Birmingham book - Dirty Stop Out's Guide to 1970s Birmingham - new stock just arrived

• Your own personal time machine back to the 1970s with this Birmingham book – includes venues like the Rum Runner, Mothers, Barbarella’s, the Barrel Organ, Locarno, Rebecca’s, The Crown, Opposite Lock, the Tow Rope and many more

• Re-connect with your youth via scores of rare and unseen photos; hundreds of memories and eye-catching memorabilia. This is the era when Birmingham bands like Black Sabbath, UB40, Duran Duran, Dexys Midnight Runners, Tea & Symphony and many others came to the fore

• Book researched for over a year – totally unique content, exclusive interviews and many photos published for the very first time

• Features the bands, the venues, the fans and people like you who were in the thick of the action. Who knows – you might even be in here!

• A4 size coffee table book.

About the Birmingham book: 

From Barbarella’s to Black Sabbath – ‘70s Birmingham unmasked like never before.

This is your ticket back to the '70s, the decade of Birmingham acts spanning Black Sabbath to Duran Duran.
You'll be transported back to iconic venues like the Rum Runner, Mothers, Barbarella’s, the Barrel Organ, Locarno, Rebecca’s, The Crown, Opposite Lock, and more.

The era of the devastating Mulberry Bush IRA bomb attack is brought vividly back to life.
If you were born in the 1950s or early 1960s, you'll be captivated – this is your era! If you have an interest in popular culture or social history, you won't be able to put it down!

This book makes the perfect gift for anyone who remembers the 1970s in Birmingham.

The book’s co-author Jim Simpson is arguably more qualified than most to write about the decade – he helped create success for one of the city’s biggest cultural exports of the era, Black Sabbath.

He was their first manager and took them to the top of the charts. He also managed other successful bands, found, toured and recorded American blues musicians and ran Henry's Blueshouse and the Big Bear record label.

The ‘Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1970s Birmingham’ – which is full of rare photos and memories from luminaires spanning Jasper Carrott to Tony Iommi – features venues like the legendary Mothers, once described by John Peel as the best club in the world.

Jim Simpson said: “Birmingham had a thriving live music and nightlife scene in the 1970s. It was an exciting place to be and this book is a true celebration of the decade.”

The ‘Dirty Stop Out’s Guide to 1970s Birmingham’ follows best-selling editions of the book series that have been previously launched in the likes of Coventry, Sheffield, Liverpool, Manchester, Chesterfield and other places.

Ron Simpson added: “It was the decade that gave us everything from disco to punk via heavy rock and reggae and Birmingham was at the centre of everything.”

See the authors chatting about the book here:

* We also give a donation to Dementia UK for every product sold to help support the charity's amazing work across the country.

What our readers say - here's a selection of some of our recent reviews: 

5 stars not enough – I’d give 10!

“Would give 10 stars if I could - I couldn’t stop smiling, bought back so many memories of all the different fashions and bands. The books are fantastic and I love all the photos of Birmingham during those fabulous years. Brilliant books, highly recommend, didn’t want them to end!”

Fantastic Trip Down Memory Lane

“Brilliant book and fantastic collection of photos. Keep going back to it again and again. Thanks so much for bringing my much-missed youth back to life.” 🙏🌷

Those were the days

“I loved this book! I adored the pictures of my old haunts. Very informative, it filled in gaps that I was too young to appreciate at the time. Those were the days. What a brilliant time we had, feel very privileged to have seen so many good bands locally so its good to see it in print. Even a picture of the pub where I worked a few evenings after the Saturday job in town!”

Takes me back

“What a fantastic book – it took me right back to Birmingham in the 1970s, the pubs and eateries – the fashions, music and nightclubs and discos we all used to go to.
Just the right combination of pictures and words – and the fact that it uses the memories of real people is brilliant. It’s well put together with fantastic themes running through the whole book.
I can thoroughly recommend ‘The Dirty Stop Outs’ Guide to 1970s Birmingham’ – it’s packed full of memories.”

Great book full of memories of my Birmingham