SUMMER 2026
Load o Bloody Nowt | Fall Fanzine
Issues #1 and #2 of The Fall fanzine Load o Bloody Nowt are now available to order on our website. Click here.
Friday Night Fever Numbered Edition
We issued a signed and numbered edition of Friday Night Fever. Many thanks to all who ordered them. The numbered editions are now all accounted for, but advance copies are available from our website. Click here.
Louder Than Words 2026
Route has representation at this year's Louder Than Words Festival, the pre-eminent gathering for music books. Steve Hill will be presenting Friday Night Fever on the Friday evening, Funky Si Wolstencroft will be doing two walking tours based around his book You Can Drum But You Can't Hide, one on Saturday and one of Sunday, Mark Hoyle takes the interviewers chair to grill Chris Connelly on his book about Cargo Studios, plus there's a screening of The Dave Bush Tapes, a film we produced for The Fall Futures and Pasts Festival. It takes places in Manchester, 13-15th November. It's always a great weekend. See the full programme detail here.
Funky Si Walking Tour
Following on from the success of the Futures and Pasts Festival, Funky Si has organised a regular series of walking tours in Manchester. For full full details and dates, visit funkysi.com.
What's She Like Paperback
NEWS: A new extended paperback edition of Helen O'Hara's memoir What's She Like will be published in September. It features new photographs and a whole new section, bringing Helen's story up to date, including performing at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony, magical weekends in Laugharne, and a triumphant return to the Royal Northern College of Music. Advance copies can be ordered on our website now. Click here.
Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) Option
EU customers will currently face import duties and taxes on goods shipped from the UK. It is now possible for us to offer a Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) option for some countries, which means we can pay the duties up front. This will reduce the duty charges (often a third of the standard cost), plus it will speed up the shipping process as there will be no delays due to the package awaiting customs clearence. To take advantage of this, upon completion of an order, customers will be offered to pay DDP by email after making an order. See our Delivery Information page for more details.
Recent Features
Paul Hanley interviewed by Paul McDermott
Covers Das Gruppe on the Wall, Futures and Pasts Festival, Popstock Records, HOUSE Of ALL and the Oh! Brother podcast.
Inside the totally wired festival on the Fall
Guardian review of The Fall Futures and Pasts Festival
Fans And Former Members Celebrate 50 Years Of The Fall
Mojo review of The Fall Futures and Pasts Festival
SPRING 2026
NEW TITLE: Das Gruppe on the Wall
Paul Hanley's monograph shows how The Fall and Band on the Wall – both iconic, uncompromising and with histories far richer and more interesting than nearly all of their peers – were briefly at least, a marriage made in heaven. More here.
VIDEO: Book launch of Das Gruppe on the Wall
Paul Hanley in conversation with Daryl Easlea at Futures and Pasts Festival, Band on the Wall, Manchester.
VIDEO: Bob Dylan Free Trade Hall Manchester 1966
A spectacular audio visual reconstruction of Bob Dylan's infamous 'Judas' concert at Free Trade Hall, Manchester, 17th May 1966. With CP Lee's words as eyewitness to the events, this video uses photographs taken on the night by Mark Makin and assorted video clips from the tour synced to the Manchester audio to create a vivid impression of what it might have felt like to be there at one of the most famous concerts in popular music history.
NEW TITLE: Friday Night Fever
Author Steve Hill goes inside the cult of Half Man Half Biscuit. It's a labour of love. He’s very skilfully managed to capture the quirky, idiosyncratic outlook of the band and their followers as we follow him travelling around the country, partly as observer, partly as a member of the cult himself. Out in Summer 2026. Advance copies are available for pre-order now. Secure yours here. Steve will appearing at Louder Than Words Festival on Friday 13th November. More details here.
NEW TITLE: Like the Night (Rebound) by CP Lee
We are proud to be reissuing CP Lee's highly-acclaimed account of Bob Dylan's pivotal 1966 concert at Manchester’s Free Trade Hall, the one where someone cried 'Judas' at Dylan for turning his back on folk music in favour of rock 'n' roll. It’s possibly the most famous concert of all time. We are publishing on 17th May 2026, 60 years to the day since the concert. We'll also be launching the book at a special event at the International Anthony Burgess Centre in Manchester that afternoon. Details on the book here. Details on the event here.
PODCAST: Ian Clayton and Ian Daley celebrate CP Lee
Ian Clayton with Ian Daley on CP Lee, Bob Dylan at the Free Trade Hall and the album Bringing It All Back Home | Listen here.
Recent Features
Inside the totally wired festival on the Fall
Guardian review of The Fall Futures and Pasts Festival
Fans And Former Members Celebrate 50 Years Of The Fall
Mojo review of The Fall Futures and Pasts Festival
Pope-ally wired! Why Mark E Smith’s maligned Catholic play is getting a reboot
Guardian feature with Steve Hanley and Graham Duff on the restaging of Hey! Luciani at Futures and Pasts Festival.
Paul Hanley Interview on Silent Radio
Paul Hanley talks with Paula Farr about a plethora of new Fall-related releases.
Simon Wolstencroft Interview on The Punk Site
Funky Si talks about his career with Samantha Jane at The Alchemist bar in Media City.
Live review #13: Like the Night (Rebound)
Simon Warner reviews the Like The Night book launch for Rock and the Beat Generation.
Festival celebrates The Fall's legacy, 50 years on
Duncan Seaman feature in Yorkshire Post on the Futures and Pasts Festival.
WINTER 2026
NEW BOOK ANNOUNCEMENT: Das Gruppe on the Wall: A monograph by Paul Hanley
Specially commissioned for The Fall Futures and Past Festival, this new monograph by Paul Hanley tells the story of The Fall at Band on the Wall, an iconic venue in Manchester which played an important role in the early career development of groups in the city, thanks in the main to the activities of the Manchester Music Collective. The book also takes in the three-night residency The Fall had at Band on the Wall on the Hex Enduction Hour tour, when Paul played in the original two-drummer line-up. It will be first available at The Fall Futres and Pasts Festival at Band on the Wall, 5th-7th June, with a launch event on Friday 5th June. Paul played drums in The Fall from 1980-1984. He is the author of three previous books centered on Manchester music, Leave the Capital, Have A Bleedin Guess and Sixteen Again. Read his author profile here.
NEW TITLE: Our Last Stand
Paul Coventry's book Our Last Stand is now available to order direct from our website. It tells the incredible story of how a gang of retired volunteers dismantled a pair of stands at a derelict football stadium and transported them 70 miles, one bolt and beam at time, then reerected them at the home of their beloved rugby league clu. Featherstone Rovers. Click here for more details.
What We Did Instead of Holidays
Clinton Heylin's masterful biog of Fairport Convention and its extended family has been released in a new paperback edition. Conscious that shipping and customs costs are a barrier to many, we have issued the paperback in a way to avoid such problems and thus make it much more accesible to international readers. It is now possible to order the book without any such additional costs. Click here for more.
AUTUMN 2025
Futures and Pasts 1976-2026
Route, in conjunction with Louder Than Words Festival, are pleased to announce Futures and Pasts: A Festival Celebrating 50 Years of The Fall. This festival will take place over the weekend 5th-7th June 2026. Click here for more details and ticket information.
NEW:The Big Midweek Audio Book
Our bestselling title becomes an audio book. Stewart Lee narrates The Big Midweek: Life Inside The Fall, unabridged. Published 26th November 2025. Available now for pre-order on Audible, Amazon and Apple Books. Click here to watch an interview with Stewart and Steve.
Our Last Stand Launch
NEW TITLE: Our Last Stand by Paul Coventry tells the incredible story of how a gang of retired volunteers salvaged and transported two stands from Scarborough and erected them at the home of Featherstone Rovers. A book launch will take place at Featherstone Librabry and Community Centre on 17th December. Click here for more details.
HOUSE Of ALL | Inklings
HOUSE Of ALL's album Inklings will be released in March 2026. There's a bonus covers EP if bought on bandcamp. You can listen to their Amon Düül cover streaming right now on the bandcamp page, where pre-orders are open. Click here to visit,
Plainsong Play Fariña
New Video: Iain Matthews and Andy Roberts perform as Plainsong. This set of Richard Fariña songs comprised almost half of the setlist on their UK tour in Autumn 2025. Recorded at The CAT Club, Robin Hood, Pontefract, 19th October 2025 (evening gig). Watch here.
Pit-folk and Peers Book Launch Video
The book launch for Pit-folk and Peers: The Remarkable History of the People of Fryston took place on Saturday 11th October at Holy Cross Church, Fryston Road, Airedale. We have published a video of David Waddington's presentation at the launch. Click here to watch.
Pit-folk and Peers Book Launch
The book launch for Pit-folk and Peers: The Remarkable History of the People of Fryston takes place on Saturday 11th October at Holy Cross Church, Fryston Road, Airedale. The book launch presentation starts at 10:30am.The event is part of a Fryston Open Day and as well as the launch and presentation from David Waddington, there will be a large exhibition of photos of Fryston, providing a chance to share memories and reminisce with fellow visitors. All Welcome. Click here to read more on Pit-folk and Peers. And click here to read of the significance of Holy Cross Church.
3 FOR 2 Offer
We have been publishing quality books for 25 years. You may have missed some of them. For a limited time, you can now grab three timeless titles from our backlist for just £10. Whenever we set up our stall, our £5 each or 3 for £10 offer on our backlist titles is always incredibly popular. Now, we're replicating this offer on our website. Our backlist titles are priced at £5, and you can grab 3 books for £10 if you enter the voucher code 3FOR2 at checkout. See the list of titles here.
Recent Podcasts
Steve Hill makes a Friday Night Fever-book themed mix tape for Steve Pringle on Steve's Mix Tapes. | Listen here.
Ian Clayton with Ian Daley on CP Lee, Bob Dylan at the Free Trade Hall and the album Bringing It All Back Home | Listen here.
Paul Hanley is the special guest on the We Are The Fall 100th episode. I Listen here.
Ian Clayton makes a mix tape for Steve Pringle on Steve's Mix Tapes. | Listen here.
Ian Daley impromptu guest appearance on Off The Cuff podcast, talking with author Yunis Alam and Urfan. | Listen here.
Ian Daley makes a Route-book themed mix tape for Steve Pringle on Steve's Mix Tapes. | Listen here.
Helen O'Hara discusses Dexys' album Don't Stand Me Down on Giddy Carousel of Pop | Listen here.
Recent Features
The Big Midweek Audio Book
Feature in The Quietus about Steve Hanley's interview by Stewart Lee about The Big Midweek audio book.
David Waddington - Pit-folks and peers Interview
Dave Waddington interviewed by Yorkshire Post. Reproduced here in a mining magazine.
SUMMER 2025
Summer Reads Promotion 2025
We've got some great books for your Summer read this year. And to encourage you to buy directly from us, we're offering 25% off all books bought from our website (excluding pre-orders). Enter Coupon Code SUMMER25 into the shopping cart at checkout to get your discount. Follow the hashtag #RouteSummerReads across socials. Ended 31st August 2025.
PayPal Back at Checkout
We have restored the ability to pay with PayPal at checkout for those who prefer to do so. Other payment options remain availble, including debit card and Apple Pay.
NEW TITLE: Pit-folk and Peers Volume 2
The truly remarkable village of Fryston, a tiny coal-mining community with just one road in and one road out, is now the subject of a substantial two volume history, written by an esteemed professor and child of Fryston, David Waddington. It's astonishing in both its breadth and content. Volume 1 covers 1809-1908, and focuses on the inhabitants of the confounding Fryston Hall, the most significant 19th century cultural and political hub outside of London, thanks mainly to its eccentric occupant, Richard Monkton Milnes. It also covers the birth of coal mining in the village, the subsequent population by miners and their families, and the political turmoil at the turn of the century. The newly published Volume 2 covers 1909-2023, where the continuing historical account of the ‘pit-folk’ and ‘peers’ of Fryston extends from the village’s heyday of the early to mid-twentieth century, via its near extinction following pit closure in 1985, onto the subsequent, though controversial, attempts to revitalise it two decades later. Taken together, his two volumes uncover a local heritage arguably unrivalled elsewhere in the British coalfields.
Volume 2 will be officially published in September, but we are offering advance signed copies. Order now and be amongst the first to read it. To order both volumes together, select the Deluxe Edition.
Dub Sex Live In Concert
Dub Sex filmed live in concert at Manchester Polytechnic, 1988.This was one of a series of Dub Sex concerts filmed by Malcolm Whitehead and his team at Factory/IKON. The footage was unused at the time and then subsequently sat in a vault for a over a quarter of a century. We presented here for the first time in full. The concert captures an energised performance from Dub Sex at a pivotal moment in their development.
SPRING 2025
Outtakes On Bob Dylan Paperback Edition
Michael Gray's book Outtakes On Bob Dylan has been released as a paperback edition. Concious that shipping and customs costs were a barrier to many with the hardback edition, we have issued the paperback in a way to avoid such problems and thus make it much more accesible to international readers. It is now possible to order the book without any such additional costs. Click here for more details.
Derby Hall, Bury
Mark Hoyle returned to Derby Hall, Bury, 45 years + 1 day after he was there for a Joy Division gig that turned into a riot. He was interviewed on the night by poet Tony Walsh. You can read a review of the night in RGM here. There's a video of Mark reading the extract from Swerve that describes events unfolding at that Joy Divsion gig. Click here to watch that.
Recent Features
Mark Hoyle in Conversation With Tony Walsh - What Happened?
Review in RGM magazine of a Swerve event at The Met, Bury.
Anne Scargill
Sad news. Anne Scargill passed away peacefully on 10th April 2025 at the age of 83, following a long illness with Alzheimer’s disease. Bless Anne and all who loved her.
Amadou Bagayoko
Sad news. Amadou Bagayoko of Amadou & Mariam died after a short illness on 4th April 2025. Guardian obituary here.
Recent Podcasts
Paul Hanley on the F.A.L.L.O.U.T.P.O.D.C.A.S.T. talking about 10 Fall drum tracks | Listen here.
Simon Wolstencroft on the Music Maps podcast. In two parts. 2nd part about The Fall. 1st part about everything else | 1st episode here | 2nd episode here
Steve Pringle's latest podcast venture is Steve's Mix Tapes | Details here.
Mark Hoyle with Stella Grundy on Iain Key's Indie Brunch on Louder Than War Radio | Listen here.
WINTER 2025
Happy Birthday To Us
Route is 25 years old this year, we formed on 1st January 2000. Not a bad effort for a publishing outpost such as ours. This may be a year for some reflection and maybe something new. Watch this space. In the meantime, to mark our 25th anniversary this year, we’re offering our friends 25% off any books on our website for the rest of January, this is on top of any pre-existing discounts on books, so plenty of bargains to be had. Enter ROUTE25 as a coupon code at the shopping cart to get your discount.
Swerve Events
A few spring events with Mark Hoyle talking Swerve.
Wednesday 9th April, The Met, Bury, 7:30pm
45 years on from the infamous Joy Division riot at Derby Hall in Bury, Mark Hoyle returns to the spot (now called The Met) to discuss the night's events with poet Tony Walsh, amongst other matters. Details here.
Saturday 17th May, Horse + Bamboo, Waterfoot, Rossendale, 7PM
Mark will be in conversation with Stella Grundy and there's a DJ set from Martin Coogan. Details here.
VIDEO: Mark Hoyle & Paul Hanley at The CAT Club
Mark and Paul discuss The Fall's debut album and the world that it was born into and much more at Classic Album Thursdays. Watch here. Also available as a podcast, Listen here.
Helen O'Hara and Tim Burgess at RNCM
Helen O'Hara and Tim Burgess with the Royal Northern College of Music orchestra on 1st March 2025. An astonishing, life-affirming gig that we were honoured to witness. We were awed by Helen's talent. Here's a couple of reviews to give you a flavour: I Love Manchester & Reyt Good Magazine.
VIDEO: Helen O'Hara selects her significant live music gigs
Helen recalls significant live gigs on the Over Our Garden Wall podcast | Listen here | Watch here
Sunday 12th January, 2pm
Mark Hoyle at Rock'n'Roll Book Club, Walthamstow | Ticket Info
Tuesday 21 January
It's The Beer Talking: An Evening With Ian Clayton , Pontefract Town Hall, 7pm | Ticket Info
Friday 24th January, 8pm
Oh! Brother Live with Steve and Paul Hanley, The Albert Club, Didsbury | Ticket Info
Saturday 25th January
Bob Dylan's Rejected Album Tracks. Michael Gray's final performance of this event. Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells | Ticket Info
Thursday 30th January
Mark Hoyle and Paul Hanley present The Fall's debut Live At The Witch Trials plus a Q&A at The CAT Club. This is a members event but it is possible to join a waiting list for returns | Details here
HOUSE Of ALL 2025 Spring Tour
14 Swansea Bunkhouse
15 Oxford FPCC
16 Leicester International
20 Preston The Ferret
21 Manchester Deaf Institute
22 Edinburgh The Bongo Club
23 Newcastle Cluny
26 Hastings The Piper
27 Brighton Green Door Store
28 London Oslo
29 Huddersfield The Parish
Records
HOUSE Of ALL's third album in two years. HOUSE Of ALL SOULS sees Karl Burns' return to making music again. Those close to the record consider it their best work to date. Released 14th February 2025. Click here for more details.
Recent Features
'If you can avoid bitterness, it’s better for you in the long run'
Mark Hoyle interview by Duncan Seaman for Yorkshire Post.
AUTUMN 2024
New Title: Swerve: Dub Sex & Other Stories by Mark Hoyle
Advance copies of Mark Hoyle's memoir are now available for pre-order. Click here for details.
Route on Bluesky
Route have signed up to Bluesky. Join us at @routebooks.bsky.social
Congratulations to Paul Hanley. His book Sixteen Again has been bestowed with Book of the Year status by Uncut, Jumbo Records and Monrail Music.
ROUTE TV
Mark Hoyle in conversation with Paul Hanley at Louder Than Words Festival in Manchester, November 2024. Watch here.
A launch party for Swerve took place at the International Anthony Burgess Foundation in Manchester on 13th September 2024. A short film from the night can be watched by clicking here.
NEW VIDEO: Paul Hanley is joined by Buzzcocks royalty Richard Boon and Malcolm Garrett to discuss Sixteen Again at Walthamstow Rock'n'Roll Book Club. Watch here.
Mark Hoyle will be appearing at Louder Than Words Festival this year, the pre-eminent music books festival. Mark is on Sunday 17th November at 4:15pm. We'll be on site with our stall all weekend. We can't recommend this festival high enough. It's always a great weekend. Tickets for Marks event, click here. Full programme and general ticket information, click here.
Monday 11th November, 8pm. Kim’s Kitchen, Hulme
A special, intimate launch event for Swerve with Mark Hoyle in the heart of the old Hulme community. He will be interviewed by Phil Korbel, ex of BBC Manchester’s Meltdown show and DJ at P.S.V. Club in Hulme, who also features in Mark’s book. Visit Kim's Kitchen website here.
Recent Features
From Hulme to The Haçienda with Mark Hoyle
Mark Hoyle talks to Jason Barnard of The Strange Brew about overcoming a tough childhood, how punk rock became his escape, and the role John Peel and Tony Wilson played in shaping his career.
The long-anticipated memoir from perennial face on the Manchester scene, Mark Hoyle, is finally here…
Iain Key writes the first review of Swerve for Louder Than War.
Records
New album from Tom Hingley, The Grand Mal. Release date 13th September 2024. Click here for more details.
A new solo album from Iain Matthews, How Much is Enough, recorded at B J Baartmans Studio Wild Verband, Boxmeer. Release date 25th October 2024. Order here on vinyl (CD here).
Grotesque (After The Gramme) 'Live', the latest release from Popstock, the label created by Marc Riley, Steve Hanley, Paul Hanley, Marc Riley and Craig Scanlon to release curated live recordings of Fall albums. Release date 25th October 2024. Click here for details and to order.
HOUSE Of ALL's second interim album Gaudy Pop Sensations: House Of All at the BBC is released 28th November 2024. Contains the band's 8 tracks from the Marc Riley & Gideon Coe BBC 6 Music sessions, lus assorted remixes and live track, plus extended liner notes from Paul Hanley. Click here for more details.
Podcasts | Recent Shows with Authors on as Guests
Mark Hoyle talks to David Eastaugh of The C86 Show | Listen here
Simon Wolstencroft on the Music Maps podcast. In two parts. 2nd part about The Fall. 1st part about everything else | 1st episode here |
Mark Hoyle on Iain Key's Indie Brunch on Louder Than War Radio | Listen here.
SUMMER 2024
I, Daniel Blake Back In Print
After a few years out of print, our I, Daniel Blake book is once again available in physical form. You can now get it in paperback and hardback editions, as well as Kindle. Details here.
New Paperback
Anne & Betty: United by the Struggle by Anne Scargill and Betty Cook is now available in paperback. Details here.
Each order for Sixteen Again from this website comes with a free badge. The badge (and book cover) is designed by Malcolm Garratt, the deigner of the classic Buzzcocks albums (and badges!). Advance copies now shipping. Get yours here.
HOUSE Of ALL End of Summer Dates
HOUSE Of ALL bring the curtain down on their 2024 set at End of Road Festival (Fri 30th August) and Foxlowe Arts Centre, Leek, Staffs (Sat 30th August). Click here for details of Leek event.
Moseley Folk & Arts Festival
Helen O'Hara is on at the Moseley Folk & Arts Festival at Speakers Corner Stage, Sunday 1st September, 2:20pm. Catch her in conversation about her memoir What's She Like.