I am Professor of Music Industries at Solent University (Southampton), where I am currently Post-Graduate Coordinator.
Prior to becoming a lecturer in 2004, I was an internationally published music critic and worked on the editorial teams of some of the UK’s leading music magazines, including Melody Maker and Vox. I also regularly contributed numerous music and lifestyle magazine throughout the world, and UK daily broadsheet newspapers including The Guardian, The Independent & The Independent on Sunday. I have written several critically acclaimed books about music, including French Connections: From Discotheque to Discovery (Sanctuary Publishing, 2003), State of Bass: Jungle – The Story So Far (Boxtree, 1997).
My areas of specialist interest include music and cultural cities, music journalism and the UK & US music press, music memoir, social media and identity, late twentieth-century alternative music, specifically punk, post punk and electronic music.
I co-authored Understanding the Music Industries (Sage, 2103) and have contributed articles to publications including Popular Music and Celebrity Studies. I have also contributed chapters to Oblique Music (Continuum 2016) and The Clash and Authenticity (Manchester: Manchester University Press, in press). My doctoral thesis entitled ‘Versioning Histories and Genres’ was an investigation of my definitive work on drum & bass and French Touch.
The first band I saw was Pink Floyd – I was bored. Soon after I saw the Sex Pistols – I was inspired to form a band, start writing for a fanzine and follow the Clash. I was 14.
Legendary DJ Annie Nightingale MBE once described me as: “… one of the most conscientious, outspoken and honest writers working in music today — and he’s not afraid to cry!” Who am I to argue!
