John Earls
John Earls is an influential British music journalist, broadcaster, and columnist, best known for his work as chief writer and editor of Planet Sound on ITV's and Channel 4's Teletext on analogue television and online. He has contributed widely in UK media by writing for When Saturday Comes and for the Sunday People amongst other publications.
Early career
Born on August 25, 1972, Earls grew up in Milton Keynes and wrote reader reviews for Teletext precursor Blue Suede Views in 1987 at the age of 14, as well as readers' letters for Doctor Who Magazine.[1][2] Coster, Dean (24 July 2009). "Interview : Planet Sound's John Earls". Culturedeluxe. Retrieved 15 August 2009.</ref> He started writing professionally as a freelance in 1990 for football magazines 90 Minutes and then, after completing a month's work experience there, When Saturday Comes.[2] On completing a year's journalism course at Harlow College in 1992, Earls became a showbiz interviewer for The Sunday People, a post he left in 1999. Two months later, he became a teen entertainment interviewer for Teletext, the successor to ORACLE.[1]
Planet Sound and beyond
Earls became a writer for Teletext's music section, Planet Sound, 18 months after joining the company.[1] He was named chief editor of the publication in 2001 and has been at the post ever since.[2] Common features bearing his name include "New singles, by John Earls" and "By John Earls: Quotes of the week".[3][4] Earls has become synonymous with Planet Sound and his work is often cited by other publications.[1][5] He also writes the Rated music column for News of the World.[2] During his career, Earls has interviewed many acclaimed musicians.[2] He is considered by the BBC as one of the most influential and impartial UK-based music critics and broadcasters of recent times.[6][7][8] Earls has set up a record label, WET, with friends Simon Taylor and Gareth Williams, which will become active in January 2010.[1]
Music reviews
Earls lists the following albums as ones readers should own, apart from "the obvious great ones they'd already own":[1]
- Pet Shop Boys – Very
- My Life Story – Greetings from Mornington Crescent
- The Delgados – The Great Eastern
- The Teardrop Explodes – Wilder
- The National – Alligator
References
- ^ a b c d e f Cite error: The named reference
CDwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e "John Earls (Biography)". When Saturday Comes. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Earls, John. "New singles, by John Earls". Planet Sound. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
- ^ Earls, John. "By John Earls: Quotes of the week". Planet Sound. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
- ^ "MCSC In Case of Fire and pics". Strabane Chronicle. 13 September 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "BBC Sound of 2007: The pundits". BBC. 2 January 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
- ^ "BBC Sound of 2008: The pundits". BBC. 31 December 2007. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
- ^ "BBC Sound of 2009: The pundits". BBC. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2009.