 9780008145439

Version: 2015-09-16

DEDICATION

To Becca,

the left side of my brain

and the entirety of my heart

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Introduction

I. SONNETS OF LOVE

Rick Astley, ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’

Carly Rae Jepsen, ‘Call Me Maybe’

Backstreet Boys, ‘I Want It That Way’

One Direction, ‘What Makes You Beautiful’

Celine Dion, ‘My Heart Will Go On’

The Wonders, ‘That Thing You Do!’

Bruno Mars, ‘Just the Way You Are’

Christina Aguilera, ‘Genie in a Bottle’

The Cure, ‘Friday I’m in Love’

John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John, ‘You’re the One That I Want’

The Monkees, ‘I’m a Believer’

Neil Diamond, ‘Sweet Caroline’

Sam Cooke, ‘Wonderful World’

Weezer, ‘Buddy Holly’

Guns N’ Roses, ‘Sweet Child o’ Mine’

Nicki Minaj, ‘Super Bass’

The Police, ‘Roxanne’

Rihanna feat. Jay-Z, ‘Umbrella’

Van Morrison, ‘Brown-Eyed Girl’

Spin Doctors, ‘Two Princes’

The Proclaimers, ‘I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)’

II. SONNETS OF DESPAIR

Britney Spears, ‘Oops! I Did It Again’

Rick Springfield, ‘Jessie’s Girl’

Taylor Swift, ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’

CeeLo Green, ‘F**k You!’

Avril Lavigne, ‘Complicated’

TLC, ‘No Scrubs’

Eiffel 65, ‘Blue (Da Ba Dee)’

Magic!, ‘Rude’

Soft Cell, ‘Tainted Love’

Aretha Franklin, ‘Respect’

Green Day, ‘Basket Case’

The Clash, ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go?’

Red Hot Chili Peppers, ‘Under the Bridge’

Ariana Grande feat. Iggy Azalea, ‘Problem’

Gloria Gaynor, ‘I Will Survive’

The Cardigans, ‘Lovefool’

Tom Jones, ‘It’s Not Unusual’

Deep Blue Something, ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’

Beyoncé, ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)’

Lynyrd Skynyrd, ‘Free Bird’

Destiny’s Child, ‘Say My Name’

III. SONGS OF TIME AND MORTALITY

Talking Heads, ‘Once in a Lifetime’

Journey, ‘Don’t Stop Believin’’

Bon Jovi, ‘Livin’ on a Prayer’

Alanis Morissette, ‘Ironic’

Boston, ‘More Than a Feeling’

The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, ‘The Impression That I Get’

Outkast, ‘Hey Ya!’

Lorde, ‘Royals’

Idina Menzel, ‘Let It Go’

The Beatles, ‘All You Need Is Love’

U2, ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’

The Doors, ‘Light My Fire’

Nena, ‘99 Luftballons’

Avicii feat. Aloe Blacc, ‘Wake Me Up’

The Bee Gees, ‘Stayin’ Alive’

Don Henley, ‘The Boys of Summer’

IV. ROGUES, RASCALS & WANTON WOMEN

Tommy Tutone, ‘867-5309/Jenny’

Sir Mix-a-Lot, ‘Baby Got Back’

Beastie Boys, ‘(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party!)’

LMFAO, ‘Party Rock Anthem’

Icona Pop feat. Charli XCX, ‘I Love It’

Chumbawumba, ‘Tubthumping’

Daft Punk feat. Pharrell Williams, ‘Get Lucky’

Madonna, ‘Material Girl’

George Thorogood and the Destroyers, ‘Bad to the Bone’

Bruce Springsteen, ‘Dancing in the Dark’

Cyndi Lauper, ‘Girls Just Want to Have Fun’

The Weather Girls, ‘It’s Raining Men’

MC Hammer, ‘U Can’t Touch This’

The Village People, ‘YMCA’

Men Without Hats, ‘The Safety Dance’

Rebecca Black, ‘Friday’

Miley Cyrus, ‘Party in the USA’

Blink-182, ‘What’s My Age Again?’

Meghan Trainor, ‘All About That Bass’

The Chainsmokers, ‘#SELFIE’

The Trammps, ‘Disco Inferno’

Vanilla Ice, ‘Ice Ice Baby’

Katy Perry, ‘I Kissed a Girl’

ABBA, ‘Dancing Queen’

V. BALLADS OF HEROES

DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince, ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’

Billy Joel, ‘Piano Man’

Johnny Cash, ‘Folsom Prison Blues’

Simon and Garfunkel, ‘Mrs. Robinson’

Elton John, ‘Rocket Man’

Kenny Rogers, ‘The Gambler’

Chuck Berry, ‘Johnny B. Goode’

Barry Manilow, ‘Copacabana’

Arlo Guthrie, ‘Alice’s Restaurant’

Roger Miller, ‘King of the Road’

The Tokens, ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight’

The Animals, ‘House of the Rising Sun’

Black Sabbath, ‘Iron Man’

Michael Jackson, ‘Thriller’

The Eagles, ‘Hotel California’

Queen, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’

Jay-Z, ‘99 Problems’

Frank Sinatra, ‘My Way’

Index of First Lines

Acknowledgements

About the Author

About the Publisher

Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

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