Brian Southall began writing about music in the 1960s on a local newspaper before graduating to the likes of Melody Maker and Disc.

From there he pursued a 30-year career in the record business with A&M, Tamla Motown, EMI (where he was Head of Press and dealt with the Beatles' solo projects) and Warner Music.

His first book the official history of Abbey Road Studios was published in 1982 and he also wrote Northern Songs the story of the Beatles' music publishing empire, Beatles Memorabilia: The Julian Lennon Collection; Jimi Hendrix: Made In England, The Rise and Fall of EMI Records, Sex Pistols: 90 Days at EMI and more.