Paul Lester
Paul Lester is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster from Elstree, North London.
Career
He began his career as a freelance journalist, for Melody Maker in the early 1990s, as well as City Limits, 20/20 (magazine), Sky Magazine and The Jewish Chronicle. Previously covering grunge, shoegaze, Madchester and Britpop - extensively touring with bands, across the UK and internationally.[1]
In 1993, Lester became Melody Maker's features editor; then in 1997, left to join Allan Jones in launching monthly music and film magazine Uncut, where he remained deputy editor until 2006.
Lester has written more than a dozen rock / pop biographies, co-authored the Virgin Encyclopedia of Albums and often appears as a radio / television music pundit. He has interviewed hundreds of thespians and musicians, most notably: Kylie Minogue, Janet Jackson, Mick Jagger and Snoop Dogg. He has also written sleeve notes on many, including: Todd Rundgren, Hall & Oates, The Smiths and The Sex Pistols.[2]
He currently resides in Hertfordshire, from where he has been freelancing since January 2007. He contributes newspapers, including : Guardian (daily columnist of 'Critics Picks'[3] and 'New Band of the Day'[4]), The Sunday Times, the Daily Express, The Mail on Sunday, The Daily Telegraph and The Scotsman. He writes of other periodicals, including: Q (magazine), GQ (magazine), Record Collector and The Jewish Chronicle (an autobiographical column about recently remarried life, as a father of three children).
In July 2011, he joined digital station Amazing Radio to present a weekly show dedicated to new music.[5] The programme continues to broadcast on Thursday afternoons between 1 and 3pm, on the national Digital One network in the UK and online via amazingradio.co.uk and the UK RadioPlayer.
Books
- Oasis: The Illustrated Story (Paperback). Hamlyn, May 1995, ISBN 978-0-600-58761-3
- Blur: The Illustrated Story (Paperback). Pyramid, May 1995, ISBN 978-0-600-58689-0
- Pulp: The Illustrated Story (Paperback). Hamlyn, Feb 1996, ISBN 978-0-600-58974-7
- Björk: The Illustrated Story (Paperback). Hamlyn, Aug 1996, ISBN 978-0-600-59067-5
- Spice Girls: The Illustrated Story (Paperback). Hamlyn, Feb 1997, ISBN 978-0-600-59255-6
- Kula Shaker: The Illustrated Story (Paperback). Hamlyn, Mar 1997, ISBN 978-0-600-59270-9
- The Prodigy: The Illustrated Story (Paperback). Hamlyn, Nov 1997, ISBN 978-0-600-59511-3
- The Encyclopedia of Albums (co-authored with Chris Roberts) (Paperback). Dempsey Parr, 1998, ISBN 978-1-84084-031-5
- The Verve: The Illustrated Story (Paperback). Hamlyn. Jun 1998, ISBN 978-0-600-59592-2
- Robbie Williams: The Illustrated Story (Paperback). Hamlyn, Oct 1998, ISBN 978-0-600-59746-9
- Gang of Four: Damaged Gods (Paperback). Omnibus Press, Sep 2008, ISBN 978-1-84772-245-4
- Lowdown: The Story of Wire (Paperback). Omnibus Press, May 2009, ISBN 978-1-84772-710-7
- Pink: Split Personality (Paperback). Omnibus Press, November 2009, ISBN 978-1-84938-060-7
Awards
In 2008, Lester won the 'Breaking Music Writer' award at the Record of The Day Awards for Music Journalism and PR [6] for his 'New Band of the Day' column in the Guardian.
References
- ^ Rock's Back Pages, writer profile
- ^ Amazon.com author profile
- ^ Guardian Unlimited Music, profile
- ^ "Guardian: New Band of the Day". Retrieved 26 August 2013.
- ^ "Amazing Radio : Paul Lester". Amazing Radio. 14 July 2011. Retrieved 14 July 2011.
- ^ http://www.recordoftheday.com/www/awards/index.php