122-539: Julie Burchill (born 3 July 1959) is an English writer. Beginning as a staff writer at the New Musical Express at the age of 17, she has since contributed to newspapers such as The Daily Telegraph , The Sunday Times and The Guardian . Her writing, which was described by John Arlidge in The Observer in 2002 as "outrageously outspoken" and "usually offensive," has been the subject of legal action. Burchill
244-602: A libel action against Burchill in respect of one of her articles, published in the Sunday Times newspaper, which included comments suggesting that he was "hideously ugly". The judge ruled that Burchill's actions "held him to ridicule and contempt." The late 1990s were a turbulent period for Burchill as she has recalled: I got the heave-ho from my cushy billet at the Sunday Express , where I later learned my nickname had been " Caligula’s Horse " because my best friend – briefly
366-460: A " eulogy " of Patti Smith 's Horses . She later wrote that at the time she only liked black music , and said: "When I actually heard a punk record, I thought, 'Oh my Lord! This is not music, this is just shouting'." Indeed, she managed to decry the first self-released punk album in the UK, The Outsiders ' Calling on Youth featuring Adrian Borland : "Apple-cheeked Ade has a complexion that would turn
488-421: A "rock inkie", NME was the first British newspaper to include a singles chart , adding that feature in the edition of 14 November 1952. In the 1970s, it became the best-selling British music newspaper. From 1972 to 1976, it was particularly associated with gonzo journalism then became closely associated with punk rock through the writings of Julie Burchill , Paul Morley , and Tony Parsons . It started as
610-468: A "tarantula in a punnet full of strawberries". In 2002 she narrowly escaped prosecution for incitement to racial hatred , "following a Guardian column where she described Ireland as being synonymous with child molestation, Nazi-sympathising, and the oppression of women". Burchill had expressed anti-Irish sentiment several times throughout her career, announcing in the London journal Time Out that "I hate
732-457: A 2000 article. Launched under the slogan "Low culture for high brows", the magazine lasted until 1995, when Burchill and her colleagues fell out. It was briefly revived by Burchill, with Raven editing, in 1997. The "Fax war" in 1993 between Burchill and author Camille Paglia , published in the Modern Review , gained much attention. In 1995, Burchill wrote a column for The Times , titled "I'm
854-523: A Devon milkmaid green with envy." Fortunately for her, as she later said, "Punk was over in two years. That was the only damn good thing about it." She left her position at the NME at the age of 20, and started freelancing to be able to write about other subjects, although she has never completely given up writing about pop music. Her main employers after the NME were The Face and The Sunday Times , where she wrote about politics, pop, fashion and society, and
976-478: A Friend of Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue and was again considering a conversion to Judaism. According to TheJC , she had attended Shabbat services for a month, and studying Hebrew, she described herself as an "ex-Christian", pointing out that she had been pondering on her conversion since the age of 25. Burchill said that "At a time of rising and increasingly vicious anti-semitism from both left and right, becoming Jewish especially appeals to me. ... Added to
1098-438: A Jewish leader had publicly referred to Harlem as 'Nigger-town'!". In 1999, Burchill said she "found God", and became a Lutheran and later a "self-confessed Christian Zionist ". In June 2007, she announced that she would undertake a theology degree, although she subsequently decided to do voluntary work instead as a way to learn more about Christianity. In June 2009, The Jewish Chronicle reported that Burchill had become
1220-586: A Philo-Semite was published. Tel Aviv -based writer Akin Ajayi in Haaretz thought "the reactionary solipsism of Unchosen is far removed from the affectionate warmness that a love of the Jewish people can be". Burchill's ex-husband, Cosmo Landesman, considered it to be an "exhilarating and exasperating mix of the utterly brilliant and the totally bonkers". He observes that "there are plenty of Jews Julie doesn't love" including
1342-535: A bimonthly release. NME was acquired in 2019 by Singaporean music company BandLab Technologies , which put all of its music publications under the NME Networks brand in December 2021, when the company was restructured. The paper was established in 1952. The Accordion Times and Musical Express was bought by London music promoter Maurice Kinn for £1,000, just 15 minutes before it was due to be officially closed. It
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#17328587045321464-465: A bitch, and I'm proud", in which she argued that women should reclaim the word 'bitch,' used as a slur. She wrote: "it is the nature of these things that, in recent years, the slighted have taken steps to repossess the slight; thus, we have blacks who call each other 'nigger', pansies who call each other 'queer' and upper-class cretins who quite happily call each other 'Henry'." In 1996, the actor, author, playwright and theatre director Steven Berkoff won
1586-458: A canon of work. We wanted to see where we'd got to, sort out this huge amount of stuff that had poured out since the mid '60s. Everyone on the paper was into this. Led Zeppelin topped the " NME Pop Poll" for three consecutive years (1974–76) under the category of the best "Vocal Group". In 1976, NME lambasted German pioneer electronic band Kraftwerk with this title: "This is what your fathers fought to save you from ..." The article said that
1708-777: A column for The Mail on Sunday , where in 1987 she went against the paper's usual political line by urging its readers to vote Labour. Though she claims to like the MoS , she said of journalists on the Daily Mail in 2008: "Everybody knows that hacks are the biggest bunch of adulterers, the most misbehaving profession in the world – and you have people writing for the Daily Mail writing as though they are vicars ... moralising on single mothers and whatnot." Burchill has spoken repeatedly and frankly of her relationship with drugs, writing that she had "put enough toot up my admittedly sizeable snout to stun
1830-464: A concert at Finsbury Park where Morrissey was seen to drape himself in a Union Jack . The series of articles (starting with Fadele's one) which followed in the next edition of NME (featuring the story on the front cover) soured Morrissey's relationship with the paper, and this led to Morrissey not speaking to the paper again for the next 12 years (i.e., until 2004). Later in 1992, Steve Sutherland, previously an assistant editor of Melody Maker ,
1952-579: A decade and a half before. Some commented at this time that the NME had become less intellectual in its writing style and less inventive musically. Initially, NME writers themselves were ill at ease with the new regime, with most signing a letter of no confidence in Lewis shortly after he took over. However, this new direction for the NME proved to be a commercial success and the paper brought in new writers such as Andrew Collins , Andrew Harrison , Stuart Maconie , Mary Anne Hobbs and Steve Lamacq to give it
2074-426: A few weeks after they had taken place. In the mid-1960s, the NME was primarily dedicated to pop while its older rival, Melody Maker , was known for its more serious coverage of music. Other competing titles included Record Mirror , which led the way in championing American rhythm and blues , and Disc , which focused on chart news. The latter part of the decade the paper charted the rise of psychedelia and
2196-655: A figure of 306,881 for the period from January to June 1964. The Beatles and the Rolling Stones were frequently featured on the front cover. These and other artists also appeared at the NME Poll Winners' Concert, an awards event that featured artists voted as most popular by the paper's readers. The concert also featured a ceremony where the poll winners would collect their awards. The NME Poll Winners' Concerts took place between 1959 and 1972. From 1964 onwards, they were filmed, edited, and transmitted on British television
2318-690: A free title, featuring Rihanna. Editor in Chief Mike Williams received the Editor Of The Year Award at the BSME Awards 2016, the judges stating that under Williams' leadership, NME had "bounced back from an uncertain future and established itself confidently and creatively in a new market." In March 2018, The Guardian reported that the NME was to cease publication in print after 66 years. The online publication would continue. In 2019, TI Media,
2440-804: A journalist is to beautifully articulate the inarticulate sentiments and prejudices of her readers". For Michael Bywater , Burchill's "insights were, and remain, negligible, on the level of a toddler having a tantrum". John Arlidge wrote in The Observer in 2002: "If Burchill is famous for anything it is for being Julie Burchill, the brilliant, unpredictable, outrageously outspoken writer who has an iconoclastic, usually offensive, view on everything. In November 1980, former Sex Pistols front man John Lydon gave an interview to Ann Louise Bardach in which he referred to Burchill and Tony Parsons as "toss-bag journalists, desperately trying to get in on something" in response to their book, The Boy Looked at Johnny , and described its chapter on amphetamines as "stupidity". Lydon
2562-524: A local editor, and would instead be controlled by a team in London and Singapore, with content from Australian contributors. A print edition was announced in April 2020, beginning with issue #5, following their online covers numbering. Tash Sultana became the first cover artist for the print edition, which have gone on to feature artists such as The Avalanches , Jaguar Jonze , Tkay Maidza , and Lorde on future covers. Groucho Club The Groucho Club
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#17328587045322684-441: A moral or intellectual standpoint”. In March 2021, after being sued for libel and harassment, Burchill retracted her comments, issued a full apology and paid substantial damages to Sarkar, including her legal costs. On 13 December 2020 I made defamatory statements about @AyoCaesar, which I sincerely regret and retract and have undertaken not to repeat. I have agreed to pay substantial damages to Ash Sarkar and her legal costs. Here
2806-583: A more authoritative tone. The first issue of the redesign featured a free seven-inch Coldplay vinyl single. Krissi Murison was appointed editor in June 2009, launching a new redesigned NME in April 2010. The issue had 10 different covers, highlighting the broader range of music the magazine would cover, and featured Jack White , Florence and the Machine , LCD Soundsystem , Rihanna , Kasabian , Laura Marling , Foals , M.I.A. , Biffy Clyro and Magnetic Man . Murison
2928-466: A more straightforward and populist style. The paper also became more openly political during the time of punk. Its cover would sometimes feature youth-orientated issues rather than a musical act. It took an editorial stance against political parties like the National Front . With the election of Margaret Thatcher in 1979, the paper took a broadly socialist stance for much of the following decade. In
3050-421: A music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s and 1990s, changing from newsprint in 1998. The magazine's website NME.com was launched in 1996, and became the world's biggest standalone music site, with over sixteen million users per month. With newsstand sales falling across the UK magazine sector in the early 21st century, the magazine's paid circulation in the first half of 2014
3172-526: A number of high-profile international pop stars on the cover such as Coldplay , Taylor Swift , Lana Del Rey , Kanye West and Green Day alongside emerging talent like Zara Larsson , Years & Years , Lady Leshurr and Christine and the Queens . The free, pop-oriented NME magazine was praised for reconnecting NME with its target audience, and was awarded a silver at the 2016 Professional Publishers Association Awards for its historic first-ever cover as
3294-419: A political symbol. The NME was generally thought to be rudderless at this time, with staff pulling simultaneously in a number of directions in what came to be known as the "hip-hop wars". It was haemorrhaging readers who were deserting NME in favour of Nick Logan 's two creations The Face and Smash Hits . This was brought to a head when the paper was about to publish a poster of an insert contained in
3416-429: A previous occasion when Burchill wrote "suicides should be left to get on with it", she "received a small number of letters from people whose sons had killed themselves". In 2002, her life was the subject of a one-woman West End play, Julie Burchill is Away , by Tim Fountain , with Burchill played by her friend Jackie Clune . A sequel by Fountain, Julie Burchill: Absolute Cult , followed in 2014, with Lizzie Roper in
3538-411: A reference by Moore to transsexuals had been greeted with a great deal of criticism. In Burchill's view, it showed the " chutzpah " of transsexuals to have their "cock cut off and then plead special privileges as women". There were a number of objections to her writing from members of the transgender community and non-transgender community alike. The editor of The Observer , John Mulholland , responded on
3660-556: A series of defamatory tweets of Ash Sarkar, which included claims that she condones paedophilia and is supportive of Islamist terrorism. Burchill called on her Facebook followers to "wade in on Twitter" against "the Islamists" and the "nonces". As a result of the comments, her publisher, Little, Brown Book Group , cancelled the scheduled publication of Welcome to the Woke Trials , stating that her comments about Islam were “not defensible from
3782-624: A sort of communal vehicle missing a mudguard). I like 'spontaneous' as a sexual description". In 2009 she said that she was only attracted to girls in their 20s, and since she was now nearly 50, "I really don't want to be an old perv. So best leave it". She has lived in Brighton and Hove since 1995 and a book on her adopted home town titled Made in Brighton (Virgin Books) was published in April 2007. Her house in Hove
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3904-411: A stalker. I don't understand her fascination with someone whom she split up with 15 years ago". Immediately after her relationship with Parsons, Burchill married Cosmo Landesman , the son of Fran and Jay Landesman , with whom she also had a son. The sons from her marriages with Parsons and Landesman lived with their fathers after the separations. After splitting from Landesman in 1992, she married for
4026-440: A strand embodied by the [Arctic] Monkeys, Babyshambles and Muse – bands who you don't need specialist knowledge to write about and who are just "indie" enough to make readers feel they're part of a club. Like everything else in publishing, this particular direction must be in response to reader demand, but it doesn't half make for a self-limiting magazine. In May 2008, the magazine received a redesign aimed at an older readership with
4148-469: A stronger identity and sense of direction. Lewis prioritised readership over editorial independence, and Mark Sinker left in 1988 after Lewis refused to print his unfavourable review of U2 's Rattle and Hum ("the worst album by a major band in years"), replacing it with a glowing Stuart Baillie review intended to be more acceptable to readers. Initially many of the bands on the C86 tape were championed as well as
4270-498: A subject of public comment, especially during this period, when "everything about her – her marriages, her debauchery, her children – seemed to be news." In 1991, Burchill, Landesman and Toby Young established a short-lived magazine Modern Review through which she met Charlotte Raven , with whom she had a much publicised affair. "[I] was only a lesbian for about six weeks in 1995," she said in an interview with Lynn Barber in 2004, or "my very enjoyable six months of lesbianism" in
4392-508: A third time in 2004, to Daniel Raven, around 13 years her junior, and the brother of her former lover Charlotte Raven . She wrote of the joys of having a "toyboy" in her Times column in 2010. Fellow NME journalist/author Paul Wellings wrote about their friendship in his book I'm A Journalist...Get Me Out of Here . She has written about her lesbian relationships, and declared that "I would never describe myself as 'heterosexual', 'straight' or anything else. Especially not 'bisexual' (it sounds like
4514-412: A week, although its then-publisher Time Inc. UK claimed to have more than 13 million global unique users per month, including 3 million in the UK. In March 2018, the publisher announced that the print edition of NME would cease publication after 66 years and become an online-only publication. However, this decision was reversed in 2023, with NME announcing that it would revive its print magazine as
4636-542: A weekly column in The Guardian . Appointed in 1998 by Orr, while editor of the Guardian Weekend supplement, Burchill's career was in trouble; she had been sacked by the revived Punch magazine. Burchill frequently thanked Deborah Orr for rescuing her. One of the pieces she wrote for The Guardian was in reaction to the murder of BBC TV presenter Jill Dando in 1999. She compared the shock of Dando's murder to finding
4758-487: A weekly full-page column for the paper. The connection lasted less than 18 months. Burchill wrote her last column for The Independent at the end of October 2011. Admitting he had tried to recruit Burchill for The Sun in the 1980s, Roy Greenslade commented: "my admittedly occasional reading of her columns in recent years has left [me] feeling that she realises her old schtick is no longer working. She has run out of steam – and sympathetic newspaper editors". Commenting on
4880-555: A year's sabbatical from journalism, planning, among other things, to study theology . In June 2007, she announced that she would not be returning to journalism, but instead concentrate on writing books and TV scripts and finally undertake a theology degree, but she returned to writing for The Guardian newspaper. Burchill's co-written book with Chas Newkey-Burden , Not in My Name: A Compendium of Modern Hypocrisy , appeared in August 2008, and
5002-454: Is Racist"; actress Kelechi Okafor wrote: "Likening baby Lilibet to George Floyd is to hone[sic] in on the fact she isn't fully white...She refers to Lilbet as 'it' even though it has been announced that the baby is a girl and she could've addressed her as such...Disgusting scenes." On 8 June, via her Facebook account, Burchill announced that she had been sacked by The Daily Telegraph as a result of her online comments. In 2020, Burchill posted
Julie Burchill - Misplaced Pages Continue
5124-445: Is alleged to have written a series of articles for Patriotic Alternative as "Miss Britannia", describing her son's school as "a hellhole for sensible, secure White boys" and claimed "there is one member of staff who is openly gay, and I mean RuPaul extra gay". On 16 March 2021, Burchill announced she would not publish her book with Stirling Publishing, the same day she issued a public apology for libel and harassment of Sarkar. The book
5246-744: Is also a novelist, and her 2004 novel Sugar Rush was adapted for television. Julie Burchill was born in Bristol and educated at Brislington Comprehensive School . Her father was a Communist union activist who worked in a distillery. Her mother had a job in a cardboard box factory. In 2010, Burchill wrote of her parents: "I don't care much for families. I adored my mum and dad, but to be honest I don't miss them much now they're dead"; three years later she contradicted this when she said she couldn't return to Bristol, as every time she heard someone speaking with her parents' Bristol accent it would remind her how much she missed them. She did not attend university, leaving
5368-599: Is dedicated "to Arik and Bibi" ( Ariel Sharon and Benjamin Netanyahu ). According to Gerald Jacobs , writing for The Jewish Chronicle in 2008, "this book does not merely stand up for Israel, it jumps up and down, cheers and waves its arms". The newspaper described her as "Israel's staunchest supporter in the UK media". When asked if Israel has any flaws, she responded: "Yes. They are much too tolerant of their freaking neighbours, much too reasonable". She declared in 2005, after Ariel Sharon 's withdrawal of Israeli settlers from
5490-407: Is my full and wholehearted apology. Burchill stated: "I should not have sent these tweets, some of which included racist and misogynist comments regarding Ms Sarkar's appearance and her sex life." She further apologised for "liking" posts calling on Sarkar to kill herself and promised to refrain from any further harassment of Sarkar. Burchill married Tony Parsons (whom she met at NME ) in 1979 at
5612-448: Is our responsibility to redress our greed and ignorance by doing the lion's share in getting rid of him". Burchill left The Guardian acrimoniously, saying in an interview that they had offered her a sofa in lieu of a pay rise. She stated that she left the newspaper in protest at what she saw as its "vile anti-Semitism ". Burchill was an early critic of the fashion for denigrating lower social classes as " chavs ". In 2005, she presented
5734-461: The A-levels she had started a few weeks earlier to begin writing for the New Musical Express (NME). She began her writing career at the New Musical Express ( NME ) in 1976, aged 17, after responding (coincidentally with her future husband Tony Parsons ) to an advert in that paper seeking "hip young gunslingers " to write about the then emerging punk movement . She gained the job by submitting
5856-589: The Buzzcocks and Ian Dury . A second tape titled C86 was released in 1986. From 1981 to 1988 the magazine released 36 cassette compilations. The NME responded to the Thatcher era by espousing socialism through movements such as Red Wedge . In the week of the 1987 election , the paper featured an interview with the leader of the Labour Party , Neil Kinnock , who appeared on the paper's cover. He had appeared on
5978-514: The Dead Kennedys ' album Frankenchrist , consisting of a painting by H.R. Giger called Penis Landscape , then a subject of an obscenity lawsuit in the US. In the summer and autumn of 1987, three senior editorial staff were sacked, including Pye, media editor Stuart Cosgrove , and art editor Joe Ewart. Former Sounds editor Alan Lewis was brought in to rescue the paper, mirroring Alan Smith's revival
6100-701: The Egyptian Revolution of 2011 , Burchill wrote in The Independent : "It would be wonderful to think that what replaces Mubarak will be better. But here's the thing about Middle Eastern regimes: they're all vile. The ones that are 'friendly' are vile and the ones that hate us are vile. Revolutions in the region have a habit of going horribly wrong, and this may well have something to do with the fact that Islam and democracy appear to find it difficult to co-exist for long." On 13 January 2013, Burchill wrote an article for The Observer defending Suzanne Moore after
6222-605: The Gaza Strip , that "Israel is the only country I would fucking die for. He's the enemy of the Jews. Chucking his own people off the Gaza; to me that's disgusting". Besides writing occasional pieces for The Guardian , she wrote four articles for the centre-right politics and culture magazine Standpoint between July and October 2008. At the end of June 2010 it was announced Burchill would be writing exclusively for The Independent , contributing
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#17328587045326344-571: The Murder of John Lennon , she told The Guardian : "I don't remember where I was but I was really pleased he was dead, as he was a wife-beater, gay-basher, anti-Semite and all-round bully-boy." In the essay "Born Again Cows" published in Damaged Gods (1987), she wrote: "When the sex war is won prostitutes should be shot as collaborators for their terrible betrayal of all women." On 6 June 2021, and shortly after
6466-455: The NME , and was replaced as editor by 26-year-old Melody Maker writer Ben Knowles. In the same year, Melody Maker officially merged with the NME , and many speculated the NME would be next to close, as the weekly music-magazine market was shrinking - the monthly magazine Select , which had thrived especially during the Britpop era, was closed down within a week of Melody Maker . In
6588-579: The New Musical Express "started to champion underground, up-and-coming music....NME became the gateway to a more rebellious world. First came glamrock , and bands such as T. Rex , and then came punk ....by 1977 it had become the place to keep in touch with a cultural revolution that was enthralling the nation's listless youth. Bands such as Sex Pistols , X-Ray Spex and Generation X were regular cover stars, eulogised by writers such as Julie Burchill and Tony Parsons , whose nihilistic tone narrated
6710-841: The Sky One documentary In Defence of Chavs . "Picking on people worse off than you are isn't humour. It's pathetic, it's cowardly and it's bullying," she commented in an interview for The Daily Telegraph at the time. "It's all to do with self-loathing. ... The middle classes can't bear to see people having more fun, so they attack Chavs for things like their cheap jewellery. It's jealousy, because they secretly know Chavs are better than them. They're even better looking." Following her departure from The Guardian , in early 2005 she moved to The Times , who were more willing to meet her demands, doubling her previous salary. Shortly after starting her weekly column, she referred to George Galloway , but appeared to confuse him with former MP Ron Brown , reporting
6832-533: The Telegraph website. On 18 January, The Observer ' s Readers Editor Stephen Pritchard defended the decision to remove the article from the newspaper's website, quoting the editor who took that decision as saying "This clearly fell outside what we might consider reasonable. The piece should not have been published in that form. I don't want the Observer to be conducting debates on those terms or with that language. It
6954-706: The "electronic melodies flowed as slowly as a piece of garbage floating down the polluted Rhine ". The same year also saw punk rock arrive on what some people perceived to be a stagnant music scene. The NME gave the Sex Pistols their first music press coverage in a live review of their performance at the Marquee in February that year, but overall it was slow to cover this new phenomenon in comparison to Sounds and Melody Maker , where Jonh Ingham and Caroline Coon respectively were early champions of punk. Although articles by
7076-885: The "millions of Jews around the world who have ever criticised Israel. Her love is blind, deaf and dumb to such an obvious contradiction". Guardian columnist Hadley Freeman wrote: "Burchill divides up the chosen people into Good Jews (hardliners, Israelites) and Bad Jews (liberal Jews) with the enthusiasm of an antisemite. Hilariously, she sets herself up as the Jewishness Police, railing against Jews who are not Jewish enough". In his review in The Independent , Keith Kahn-Harris described Unchosen as "occasionally touching, sometimes bigoted and sporadically hilarious" but that it "often degenerates into EDL-style abuse that lacks any redeeming wit." In The Guardian Will Self wrote, "I’m afraid I can’t really dignify her latest offering with
7198-443: The 1980s, the NME became the most important music paper in the country. It released the influential C81 in 1981, in conjunction with Rough Trade Records , available to readers by mail order at a low price. The tape featured a number of then up-and-coming bands, including Duran Duran , Aztec Camera , Orange Juice , Linx , and Scritti Politti , as well as a number of more established artists such as Robert Wyatt , Pere Ubu ,
7320-441: The 2008 NME Award nominations, Caroline Sullivan of The Guardian criticised the magazine's lack of diversity, saying: "NME bands" fall within very narrow parameters. In the 80s, the paper prided itself on its coverage of hip hop, R&B and the emerging dance scene which it took seriously and featured prominently – alongside the usual Peel-endorsed indie fare. Now, though, its range of approved bands has dramatically shrunk to
7442-589: The Asian music scene and acts such as The Itchyworms, SEVENTEEN, Voice Of Baceprot, Sponge Cola and I Belong To The Zoo from countries such as South Korea, the Philippines and Indonesia. On 20 July 2023, NME announced that it would be relaunching its print magazine that summer. Starting with a July/August issue featuring D4vd , each bimonthly issue will showcase a rising musical talent. NME Networks' chief operating and commercial officer Holly Bishop explained that
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#17328587045327564-589: The Canadian post-rock band Godspeed You! Black Emperor saw the paper dip to a sales low, and Sutherland later stated in his weekly editorial that he regretted putting them on the cover. For many, this was seen as an affront to the principles of the paper, and sales reached a low point at the turn of the millennium. From the issue of 21 March 1999, the paper was no longer printed on newsprint, and more recently, it has shifted to tabloid size with glossy colour covers. In 2000, Steve Sutherland left to become brand director of
7686-627: The Irish, I think they're appalling". She supported the Iraq War , writing in The Guardian in 2003 that she was "in favour of a smaller war now rather than a far worse war later", and criticised those opposed to the war as "pro-Saddam apologists". She justified her stance by stating that "this war is about freedom, justice – and oil" and that because Britain and the United States sold weapons to Iraq that, "it
7808-582: The Manics, some new British bands were beginning to appear. Suede were quickly hailed by the paper as an alternative to the heavy grunge sound and hailed as the start of a new British music scene. Grunge, however, was still the dominant force, but the rise of new British bands would become something the paper would focus on more and more. In 1992, the NME also had a very public dispute with Morrissey due to allegations by NME ' s Dele Fadele that Morrissey had used racist lyrics and imagery. This erupted after
7930-737: The Strokes , the Vines , and the White Stripes . In 2002, Conor McNicholas was appointed editor, with a new wave of photographers including Dean Chalkley , Andrew Kendall, James Looker, and Pieter Van Hattem, and a high turnover of young writers. It focused on new British bands such as the Libertines , Franz Ferdinand , Bloc Party , and the Kaiser Chiefs , which had emerged as indie music continued to grow in commercial success. Later, Arctic Monkeys became
8052-445: The US, mainly from Seattle . These bands would form a new movement called grunge , and by far the most popular bands were Nirvana and Pearl Jam . The NME took to grunge very slowly ("Sounds" was the first British music paper to write about grunge with John Robb being the first to interview Nirvana. Melody Maker was more enthusiastic early on, largely through the efforts of Everett True , who had previously written for NME under
8174-447: The age of 20. She left Parsons three years later, leaving behind a son, which was followed by years of rancour in the media, described in 2002 as "a steady stream of vitriol in both directions"; she had claimed to have persevered with the "sexual side" of their marriage "by pretending that my husband was my friend Peter York ". Her relationships, particularly with Parsons, have featured in her work; Parsons later wrote that "It's like having
8296-533: The announcement of the birth of Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor , the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex , Burchill tweeted: "What a missed opportunity. They could have called it Georgina Floydina!”, a reference to George Floyd . Her comments were widely condemned, with racial equality activist Shola Mos-Shogbamimu stating: "She’s (Lilibet) referred to as 'IT'. The utter disrespect & dehumanisation of #HarryandMeghan children because of their proximity to ‘Blackness’
8418-472: The arts. Prominent members of the club have included Cara Delevingne , Nick Grimshaw , Harry Styles , Caroline Flack , Jarvis Cocker , Lily Allen , Melvyn Bragg , Stephen Fry , Noel Gallagher , Luke Pasqualino and Rachel Weisz . The club has a large collection of contemporary art, curated by Nicki Carter, a graduate of Goldsmiths, University of London during the YBA period, erstwhile waitress and now
8540-415: The ascription 'book', nor the contents therein as 'writing' – rather they are sophomoric, hammy effusions, wrongheaded, rancorous, and pathetically self-aggrandising." Burchill has written novels and made television documentaries. Her lesbian-themed novel for teenagers Sugar Rush (2004) was adapted into a television drama series produced by Shine Limited for Channel 4 . Lenora Crichlow 's portrayal of
8662-443: The best layouts, that sense of style of humour and a feeling of real adventure. We also set out to beat Melody Maker on its strong suit: being the serious, responsible journal of record. We did Looking Back and Consumer Guide features that beat the competition out of sight, and we did this not just to surpass our rivals but because we reckoned that rock had finished its first wind around 1969/70 and deserved to be treated as history, as
8784-643: The central character Maria Sweet inspired the 2007 sequel novel Sweet . Burchill has made television documentaries about the death of her father from asbestosis in 2002 ( BBC Four ) and Heat magazine broadcast on Sky One in 2006. Welcome To The Woke Trials: How #Identity Killed Progressive Politics was planned to be issued by Tabatha Stirling of Stirling Publishing in summer 2021 after being dropped by its original publisher following Burchill's defamatory tweets to Ash Sarkar . On 14 March 2021, when referencing her new publisher Burchill announced that, with Stirling, "I've found someone who's JUST LIKE ME." Stirling
8906-511: The central role. In 2003, Burchill was ranked number 85 in Channel 4's poll of 100 Worst Britons . The poll was inspired by the BBC series 100 Greatest Britons , though it was less serious in nature. The aim was to discover the "100 worst Britons we love to hate". The poll specified that the nominees had to be British, alive and not currently in prison or pending trial. In 2005, on the 25th anniversary of
9028-461: The club announced that it would be opening its inaugural branch outside of London at Bretton Hall near Wakefield in Yorkshire. In November 2024, the club's license was suspended by Westminster City Council as a result of a criminal investigation. Anyone who is proposed by two existing members may apply for membership, but applications are favoured from those working in the creative side of media and
9150-436: The comments page to what he described as "many emails protesting about this piece" and stated that he would be looking into the issue. Liberal Democrat MP Lynne Featherstone , formerly a junior Minister for Women and Equalities , called for the dismissal of Burchill and Mulholland in response to the piece. The article was withdrawn from the website the following day and replaced with a message from Mulholland, but reappeared on
9272-477: The company was "inspired by the resurgence we've seen in vinyl and cassette tapes" to bring a physical edition back for music fans. In December 2018, BandLab Technologies announced the launch of NME Australia . Initially a website only, new interviews were given covers and numbered as issues, with Amyl & The Sniffers on the inaugural cover. At the time BandLab announced the Australian edition would not have
9394-473: The continued dominance of British groups of the time. During this period some sections of pop music began to be designated as rock. The paper became engaged in a sometimes tense rivalry with Melody Maker ; however, NME sales were healthy, with the paper selling as many as 200,000 issues per week, making it one of the UK's biggest sellers at the time. By the early 1970s, NME had lost ground to Melody Maker , as its coverage of music had failed to keep pace with
9516-427: The cover once two years before, in April 1985. Writers at this time included Mat Snow , Chris Bohn (known in his later years at the paper as ' Biba Kopf '), Antonella Gambotto-Burke (known by her pseudonyms Antonella Black and, because of her then-dyed orange hair, Ginger Meggs ), Barney Hoskyns , Paolo Hewitt, Don Watson, Danny Kelly , Steven Wells , and David Quantick . However, sales were dropping, and by
9638-455: The cover price and becoming a free publication. This was confirmed in July 2015. The free NME launched on 18 September 2015, with Rihanna on the cover. Distributed nationwide via universities, retail stores and the transport network, the first circulation numbers published in February 2016 of 307, 217 copies per week were the highest in the brand's history. Since relaunch the magazine has featured
9760-431: The development of rock music, particularly during the early years of psychedelia and progressive rock . In early 1972, the paper was on the verge of closure by its owner IPC (which had bought the paper from Kinn in 1963). According to Nick Kent (soon to play a prominent part in the paper's revival): After sales had plummeted to 60,000 and a review of guitar instrumentalist Duane Eddy had been printed which began with
9882-491: The early 2000s, the NME also attempted somewhat to broaden its coverage again, running cover stories on hip-hop acts such as Jay-Z and Missy Elliott , electronic musician Aphex Twin , Popstars winners Hear'say , and R&B groups such as Destiny's Child . However, as in the 1980s, these proved unpopular with much of the paper's readership, and were soon dropped. In 2001, the NME reasserted its position as an influence in new music, and helped to introduce bands including
10004-545: The editor – had appointed me. For the first time in my brilliant career, no one wanted to hire me. Somehow I limped into a column on the doddering Punch – and then I got the boot from there, too! Surely I had reached the mythical rock bottom at last? A user of cocaine , sharing in the activity in the company of Will Self among others, she was positive about her use in The Guardian in 2000 when defending actress Danniella Westbrook for Westbrook's loss of her nasal septum because of cocaine use. Journalist Deborah Orr , who
10126-470: The entire Colombian armed forces". She declared that "As one who suffered from chronic shyness and a low boredom threshold ... I simply can't imagine that I could have ever had any kind of social life without [cocaine], let alone have reigned as Queen of the Groucho Club for a good part of the '80s and '90s." While Burchill has frequently drawn on her personal life for her writing, her personal life has been
10248-523: The fact that I admire Israel so much, it does seem to make sense – assuming of course that the Jews will have me". She wrote in November 2012: "The things I love about the Jews are: their religion, their language and their ancient country". Burchill clashed with Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah of the Brighton and Hove Progressive Synagogue, and the Rabbi's lesbian partner, Jess Woods. Among the reasons for their differences
10370-438: The jolly old heave ho" by The Times , and paid off for the last year of her three-year contract, still receiving the £300,000 she would have earned if she had been obliged to provide copy. She later described her columns for her abbreviated Times contract, which ended abruptly in 2007, thus: "I was totally taking the piss. I didn't spend much time on them and they were such arrant crap." In February 2006, she announced plans for
10492-475: The likes of Mick Farren (whose article "The Titanic Sails at Dawn" called for a new street-led rock movement in response to stadium rock) were published by the NME that summer, it was felt that younger writing was needed to credibly cover the emerging punk movement, and the paper advertised for a pair of "hip young gunslingers" to join their editorial staff. This resulted in the recruitment of Tony Parsons and Julie Burchill . The pair rapidly became champions of
10614-404: The logo still used on the paper's masthead today (albeit in a modified form) – this made its first appearance towards the end of 1978. Spencer's time as editor also coincided with the emergence of post-punk acts such as Joy Division and Gang of Four . This development was reflected in the writing of Ian Penman and Paul Morley . Danny Baker , who began as an NME writer around this time, had
10736-459: The magazine jumped by 50%. The first of these singles charts was, in contrast to more recent charts, a top twelve sourced by the magazine itself from sales in regional stores around the UK. The first number one was " Here in My Heart " by Al Martino . During the 1960s, the paper championed the new British groups emerging at the time. The NME circulation peaked under Andy Gray (editor 1957–1972) with
10858-418: The mid-1980s, NME had hit a rough patch and was in danger of closing. During this period (now under the editorship of Ian Pye, who replaced Neil Spencer in 1985), they were split between those who wanted to write about hip hop , a genre that was relatively new to the UK, and those who wanted to stick to rock music. Sales were apparently lower when photos of hip hop artists appeared on the front and this led to
10980-475: The misdeeds of Brown as those of Galloway, "he incited Arabs to fight British troops in Iraq." She apologised in her column and The Times paid damages thought to have been £50,000. In 2006, The Times dropped her Saturday column, and arranged a more flexible arrangement with Burchill writing for the daily paper. Later it emerged, during a Guardian interview published on 4 August 2008, that eventually she "was given
11102-405: The name "The Legend!"). For the most part, NME only became interested in grunge after Nevermind became popular. Although it still supported new British bands, the paper was dominated by American bands, as was the music scene in general. Although the period from 1991 to 1993 was dominated by American bands like Nirvana, British bands were not ignored. The NME still covered the indie scene and
11224-469: The paper being criticised for not supporting rock or indie music. The paper did attempt to return to its highly politicised 1980s incarnation by running a cover story in March 1998 condemning Tony Blair , who had previously associated himself with Britpop bands such as Oasis, and this received a certain level of attention in the wider media. Sutherland did attempt to cover newer bands, but a 1998 cover feature on
11346-470: The paper suffering as the lack of direction became even more apparent to readers. A number of features entirely unrelated to music appeared on the cover in this era, including a piece by William Leith on computer crime and articles by Stuart Cosgrove on such subjects as the politics of sport and the presence of American troops in Britain, with Elvis Presley appearing on the cover not for musical reasons but as
11468-457: The poll. In October 2006, NME launched an Irish version of the magazine called NME Ireland . This coincided with the launch of Club NME in Dublin . Dublin-based band Humanzi was first to appear on the cover of NME Ireland. The Irish edition of the magazine could not compete with local competitors such as Hot Press therefore it was discontinued after its fourth issue in February 2007. After
11590-432: The punk scene and created a new tone for the paper. Parsons' time at NME is reflected in his 2005 novel Stories We Could Tell , about the misadventures of three young music-paper journalists on the night of 16 August 1977 – the night Elvis Presley died. In 1978, Logan moved on, and his deputy Neil Spencer was made editor. One of his earliest tasks was to oversee a redesign of the paper by Barney Bubbles , which included
11712-401: The punk years perfectly." By the time Smith handed the editor's chair to Logan in mid-1973, the paper was selling nearly 300,000 copies per week and was outstripping Melody Maker , Disc , Record Mirror and Sounds . According to MacDonald: I think all the other papers knew by 1974 that NME had become the best music paper in Britain. We had most of the best writers and photographers,
11834-599: The rise of gothic rock bands but new bands such as the Happy Mondays and the Stone Roses were coming out of Manchester . One scene over these years was Acid House which spawned " Madchester " which helped give the paper a new lease of life. By the end of the decade, Danny Kelly had replaced Lewis as editor. By the end of 1990, the Madchester scene was dying off, and NME had started to report on new bands coming from
11956-457: The rise of a new group from Manchester called Oasis , Britpop would continue its rise for the rest of 1994. By the end of the year, Blur and Oasis were the two biggest bands in the UK, and sales of the NME were increasing thanks to the Britpop effect. In 1995, NME covered these new bands, many of whom played the NME Stage at that year's Glastonbury Festival , where the paper had been sponsoring
12078-410: The second stage at the festival since 1993. This would be its last year sponsoring the stage; subsequently, the stage would be known as the 'Other Stage'. In August 1995, Blur and Oasis planned to release singles on the same day in a mass of media publicity. Steve Sutherland put the story on the front page of the paper, and was criticised for playing up the duel between the bands. Blur won the "race" for
12200-444: The serious mental health issues from which he suffered. New Musical Express New Musical Express ( NME ) is a British music , film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "rock inkie", the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a free publication, before becoming an online brand which includes its website and radio stations. As
12322-418: The standard-bearers of the post-Libertines crop of indie bands, being both successfully championed by the NME and receiving widespread commercial and critical success. In December 2005, accusations were made that the NME end-of-year poll had been edited for commercial and political reasons. These criticisms were rebutted by McNicholas, who claimed that webzine Londonist.com had got hold of an early draft of
12444-509: The successor to IPC, sold NME and Uncut to Singaporean company BandLab Technologies . In 2021, the NME became the main brand for the music publishing division of Caldecott Music Group, when BandLab Technologies was reorganised. As well as publishing print magazines in the United Kingdom and Australia, NME Networks is responsible for a trio of online music publications and the main NME.com website, which now also has an area devoted to
12566-541: The time, Deborah Bosley, caused a minor stir. Responding to an article by Yvonne Roberts , Bosley, at the time the partner of Richard Ingrams , a long standing critic of Burchill, stated that Burchill was merely "a fat bird in a blue mac sitting in the corner" when ensconced at the Groucho. The following year's Burchill on Beckham (2001), a short book about Burchill's opinions concerning David Beckham 's life, career, and relationship with Victoria Beckham , attracted "some of
12688-405: The top of the charts, and the resulting fallout from the publicity led to the paper enjoying increased sales during the 1990s as Britpop became the dominant genre. After this peak, the paper experienced a slow decline as Britpop burned itself out fairly rapidly over the next few years. This left the paper directionless again, and attempts to embrace the rise of DJ culture in the late 1990s only led to
12810-533: The words "On this, his 35th album, we find Duane in as good voice as ever," the NME had been told to rethink its policies or die on the vine. Alan Smith was made editor in 1972, and was told by IPC to turn things around quickly or face closure. To achieve this, Smith and his assistant editor Nick Logan raided the underground press for writers such as Charles Shaar Murray and Nick Kent, and recruited other writers such as Tony Tyler , Ian MacDonald and Californian Danny Holloway . According to The Economist ,
12932-554: The worst notices since Jeffrey Archer's heyday. 'Burchill is to football writing what Jimmy Hill is to feminist polemics'," wrote one reviewer. According to Robert Winder in the New Statesman : "The book fits in with Burchill's theme of praising the working class; Burchill presents Beckham as an anti-laddish symbol of old working-class values – he reminds her of those proud men of her childhood, 'paragons of generosity, industry and chastity'." For five years until 2003, Burchill wrote
13054-567: Was 15,830. In September 2015, the NME magazine was relaunched to be distributed nationally as a free publication. The first average circulation published in February 2016 of 307,217 copies per week was the highest in the brand's history, beating the previous best of 306,881, recorded in 1964 at the height of the Beatles ' fame. By December 2017, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations , average distribution of NME had fallen to 289,432 copies
13176-602: Was Rabbi Sarah's defence of Muslims and her advocacy of the Palestinian cause. In Burchill's words, the rabbi "respects PIG ISLAM". Rabbi Sarah told The Independent in September 2014: "The problem is [Burchill] doesn’t have any in-depth knowledge. I can imagine her endlessly watching the film Exodus with Paul Newman . She’s got a kind of Hollywood view of Jews. You know, ‘Jews are so clever, we’ve survived ...'." In 2014, Burchill's crowdfunded book Unchosen: The Memoirs of
13298-478: Was a private members' club founded in 1985 and located on Dean Street in London 's Soho . Its members are mainly drawn from the publishing, media, entertainment and arts industries. The club's facilities include three bars , two restaurants , a snooker room, an enclosed terrace, 17 bedrooms for members or their guests and four event rooms, which are available for hire. The club opened on 5 May 1985. Its name
13420-570: Was brought in as the NME ' s editor to replace Danny Kelly . Andrew Collins, Stuart Maconie , Steve Lamacq , and Mary Anne Hobbs all left the NME in protest, and moved to Select ; Collins, Maconie and Lamacq would all also write for Q , while Lamacq would join Melody Maker in 1997. Kelly, Collins, Maconie, Lamacq and Hobbs would all subsequently become prominent broadcasters with BBC Radio 1 as it reinvented itself under Matthew Bannister . In April 1994, Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain
13542-415: Was criticized by the media. The Guardian pointed out that Features Editor Laura Snapes included, in her top 5 "greatest albums of all time", four albums from the same band which was The National . Consequence of Sound similarly observed that "if Laura Snapes had her wish, the top four would all be The National albums". In February 2015, it was reported that the NME was in discussions about removing
13664-513: Was found dead, a story which affected not only his fans and readers of the NME , but would see a massive change in British music. Grunge was about to be replaced by Britpop , a new genre influenced by 1960s British music and culture. The term was coined by NME after the band Blur released their album Parklife in the month of Cobain's death. Britpop began to fill the musical and cultural void left after Cobain's demise, and with Blur's success and
13786-574: Was in reference to Groucho Marx 's saying he did not want to be a member of any club that would have him. The club was owned by Graphite Capital from 2006 to 2015, when it was sold to a group of investors led by Isfield Investments and Alcuin Capital Partners. In 2022, the Groucho Club was purchased through Manuela and Iwan Wirth 's Art Farm, which owns a group of boutique hotels and restaurants, for £40 million ($ 48.9 million). In March 2024,
13908-399: Was incensed by Burchill and Parsons attributing his talent to his alleged use of the drug in their book. In October 1999, in an article for The Guardian , she wrote: "That young men succeed in suicide more often than girls isn't really the point. Indeed, the more callous among us would say that it was quite nice for young men finally to find something that they're better at than girls". After
14030-414: Was involved with a war of words with a new band called Manic Street Preachers , who were criticising the NME for what they saw as an elitist view of bands they would champion. This came to a head in 1991, when, during an interview with Steve Lamacq , Richey Edwards would confirm the band's position by carving "4real" into his arm with a razor blade. By 1992, the Madchester scene had died and along with
14152-409: Was offensive, needlessly. We made a misjudgment and we apologise for that". In her 1987 essay collection Damaged Gods: Cults and Heroes Reappraised , Burchill criticised what she called "the anti-Semitism of politicized American blacks" such as Jesse Jackson , who had referred to New York City as "Hymietown." Burchill wrote, "imagine how the blacks would have gnashed their diamond-studded teeth if
14274-457: Was relaunched as the New Musical Express , and was initially published in a non-glossy tabloid format on standard newsprint . Under the editorship of Ray Sonin , the paper began publishing artist interviews, industry gossip and, on 14 November 1952, taking its cue from the US magazine Billboard , it created the first UK Singles Chart , a list of the Top Twelve best-selling singles. Sales of
14396-527: Was replaced as editor in July 2012 by Mike Williams, who had previously been the magazine's deputy. Williams is now Editor in Chief, with full responsibility for NME's cross platform output. Under Williams, NME has launched the NME Daily app, a new career focussed event called Lifehacks, and successfully relaunched both the NME magazine and NME's website, NME.com. In 2013, NME's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time
14518-400: Was sold (and demolished for redevelopment as high-density flats) around 2005 for £1.5 million, of which she has given away £300,000, citing Andrew Carnegie : "A man who dies rich, dies shamed." Burchill's second son, Jack Landesman, died by suicide in late June 2015, aged 29. In an article for The Sunday Times Magazine , she wrote of his inability over many years to experience pleasure and
14640-485: Was subsequently published by Academica Press . Burchill has described her own style as the writing equivalent of screaming and throwing things. For her novel Sugar Rush her publicist described her as "Britain's most famous and controversial journalist". One of her most consistent themes is the championing of the working class against the middle class in most cases, and she has been particularly vocal in defending ' chavs '. According to Will Self, "Burchill's great talent as
14762-503: Was their film critic from 1984 to 1986. She admitted in 2008 to making up film reviews and having "skived" from screenings, and her ex-husband, Cosmo Landesman , has admitted to attending screenings on her behalf. During the Falklands War in 1982, Burchill argued that the military dictatorship of General Galtieri represented a greater evil. She wrote articles favourable to Margaret Thatcher . Her sympathy for Thatcher helped in gaining
14884-408: Was then married to Self, was scathing in The Independent of Burchill and her article: "She does not identify herself as a cocaine addict, so she has no pity for Ms Westbrook." In revenge for Deborah Orr's article, Burchill invented a supposedly long-standing crush on Will Self with the intention of upsetting Orr. A letter in The Independent in June 2000 from the head waitress at the Groucho Club at
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