Writer and journalist Marcus Hearn has created new book THE WHO (Titan Books, July 2012) which traces the progress of the seminal band from their status as sharp-suited mods, to psychedelic stars and pioneers of rock opera. Hearn - who previously wrote the story of the Beatles’ final world tour Eight Days a Week – followed the multi-million record selling band on the road and during several iconic TV and festival performances.

THE WHO by Marcus Hearn (Titan Books, July 2012)

The captivating book contains over 160 rare and unseen images, ranging from live shots of the group's pub gigs from the summer of 1964 to the Isle of Wight Festival, the Marquee Club and 2005's Live 8. Available now via Titan Books, priced £14.99.

www.titanbooks.com

Fred Perry collaborator Bradley Wiggins won his place in cycling history yesterday by becoming the first British man to win Le Tour de France.

©Team Sky

Following his gold wins on the track at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Wiggins targeted his focus towards road racing. In 2009 he secured an impressive 4^th place in ‘the Tour’. The 2010 race was not so fruitful for the cyclist and in 2011 a tragic crash during stage 7 saw him careering out with a broken collarbone. However his pre-crash performance in 2011 coupled with his trio of major wins earlier this year led to him being firm favourite to take this years' maillot jaune (the winners yellow jersey), long before the race had started.

Wiggin’s performance on the bike and his commendable sportsmen like qualities have won him a legion of fans over the last few weeks; the French media have even nicknamed him ‘Le gentleman’. Wiggo and his famous ‘sideburns’ have just a few weeks to recuperate before the start of the London 2012 Olympics, where he will be partake in the road racing event.

The Bradley Wiggins & Fred Perry Collaboration is available exclusively online and in selected  Fred Perry shops.

In new book Beautiful Britain: Photographs from the 1970s to the Present, photographer Iain McKell captures his own individual journey walking besides the tribes and subcultures of the UK. The personal collection of images taken over a period of thirty-five years shows a wide variety of subjects ranging from seaside tourists to skinheads, ravers to suburban dandies and reflects McKell’s position as not only a photographer and curious observer but also a keen participant. As he says: “my work is always about the us rather than the them.”

Finding his spiritual roots in photographers such as Irving Penn, Bruce Davidson and Diane Arbus; McKell is drawn to subjects who are all in search of something that takes them outside the perceived normality of mass culture. Beautiful Britain is accompanied by an essay by journalist and cultural commentator William Oliver, who has written for the likes of Dazed and Confused, i-D and The Art Newspaper. Together the author and artist capture characters that are creative, eccentric and authentic – attributes that Mckell describes as “true Britishness”. 

All images from Beautiful Britain: Photographs from the 1970s to the Present, by Iain McKell. Copyright © Iain McKell, 2012.

Beautiful Britain: Photographs from the 1970s to the Present, by Iain McKell, with an essay by William Oliver is published by Prestel price £24.99 in hardcover, 192 pp, 150 col. illus. (ISBN 978-3-7913-4701-1).