Lucy O'Brien (born 13 September 1961)Author Biography, O'Brien, Lucy – She Bop: The definitive history of women in rock, pop, and soul, London: Penguin, 1995 is a British author and journalist whose work focuses on women in music.

Early musical and writing career

O'Brien was born in

Catford Catford is a district in south east London, England, and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Lewisham. It is southwest of Lewisham itself, mostly in the Rushey Green and Catford South wards. The population of Catford, includ ...

, London and grew up in

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

. In 1979, whilst attending a convent school in Southampton, she formed a punk band aptly named "the Catholic Girls". She left the band in 1980 to attend University in Leeds, and The Catholic Girls continued for a while under the name Almost Cruelty before splitting up. At university she played with a number of bands before giving up performing to write instead. She became music editor of the

University of Leeds , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

magazine, ''Leeds Student'', and after graduating in 1983, she submitted gig articles to the music paper the ''New Musical Express'' ('' NME''), which then published

Charles Shaar Murray Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the ''New Musical Express'' and many other magazines and newspapers, and has been interviewed for a number of ...

and

Nick Kent Nick Kent (born 24 December 1951) is a British rock critic best known for his writing for the '' NME'' in the 1970s, and his books ''The Dark Stuff'' (1994) and ''Apathy for the Devil'' (2010). Early life Kent, the son of a former Abbey Road S ...

. She has since written about the "intimidating" office culture at ''NME'' in the 1980s, and the extent to which female music journalists were ostracised and not taken seriously by the paper. Her best-known contribution to the paper may be the notorious "Youth Suicide" cover article.''Inky Fingers: The NME Story'', BBC2, 4 July 2005 Forming an alliance with fellow soul and socialism heads

Stuart Cosgrove Stuart John Francis Cosgrove (born 12 November 1952) is a Scottish journalist, broadcaster and television executive. As a journalist Cosgrove served on the ''NME'' (Media Editor) and ''The Face'' during the 1980s, before joining Channel 4 in 199 ...

and

Paolo Hewitt Paolo Hewitt is a music journalist and writer from Woking in Surrey. Biography Hewitt was placed in care at a very early age, and went to live with a foster family. Following years of abuse he was sent to Burbank children's home in Woking at the ...

, O'Brien became part of a leftist faction at '' NME'' which was eventually discharged by incoming editor Alan Lewis – an IPC troubleshooter instructed to de-politicise the magazine and boost sales. During her early years at '' NME'', O'Brien also wrote for the feminist magazine, ''

Spare Rib ''Spare Rib'' was a second-wave feminist magazine, founded in 1972 in the United Kingdom, that emerged from the counter culture of the late 1960s as a consequence of meetings involving, among others, Rosie Boycott and Marsha Rowe. ''Spare Rib' ...

'', whose offices she had first visited in 1980. In 1984 she co-wrote a cover story for them about women in the music industry. She was shocked to discover just how few women had record deals or were in the charts compared to men and this discovery would inspire her later work, particularly ''She Bop''. After leaving '' NME'', O'Brien worked as Music Editor at the London listings magazine ''

City Limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate li ...

''. It was here that she interviewed

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), known professionally as Dusty Springfield, was an English singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano sound, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, pop and dram ...

, an interview which led to her being contacted by the publishers Sidgwick & Jackson, and to her being offered the chance to write Springfield's biography.

Freelance writing, and books

By 1990, O'Brien had gone freelance, going on to write for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' and ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', and music magazines ''

Q Magazine ''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series '' The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ...

'' and ''

MOJO Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

'', amongst others. Her reputation as a writer and commentator was seriously established by the publication of her first book ''Dusty'' – a best-selling biography of British soul legend

(Sidgwick & Jackson, 1989). The book was instrumental in the rediscovery and reappraisal of Springfield's work, and was the foundation for O'Brien's reputation as an authority on female artists and soul music. Her next music biography, ''Annie Lennox'' (St Martin's Press, 1993), was also published in the United States. O'Brien charted

Annie Lennox Ann Lennox (born 25 December 1954) is a Scottish singer-songwriter, political activist and philanthropist. After achieving moderate success in the late 1970s as part of the new wave band the Tourists, she and fellow musician Dave Stewart w ...

's career from the early troubled days of The Tourists through to the global success of

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British Pop music, pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart (musician and producer), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio alb ...

to Lennox's decision to take a pop sabbatical at the height of her career to work on behalf of the

homeless Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

. In 1995, O'Brien took a broader look at female musicians in ''She Bop: The Definitive History Of Women In Rock, Pop & Soul'' (Pan, 1995). Using a personal, polemical, and thematic approach, the book begins with the Blues and Jazz Age, and ends with chapters on protest pop and the business side of the music business, taking in chapters on fifties girl pop, sixties girl groups, rock chicks,

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

and its feminine descendents, including

riot grrrl Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington and the greater Pacific Northwest and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. Riot grrrl is a subcul ...

, singer/songwriters, Madonna,

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

and the power of image, artistry,

androgyny Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in ...

and the lesbian question,

Disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric p ...

and the dance scene, rap and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

, and world music along the way. The second edition of ''Dusty'' appeared in 1999 and covered events up to Springfield's death, while the updated ''She Bop II'' was published in 2002 by Continuum Press, including more recent artists and a chapter on

girl power Girl power is a slogan that encourages and celebrates women's empowerment, independence, confidence and strength. The slogan's invention is credited to the US punk band Bikini Kill, who published a zine called ''Bikini Kill #2: Girl Power'' i ...

. In 2007, O'Brien wrote an in-depth biography of

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, entitled '' Madonna: Like an Icon''. This was published on 28 August 2007 in the UK and later, on 6 November 2007, in the USA.

Television and radio

O'Brien's books, notably ''She Bop'', have led to frequent television appearances as an authority on rock music. These include appearances on Channel 4's Top Ten... franchise, and work for BBC2's The Ozone in the late nineties (including a feature exploring the concept of girl power, and an interview with Yoko Ono.) amongst others. O'Brien also co-produced the Channel 4 documentary ''Righteous Babes'', on rock and new feminism, and in 2002 adapted ''She Bop II'' as a two-part documentary for BBC Radio 2.

Bibliography

*''Dusty'', London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1989 *''Annie Lennox'', London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1991 *''She Bop: The definitive history of women in rock, pop, and soul'', London: Penguin, 1995 *''Dusty'', London: Sidgwick & Jackson, 1999 ''(paperpack, new edition, updated)'' *''She Bop II: The definitive history of women in rock, pop, and soul'', London/New York: Continuum, 2002 *'' Madonna: Like an Icon'', London: HarperCollins, 2007 ''(paperback edition 2008)'' *''It Takes Bloods and Guts'', written with the subject,

Skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different ...

, Simon & Schuster, 2020

Essay Collections

*''A kiss in the dreamhouse'' in Aizelwood, John (ed), Love Is The Drug, London: Penguin, 1994 *''Sisters of swing'' in Cooper, Sarah (ed), Girls! Girls! Girls!, London: Cassell, 1995 *''The Year Skunk Broke'' in Evans, Liz (ed), Girls Will Be Boys: Women Report On Rock, London: Pandora, 1997 *''The Woman Punk Made Me'' in Sabin, Roger (ed), Punk Rock; So What?, London/New York: Routledge, 1999 **''O'Brien was also an interviewee in Helen Reddington's (aka:

Helen McCookerybook Helen McCookerybook (born Helen McCallum, a.k.a. Dr Helen Reddington) is a British musician and singer-songwriter, who was the bass player and co-singer with The Chefs (an acclaimed Brighton based punk rock, punk band), during the late 1970s and ...

)book The Lost Women of Music: Female Musicians Of The Punk Era, which was published by Ashgate Publishing in 2007.''

Footnotes

References

* O'Brien, Lucy – She Bop: The definitive history of women in rock, pop, and soul, London: Penguin, 1995. ''The following sections were useful:'' Author Biography ''(inside cover)'', Prologue ''(ppix-xiii)'', Introduction ''(p1-7)'' * O'Brien, Lucy ''A kiss in the dreamhouse'', in Aizelwood, John, Love Is The Drug, London: Penguin, 1994, ''pp86-99'' * Shackleton, Paula, ''Author interview: Lucy O'Brien'', Bookbuffet.com, 12 December 2007. ''www.bookbuffet.com'' * Inky Fingers: The NME Story, BBC2, 4 July 2005. * O'Brien, Lucy, ''Rock chicks fight back'', The Guardian, 13 September 2003 ''sourced from online edition (www.guardian.co.uk)'' * Blase, Cazz, ''Interview with Lucy O'Brien'', The F-Word, 16 December 2002 ''www.thefword.org.uk'' * www.lucyobrien.com * Sophy, ''An interview with Lucy O'Brien'', Hardluck.org, ''interview not dated'' ''www.geocities.com/sistayes'' * O'Brien, Lucy, ''The NME's first female editor'', The Guardian, 31 July 2009. ''Sourced from online edition (www.guardian.co.uk)''

External links

Lucy O'Brien interviewed by Sophy of Sista Yes! fanzine for her site hardluck.org. Interview not dated.Lucy O'Brien interviewed by author Cazz Blase in 2002
*[http://www.bookbuffet.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/news.article/article_ID/90046FA4-3A38-43CF-88F752BADCF1F889/index.html Lucy O'Brien talks to Paula Shackleton at BookBuffet.com about ''Madonna: Like An Icon'', 2007]
O'Brien's page at Transworld publishers UKO'Brien's page at Harper Collins publishers USA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Lucy 1961 births Living people People from Catford British biographers British non-fiction writers The Guardian journalists Celebrity biographers