Early life
Ellen was born in Fleet, Hampshire, England. While at Oxford University in the 1970s, he briefly played bass alongside Tony Blair in college band Ugly Rumours, a band that, according to Ellen, was created primarily to meet women.Career
After graduating, he wrote for '' Record Mirror'', '' NME'' and '' Time Out'' before signing up as Features Editor of '' Smash Hits'' in 1981, where he became the editor in 1983. He was the launch editor of '' Q'', the re-launch editor of '' Select'' and the launch managing editor of '' Mojo''. He later became the editor-in-chief of EMAP Metro, overseeing 14 consumer magazines, but he left Emap after 16 years to join the independent publishing company Development Hell in 2002. He also has a long broadcasting career which includes contributions to BBC Radio 1 as stand-ins for David "Kid" Jensen and John Peel. He presented the BBC's '' The Old Grey Whistle Test'' from 1982 to 1987. He also co-presented the Live Aid TV broadcast in 1985. Ellen was the editor of '' The Word'', a music magazine which he started with long-time colleague, business partner and ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' co-presenter David Hepworth. The first issue was published in February 2003 and the magazine celebrated its 50th issue in March 2007. The closure of the magazine was announced in June 2012. His awards include the PPA's ''Magazine Of The Year'' for Q and the British Society Of Magazine Editors' ''Mark Boxer Award'' in 2003. He won also the BSME's ''Editor's Editor Award'' in 2005 and again in 2011. He now collaborates with Hepworth on ''Word In Your Ear'', a series of music-themed live events and podcasts. In 2014, his memoir ''Rock Stars Stole My Life!'' was published by Coronet.Personal life
Ellen lives in West London. He is a keen diver and cyclist.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellen, Mark 1953 births Living people Alumni of the University of Oxford BBC television presenters British male journalists British magazine editors British music critics British radio presenters British television presenters People from Fleet, Hampshire Rock critics Television personalities from Hampshire Writers from Hampshire