Martin Roach is a four-time Sunday Times best-selling author who has penned 99 works on music, youth culture, celebrity and film. He has also ghost-written several high profile, best-selling celebrity autobiographies.

“A publishing prodigy.” Record Collector

He gained a degree in Historical Research before starting I.M.P. in 1992. Since then he has sold over 1.5 million copies of his books and editions of his work have been sold to USA, France, Germany, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Norway, Holland, South Africa, Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, UAE and Brazil. He lectures on, and has written numerous articles, essays and critiques about, music, songwriting, pop and youth culture. He has featured on scores of radio and television shows on BBC 1, BBC 2, ITV, Channel 4, Five, Sky One, BBC Radio 1, 2, 4 and 5, Xfm, countless regional BBC and commercial stations and many print media interviews.

“The biographer of celebrity Britain.” Melody Maker

Martin has written books on, among others: Justin Timberlake, Take That, The White Stripes, David Coulthard, Fran Cosgrave, Coldplay, The Strokes, Top 100 Singles, Eminem, Matt Goss, Hugh Cornwell, Kenzie, Avril Lavigne, Red Hot Chili Peppers, No Doubt, Korn, The Killers, Limp Bizkit, Marilyn Manson, Manic Street Preachers, Destiny’s Child, Radiohead, Madonna, REM, Jennifer Lopez, Kid Rock, TLC, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Primal Scream, Nine Inch Nails, Eric Clapton, N Sync, Rage Against The Machine, Tori Amos, Blur, Sid Vicious, The Verve, Alanis Morissette, The X Files, Prodigy, Dr. Martens, Ned’s, PWEI, The Wonder Stuff, Mega City Four, The Mission, Garbage, Cranberries, Supergrass, Pulp, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, Celine Dion, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Westlife, Hanson, Kiss, Metallica, Spice Girls, Sugar Ray, Trent Reznor, Christina Aguilera, Robbie Williams, Leonardo Di Caprio.

What the press say...

Regarding The Right To Imagination & Madness: “A fascinating document offering intriguing glimpses into stars’ private lives. They respond to Roach’s interrogation with a mix of warmth and feel-good self-indulgence. Brilliant stories, an important volume letting a generation of songwriters explain their work in compelling detail.” Record Collector

“The stars seem to be genuinely relaxed and enjoying themselves. A series of splendid soundbites. A squiffy book to be consumed at pleasant leisure.” NME

Regarding Blur - The Whole Story: “An astonishingly well-researched soft-back, chock full or rare photographs and facts about the group’s early tribulations hitherto known only to a select clique. To give you an idea of how deep Roach has dug, I need only mention the full-size, full-colour facsimile of the cafe napkin on which Graham doodled a possible list of band names. The definitive Blur book.” Pat Gilbert, Mojo

Regarding Manic Street Preachers: “Intelligent, immensely crafted and deeply detailed. He deals with very delicate matters with a deft and enviable articulacy. Utterly definitive.” Select.

“Impressively detailed research.” The Times

“A tight, fluid paperback. As an authorised work, this pulls no punches, taking a canter through every depraved, coke-snorting tour and every fruitless, alcohol-sodden recording session.It’s all utterly compelling stuff, written with an enviable degree of confidence.” Record Collector

Regarding Alanis Morissette: “He provides far more biographical detail than the other Alanis biogs, encompassing toothsome snippets and massively comprehensive research.” Q

“Roach delves deep into Alanis’ overly precocious childhood and examines her phenomenal rebirth - it is refreshingly unafraid to tackle more contentious areas, like panic attacks and breakdowns.” Select

Regarding Pearl Jam: “He has made a comprehensively thorough job of it, chronicling everything from the birth of Sub Pop to the rise of grunge, full of entertaining asides.” Vox

Regarding The Mission: When questioned by the press if Wayne Hussey had read Roach’s biography, he said “Read it? I lived it. It’s all true and more. It is magnificent.”

Martin Roach can be contacted at: martin@impbooks.com