Paul Du Noyer (born Paul Anthony Du Noyer; 21 May 1954) is an English rock journalist and author. He has written and edited for the music magazines ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'', '' Q'' and '' Mojo''. Du Noyer is the author of several books on the music industry, rock musicians,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and on his hometown, Liverpool.

Early life

Du Noyer was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, then in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, and educated at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...

Career

Du Noyer began his writing career in London after moving from Liverpool at the age of eighteen. He was a freelance journalist from 1978 to 1980 and then worked as an assistant editor for the ''

'' before becoming a staff writer in 1980. At '' Q'', he was assistant editor until 1990 and then served as editor before becoming the founding editor of '' Mojo'' magazine. In the latter role, he won an award for "Editor of the year" in 1994. He left ''Mojo'' in 1995 but remains a contributing editor. During his career as a rock journalist and editor, Du Noyer has interviewed music artists such as

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

and

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

. In 1997, he wrote ''We All Shine On'', a book about the solo songs of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...

. Du Noyer has worked as an editorial consultant for clients such as

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono (, usually spelled in katakana as ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up in Tokyo and moved to New York ...

. He edited the programme for McCartney's 1989–90 world tour and wrote an essay there forwarding McCartney's association with the 1960s

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

scene in London. The programme was part of McCartney's campaign, begun in 1986, to challenge the public's perception of him as musically conservative in the years following Lennon's murder in 1980. Du Noyer went on to serve as editor of subsequent McCartney tour programmes and has supplied the liner notes for several McCartney album reissues. Du Noyer was associate editor at '' The Word'' magazine from 2002 until its demise in 2012.

Books and publications

*''The Story of Rock 'n' Roll'' (1995) *''We All Shine On: The Stories Behind Every John Lennon Song'' (1997) *''The Clash: Modern Icons'' (1998) *''Marc Bolan (Virgin Modern Icons)'' (1999) *''Liverpool: Wondrous Place'' (2002) *''In the City: A Celebration of London Music'' (2010) *''John Lennon: The Stories Behind Every Song 1970–1980'' (2010) *''Working Class Hero'' (2010) *''Deaf School: The Non-Stop Pop Art Punk Rock Party'' (2013) *''Conversations with McCartney'' (2015)

References

External links

Paul Du Noyer websiteInterview: Paul Du Noyer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Du Noyer, Paul 1954 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Economics British male essayists English essayists English magazine editors English male non-fiction writers English music critics English music historians English music journalists Journalists from Liverpool Writers from Liverpool