Teenbeat Mayhem launch date......

At this point in time, the apex of discographical reference works of any genre must be Mario Panciera's "45 Revolution" book on uk 45s punk/post-punk/etc 45s released between 1976 and '79. With 1200 pages, 4500 color cover reproductions, 100s of band interviews conducted, exact release dates, line-ups, quotes from period music papers, printed on high quality paper and housed in a hardcover, it's everything genre-fiends could ever hope to get. Admittedly it's harder to cover a genre thats two decades older and broader, but if TBM will be close to "45 revolution" standards, it will be a monument. Coincidentally, Panciera's book cost 85 euro which about equals $100.

Is this book still available, or was it a limited print run? Seems underpriced for the size and scope. Perhaps the author is well-off financially, or he had a wealthy benevolent to fund the project.
As you noted, it is far easier to have a ready made reference point (UK only, 3 year span) to work from. The amount of data incorporated will generally fall in line with established parameters.
The other aspect is that a lot of this material was being documented in print / zines, etc as it was "happening", which again, makes the research work effort more refined and organized.
 
As far as I know it's been OOP for a good while (published in 2008) with copies selling for inflated prices these days. I know nothing about Panciera's financial provenance, but with the 1st edition being sold out within days and the 2nd being gone soon after, I imagine he certainly made back the production cost. Nobody starting such a venture will hope to receive fair compensation for the time put into the project, right? "45 revolutions" had much the same standing as TBM: talked about for years (he started in the late 80s), annouced several times, written off by some, yet making everybody speechless when eventualy published. He also opted for self publication as no publishing company met his quality standards. here's the link to his meager website

http://www.hurdygurdy.it/

31-qn8JN4nL._SL500_AA300_.jpg


What I like about Panciera personally (w/o knowing him) is his megalomania. It took him 20 yrs to put out the 1st book, yet he called it "Vol. 1" and has a masterplan of 9 further volumes covering different scene/regions/themes. Talking about biological optimism...

Mike: Did you make up your mind in rg to "the hardcover question"? Personally, I believe doing a limited hardcover editon (which shouldnt be a problem production wise, looking at the Acid Archives run of 100 hardcover copies) at a somwehat higher price is a splendid way to cter for different needs w/o putting the ordinary buyer off. Most of the heavy G45 users, I assume, would opt for the more expensive hardcover edition.
 
I'm also interested in a hardcover version even if it is more expensive. The binding is also very important.
Just can't wait.
AZ54
 
Yes, that is the type of book cover I will have for TBM, manufacturing price notwithstanding.
This book cover is called a casebound, with a glossy paper adhesive applied over the coverstock (hardboard). The TBM front and back cover is black and white tho, not color, because the main photos positioned on front and back are '60s black and white snapshots. I didn't want to do a Ted Turner and 'colorize' black and white photos, so I felt a really cool-looking '60s era feel/design would best be served by going the black and white route without any color. It's quite striking in simplicity and visual impact. I was told by several graphic designers that color is the only way to go nowadays for a book cover. But that kind of regimented, by-the numbers thinking is what did the bookstores in!
 
For a book such as this, I would go so far as to say hardcover is not so much necessary as it is mandatory. Like a lot of folks here, I have no problem shelling out the extra cash for hardcover; in my own experience softcovers tend to fall apart too damn easily (see: Joynson, Vernon).
 
Just let everyone know how we can obtain copies as soon as they are off the press.

I will most definitely be taking a copy.

I really wish to own the 45 revolutions book too, that looks like a great book to own.... I have seen that this book itself is rare as hen's teeth.

Mike.... how many of your book are you getting printed?
 
I will need one too ;)
I'm sure you'll give a heads up, including some way to order, when it's time. Looking forward!
 
The other reason why a publishedTBM would have been a wasted effort in the '80s, (or even in 1996, when I was going to have it published by now defunct Popular Culture Ink - thank God that fell thru!) - the amount of time it took to research recordings, track groups, and all else required a self-sacrifice and high standard. I'm not saying that other people didn't possess such qualities, but most of the collectors I know did not want to even think about trying to start a project like this. Greg Shaw soon realized he'd never get a handle on the scope of the task at hand, something we discussed via e-mails when I was getting started. He quickly realized that doing a book which just recycled directly from other sources was not gonna be a worthy effort. Then you had people like Tom Tourville. I've never met the man, but his books, cranked out cheaply on a photocopy machine, were examples of how NOT to do a book on the subject. Right idea, but he didn't know how to do research and validate his information. Printing unsubstantiated "heresay" was, and still is the lazy man method of publishing information that will be referenced by the readership.

Mike, how did you precisely proceed to avoid any hearsays or 2nd/3rd order informations in your book ? Did you get in touch with at least a member of all bands featured, especially when it came to write down the band histories ? I suppose that it's not been the case, as such task is probably impossible... or did you indeed ? would be curious to know...
 
For a book such as this, I would go so far as to say hardcover is not so much necessary as it is mandatory. Like a lot of folks here, I have no problem shelling out the extra cash for hardcover; in my own experience softcovers tend to fall apart too damn easily (see: Joynson, Vernon).

I agree 100% with ds66. The weightier tomes pictured below , along with the Mario Panciera, have set a high standard for rock related discographies. It's a shame the Japanese published books are softcover, they incline towards self-destruction within moments of being removed from the shelf.

Shakin\' All Over book cover.jpgP8120003.JPG
 
Mike, how did you precisely proceed to avoid any hearsays or 2nd/3rd order informations in your book ? Did you get in touch with at least a member of all bands featured, especially when it came to write down the band histories ? I suppose that it's not been the case, as such task is probably impossible... or did you indeed ? would be curious to know...

Before meeting folks with blogs and that sort on the internet in the past 5-10 years, the bulk of my research was sourced from my own direct member contacts and interviews, copyright researches, and sharing of information with long time collectors who were also tracking groups pre-internet (Jeff, George & Tom, Bill N., Mike K, Carl P....)
Verified information is highlighted/detailed in TBM so you know what is correct and what isn't (based on misinformation noted within other print, books, 'zines and web sources).
There are no group/band member lineups or bios included. #1 - there are way too many groups, over 4,500 to make this even remotely feasible.
#2 - most band bios are routine and tend to be boring - same story, different faces sort of thing.
#3 - With so many groups, I would say maybe 35% of known to have been recorded '60s groups have been "found". That leaves a lot of unfounded-as-yet groups. A better outlet for the "group roster + bio" format is via the internet, and has already been tackled quite admirably by Mike and Chris on their respective websites.