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Musician-turned-award winning author

Walls Come Tumbling Down: Daniel Rachel

THE DEFINITIVE STORY OF 2 TONE RECORDS
AN UNCUT, RESIDENT MUSIC, LOUDER THAN WAR, BLITZED & TIMES/SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

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An essential read…fasten your seat belts, rudies’ MOJO

A brilliant book…Nothing is left out of this definitive book THE WIRE

Disputatious, colourful & rife with contradictions UNCUT

An exceptional portrait of Britain at a crucial time IRISH TIMES

A must-read for anyone interested in 2 Tone, ska or British music history LOUDER THAN WAR

A brilliant, insightful book & nothing short of definitive RECORD COLLECTOR

Superb…Rachel writes with the undimmed passion and enthusiasm of the teenage tonic-suited rude boy VIVE LE ROCK

The most extensive & engrossing account of the 2 Tone movement written to date DO THE DOG

The ideal match of author and subject JON SAVAGE

Surely the definitive telling of the 2 Tone story JOHN HARRIS

An incredible and detailed account of a massive watershed moment in British culture GURINDER CHADHA

A great book about a few exceptionally talented people who came together and created something extraordinary CHARLIE HIGSON

Comprehensive, cautionary but nonetheless celebratory saga of the 2 Tone label PAULINE BLACK

The definitive story of 2 Tone. Masterful BILLY BRAGG

Every bit as thrilling, and just as achingly evocative as the music it was written to celebrate… a scintillating read PETE PAPHIDES

The definitive account of one of Britain’s finest youth movements SUGGS

Walls Come Tumbling Down: Daniel Rachel

A METRO & EVENING STANDARD BOOK OF THE YEAR

‘A rollicking read….a tale of hedonism and opportunism, of great hope and dashed expectations.’ MAIL ON SUNDAY

‘A grade, A list oral history’ SUNDAY TIMES

‘Eminently, moreishly readable’ NEW STATESMAN

‘A fascinating step back to right before the web, smartphones and streaming changed the face of culture’ STYLIST

‘I tore through it, savouring every high and low point of this hazy, hard-to-define epoch’ EVENING STANDARD

‘Remarkable’ ART REVIEW

‘Book of the Week’ GUARDIAN

‘The tumult, the triumph and the toilery of the 90s…a who’s who of the decade’ SHAUN KEAVENY, BBC 6 MUSIC

‘Without question, the definitive telling of what Britain was in the nineties, who Britain became and how that has come to define the times we live in now’ M.M.A

‘I absolutely devoured it’ CHRIS WARBURTON, BBC RADIO 5 LIVE

 ‘We guarantee, this will change the way you think about the era you lived through’
DAVID HEPWORTH

It’s so original to read about the 90s that takes in all those different perspectives  and doesn’t just paint a picture of a heap of cocaine with Noel Gallagher in the middle of it’ MARK ELLEN

Walls Come Tumbling Down: Daniel Rachel

* WINNER: PENDERYN BOOK OF THE YEAR
* Radio 2 Book Club choice

‘A triumphant oral history’  GUARDIAN

‘A colossal and brilliant book’  SHAUN KEEVENY, BBC 6 Music

‘A majestic work’ THE WIRE

‘A fabulous book’  JONATHAN ROSS , Radio 2 Arts Show

‘Daniel Rachel’s superlative oral history… a brilliant account of the period.’ Q

‘Brilliant insight’ MOJO

‘Glorious’  TRACEY THORN, New Statesman

‘Absorbing an intriguing….a well researched and passionate book.’ LOUDER THAN WAR

‘An amazing oral history of a time when pop culture fought against the forces of darkness. ‘ BILLY BRAGG

‘An important book, crammed full of photos & the real story of how a great number bands got together & actually did something to change things in the UK.’ CHALKIE DAVIES

Walls Come Tumbling Down: Daniel Rachel

GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE DAY

‘Painstaking detail and great stories’ GUARDIAN

‘A fantastical journey through what might have been… exciting and compelling’ BBC 6 MUSIC

‘A fascinating detailed read’ MOJO

‘Ingenious.’ RECORD COLLECTOR

‘Full of enthralling details about the highs and lows of the band’s last year… it’s like the DNA in a crime scene.’ WORD IN YOUR EAR

‘A book that is religiously detailed and yet manages to create tantalising glimpses of what might have been’ LOUDER THAN WAR

‘A meticulously researched study told with surgical precision and layers of fresh perspective and insight’ SHINDIG!

‘An extraordinary peek behind the curtain of one of the most celebrated music groups in history…a must-read for any music aficionado’ MUSIC DEVOTEE

‘Impeccably researched and lucidly written, this is a must-read for Beatles lovers’ YORKSHIRE POST

‘It’s not as bonkers an idea as it might sound…’ THE OLDIE

Walls Come Tumbling Down: Daniel Rachel

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

‘A wonderful document of the last great gathering of the pre-internet age. No camera phones, no social media, just a band and its fans as one.’ NOEL GALLAGHER

‘An evocative return to those heady days’ CLASSIC POP

It’s the must-buy book of the summer’ COURIER

‘Hundreds of never-seen-before images’ i-PAPER

‘Goes behind the scenes of the gigs and gives an insight into the famously difficult relationship between the Gallagher brothers.’ SUNDAY MIRROR

‘Era defining’ ROLLING STONE

Walls Come Tumbling Down: Daniel Rachel

A GUARDIAN & NME BOOK OF THE YEAR

‘‘This is without doubt the finest book I’ve ever read about songwriters
and the songs they write. Fantastic, insightful.
I wish all interviews were like this’ NOEL GALLAGHER

‘After all these years to be asked original was very impressive’ ROBIN GIBB

‘Really intelligent, clued up and musically astute’ WEEKEND SPORT

‘A fascinating book’ MIRANDA SAWYER, BBC Radio 4

‘Fascinating insights’ GUARDIAN

‘As fascinating as his subjects’ NME

‘In depth, scholarly’ Q

‘An unmissable collection’ SONGWRITING

‘Absolutely fantastic’ JANICE LONG, BBC RADIO 2

‘Revelations abound. This is a must for all songwriters and lovers of song’
PAUL ZOLLO, author Songwriters On Songwriting

Walls Come Tumbling Down: Daniel Rachel

‘It’s brilliant, beautiful, gorgeous, stunning… the kind of book you want to smell and stroke.’ CHRIS EVANS, VIRGIN RADIO

‘Entertaining… (a) majestic book’ ’ GIGSLUTZ

‘A very handsome book’ ROBERT ELMS, BBC LONDON

‘These pages reverberate with an insight and also a superb gallows humour…it’s a story about affirmation and friendship.’ LOUDER THAN WAR

Latest News

Sky Goes Ska

BREAKING NEWS - SKA GOES SKY! Daniel talks to Anna Jones on Sky News about 2 Tone & Too Much Too Young: the 2 Tone Records Story with lots of great footage of The Specials and [...]

Don’t Look Back In Anger Playlist

Walls Come Tumbling Down Playlist

The Lost Album of The Beatles playlist

Events

An Evening of SKA, REGGAE & 2 TONE

April 27 @ 8:30 pm - 11:59 pm

Cathedral Quarter Arts Festival, Belfast

May 12 @ 7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

Isle of Noises Playlist

Too Much Too Young Playlist

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