NEW PHOTOGRAPHER!
EYES FRONT, It’S CLIVE ARROWSMITH
Clive Arrowsmith is a celebrated international photographer based in London.
After leaving art school in North Wales, Clive began taking photographs whilst working as a graphic designer for Rediffusion TV, but was soon being commissioned by such notable publications as British and French Vogue, Nova magazine, Harpers, The Sunday Times Magazine, Vanity Fair and Esquire USA.
Clive quickly made a name in fashion photography, but is equally well known for his music and celebrity images of Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Jeff Beck, George Harrison, Art Garfunkel, Def Leppard, King Charles III, Michael Caine and Damien Hirst to name just a few.
He also photographed the Pirelli Calendar for two years in succession and has worked on many major advertising campaigns for clients such as De Beers, Revlon, Lexus, Hassleblad and Yves Saint Laurent.
Clive later directed commercials for Heinz, Revlon, Hamlet Cigars – winning The Silver Lion Cannes Film Festival, as well as numerous music videos for such artists as Jamiroquai, Jools Holland, and Def Leppard.
Clive was recently made a fellow of The Royal Photographic Society. His previous books include Arrowsmith: Fashion, Beauty and Portraits and Lowry: At Home Salford 1966, Unseen Photographs by Clive Arrowsmith.
Hell Fire Books are working with Clive on two books: A collection of Paul McCartney images and a collection of fashion photography. Look out.
NEW AUTHOR!
SOON FORWARD, JOHN MASOURI
John Masouri is a British author/music journalist specialising in reggae and its various offshoots, including dancehall. Over the past 35 years he’s interviewed and written about many of these genres’ best-known names, chiefly for Echoes magazine in the UK as well as publications in France, Germany and Japan.
His books include Pressure Drop: Reggae in the Seventies, which featured among Uncut and Mojo’s Best Music Books of the Year for 2024 and was long-listed for the Penderyn Music Book Prize; Steppin’ Razor: The Rebel Life of Peter Tosh – now reissued as part of Omnibus’ Remastered series – and an authorised biography of Bob Marley’s band, The Wailers.
He’s also ghost-written autobiographies with Maxi Priest, Marcia Griffiths and Miss Pat, founder of VP Records, and is a regular speaker at literary and music-based events, including festivals.
His next book, telling the story of UK Lovers Rock, is due for publication in early 2027…
“As editor of Echoes, I feel very blessed that we have the best reggae writer in the UK writing for us every month. His subject knowledge is unsurpassed – at a level that only comes from a lifetime of love for the music and an abiding fascination with the people who make it.” – Chris Wells, Editor, Echoes Magazine
“I’ve known John for years and he’s been keeping the news in reggae alive all that time. He brings people up-to-date on what is happening in the industry when it comes to new releases and which artists are doing what… John is one of the greatest journalists for providing that kind of information and he’s been doing it for one of the biggest magazines in London, which is Echoes.” – Sly Dunbar, the world’s greatest reggae drummer
“John Masouri is the UK’s pre-eminent reggae journalist. For more than 30 years he has been my first port of call for reggae news because of his empathy with the qualities and values of this music in its many forms, his deep insights into reggae’s back story and those who laid its foundations, and his endless enthusiasm for the creativity of the reggae artists of Jamaica and beyond.” – Ian Burrell, journalist with The Atlantic and The Independent, and co-author of David Rodigan’s autobiography, Rodigan: My Life In Reggae
“John is one of reggae music’s great writers. He’s a total music man and writes with such understanding, knowledge and love of it…” – Adrian Sherwood, record producer and On U Sound label owner
“Over the decades from the rise of reggae to now, John has pioneered the way in high quality journalism and writing, authoring many key books on legendary artists and movements within the genre. John was very much on the ground at the start of the music’s meteoric explosion in the 70s, which gives his insights, gritty and heartfelt realism. His work speaks for itself: engaging, knowledgeable and refreshingly honest. His passion and commitment to the genre and to telling the very human stories behind the artist’s image, never ceases to amaze me. If you want to get into the heart and soul of the genre and the real stories behind the music, John will take you there.” – Karen Proctor, Label Manager, VP Records
NEW AUTHOR!
WELCOME, MATTHEW RUDDICK
Matthew Ruddick is the co-founder and editor of the jazz website Kind Of Jazz, and has worked as a music critic for a variety of publications, including Beats magazine in Hong Kong.
He is the author of Funny Valentine: The Story of Chet Baker, which was published to widespread acclaim in 2012.
“The success of a jazz biography can be measured by the degree to which it leads the reader to revisit the subject’s recordings and, perhaps, hear some of them in a new light. In that, and in the way Ruddick deals with Baker’s lifestyle, without either romanticizing or sitting in judgment on it, or shying away from the damaged lives it left in its wake, Funny Valentine: The Story of Chet Baker is as good as it gets.” – All About Jazz
In 2023, his Funkiest Man Alive: Rufus Thomas and Memphis Soul was published by the University Press of Mississippi.
“Matthew’s book gets behind the hamming and flamboyance of Rufus Thomas and presents the artist, his roots and how he became one of the most fascinating and funky Southern soul artists of the 1960s and ’70s.” – Jazzwax
By day, Matthew works in the finance industry and lives in London. By night, he is working on his third book. Keep watching these skies…
NEW AUTHOR!
INTRODUCING, DAVID LEAF
David Leaf is one of those quiet forces behind the scenes. Someone who helped shape how we understand music history, especially around The Beach Boys.
He’s known for :
1. Writing and producing documentaries and retrospectives on artists like Brian Wilson, The Beatles, John Lennon, The Bee Gees, Frank Sinatra, James Brown, and many more.
2. Being one of the earliest serious writers to recognise Brian Wilson’s genius when others didn’t.
3. Authoring books that helped preserve and elevate pop music as something worthy of deeper respect.
For nearly two decades, he has been teaching at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music, where he brings that same perspective into the classroom. Helping students see music not just as entertainment, but as culture, history, and storytelling.
There’s something consistent about his path. He didn’t chase the spotlight. He stayed close to the work, to the artists, to the meaning behind it all. And somehow, that made his voice carry even further.
NEW AUTHOR!
STEP UP, LAURENCE CANE-HONEYSETT
Originally studying graphic design, London-born Laurence Cane-Honeysett quickly established a distinguished career in music, illustration and writing, particularly focusing on Jamaican music for Record Collector.
By the early 1990s, he had joined Trojan Records, the world’s foremost vintage reggae label, initially as resident archivist, writer and product curator before assuming the position of label manager. Over the following two decades, Laurence led Trojan with distinction, overseeing the release of hundreds of new CD and vinyl albums – approximately half of which carried his sleeve notes.
During this period, he also co-wrote Young, Gifted & Black, the first authoritative history of Trojan Records, while continuing to contribute to a range of respected music publications.
To commemorate Trojan’s 50th anniversary in 2018, he wrote and art directed the widely acclaimed The Story of Trojan Records, which is scheduled for its fourth printing in 2028.
More recently, Laurence has moved on in order to work on a wide range of activities, including further books, articles for the music press and the development of new releases for a range of leading record companies.
NEW AUTHOR!
HELLO, NEIL COSSAR
Neil Cossar was the guitarist in the late seventies group The Cheaters, who, although signed to Parlophone Records, never quite troubled the charts. They were, though, continually on the road and BBC Radio 1 presented them with ‘the hardest working band of the year’ award after they’d played 321 gigs, as well as recording an album, during a single 12-month period…
Neil also ran a music PR company for 20 years – with his partner Liz Sanchez – working with Def Leppard, INXS, Joan Baez, Glen Campbell, Jean Michel Jarre, Natalie Imbruglia, The Hollies, Kiki Dee, Howard Jones, The Stranglers and UB40.