Paul Lester is a British music

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

, author and broadcaster from Elstree, Hertfordshire.

Career

He began his career as a

freelance ''Freelance'' (sometimes spelled ''free-lance'' or ''free lance''), ''freelancer'', or ''freelance worker'', are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance w ...

, for ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' in the early 1990s, as well as ''

City Limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary (real estate), 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. ...

'', '' 20/20'', '' Sky Magazine'' and ''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The Jewish Chronicle'' (''The JC'') is a London-based Jewish weekly newspaper. Founded in 1841, it is the oldest continuously published Jewish newspaper in the world. Its editor () is Daniel Schwammenthal. The newspaper is published every Fri ...

''. He covered

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...

, Madchester and

Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...

, also spending time with bands touring the UK and internationally. 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'', remaining 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 including

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...

and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

. He has also written

sleeve notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or cassette j-cards. Origin Liner notes are descended from the progra ...

on many, including:

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

, Hall & Oates,

The Smiths The Smiths were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Manchester in 1982, composed of Morrissey (vocals), Johnny Marr (guitar), Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (musician), Mike Joyce (drums). Morrissey and Marr formed the band's songwrit ...

and The Sex Pistols. He currently resides in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

, from where he has been freelancing since January 2007. He contributes newspapers, including : '' Guardian'' (daily

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

of 'Critics Picks' and ' New Band of the Day'), ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

'', the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'', ''

The Mail on Sunday ''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. Founded in 1982 by Lord Rothermere, it is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK. Its sister paper, the ''Daily Mail'', was first published i ...

'', ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' and ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

''. He writes of other

periodicals Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...

, including: ''

Q (magazine) ''Q'' was a British popular music magazine. 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''. ''Q'' was published in print in the ...

'', '' GQ'', ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine focussing on rare and collectable records, and the bands who recorded them. It was founded in September 1979 and distributes worldwide. It is promoted as "the world’s leading authority o ...

'' and ''

'' (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. The programme continues to broadcast on Thursday afternoons between 1 and 3pm, on the national Digital One network in the UK and online vi
amazingradio.co.uk
and the U
RadioPlayer
In 2018, Lester became the editor of ''Record Collector'' magazine.

Bibliography

Books

* * *''Blur: The Illustrated Story'' (Paperback). Pyramid, May 1995, *''Pulp: The Illustrated Story'' (Paperback). Hamlyn, Feb 1996, *''Björk: The Illustrated Story'' (Paperback). Hamlyn, Aug 1996, *''Spice Girls: The Illustrated Story'' (Paperback). Hamlyn, Feb 1997, *''Kula Shaker: The Illustrated Story'' (Paperback). Hamlyn, Mar 1997, *''The Prodigy: The Illustrated Story'' (Paperback). Hamlyn, Nov 1997, *''The Encyclopedia of Albums'' (co-authored with Chris Roberts) (Paperback). Dempsey Parr, 1998, *''The Verve: The Illustrated Story'' (Paperback). Hamlyn. Jun 1998, *''Robbie Williams: The Illustrated Story'' (Paperback). Hamlyn, Oct 1998, *''Gang of Four: Damaged Gods'' (Paperback). Omnibus Press, Sep 2008, *''Lowdown: The Story of Wire'' (Paperback). Omnibus Press, May 2009, *''Pink: Split Personality'' (Paperback). Omnibus Press, November 2009,

Album reviews

Awards

In 2008, Lester won the 'Breaking Music Writer' award at the Record of The Day Awards for Music Journalism and PR for his 'New Band of the Day' column in ''The Guardian''.

References

External links

New Band of the Day: ''The Guardian''Paul Lester's blog: ''The Jewish Chronicle''
*
''UNCUT''Amazing Radio show page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lester, Paul Living people British music journalists Melody Maker writers Mojo (magazine) people British male journalists People from Elstree Year of birth missing (living people)