Robert Frederick Elms (born 12 June 1959) is an English writer and broadcaster. Elms was a writer for ''
The Face
The face is a part of the body, the front of the head.
Face may also refer to:
Film
* ''The Magician'' (1958 film) or ''The Face''
* ''The Face'' (1996 film), an American television film
* ''Face'' (1997 film), a British crime drama by Antoni ...
'' magazine in the 1980s and is currently known for his long-running radio show on
BBC Radio London
BBC Radio London is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM frequency, DAB, Virgin Media channel 937, Sky channel 0152 (in the London ...
. His book, ''The Way We Wore'', charts the changing fashions of his own youth, linking them with the social history of the times.
Early life and education
Elms was born in
Hendon
Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 mill ...
While still at the LSE, Elms became deeply involved in the "club scene" that was developing in London suburbs. He became a columnist for both ''The Face'' and '' NME'', writing on both music and fashion. According to Elms, he was "almost a member" of the band
Spandau Ballet
Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European D ...
. He championed them, having suggested their name, and introduced the group at early concerts by declaiming a brief verse. Band member Gary Kemp later commented that Elms was their " spin doctor", and said he "inspired" songs such as "
Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)
"Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)" is a song by the English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 10 July 1981 as the first single from their upcoming second album, ''Diamond''. The band's guitarist/songwriter, Gary Kemp, wanted t ...
", a number 3
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
hit for the band in 1981. Elms also worked as a DJ at clubs including the
Palladium
Palladium is a chemical element with the symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1803 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas, which was itself nam ...
in
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
Elms was a chronicler of the New Romantic movement of the early 1980s, which saw him become a popular interview choice for the broadcast media. Elms then developed a broadcasting career of his own, working in both radio and television. He was a contributor to '' Loose Ends'' (
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...
) and presented the
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
travel series ''Travelog'' during the 1990s. In 1989, his first novel, ''In Search of the Crack'' was published by
Penguin Books
Penguin Books is a British publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Arts Council's Architecture Week, until the demise of the event in 2007.
Since 1994, Elms has presented a long-running radio show on
BBC Radio London
BBC Radio London is the BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM frequency, DAB, Virgin Media channel 937, Sky channel 0152 (in the London ...
, in 1999 being referred to as "its top presenter". The show features reports, discussions, and call-ins about
Greater London
Greater may refer to:
* Greatness, the state of being great
*Greater than, in inequality
* ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film
* Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record
* "Greater" (song), by MercyMe, 2014
* Greater Bank, an Austra ...
, the history, architecture, geography, city planning and the language of London: in short, the minutiae of the city. Guests who are acknowledged experts in their fields of study appear on a regular basis, including architect Maxwell Hutchinson and film critic Jason Solomons. An extract of the shows is published as a
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
every week. Solomons often covers for Elms when he is on holiday.
Elms is a critic of
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...
, and refuses to play the band on his BBC London daily radio show. He has been quoted as saying "I just think they are either childlike and simple or rather leaden and pompous – one or the other all the time. For me they turned something that was once sexy and raw and had roots, into something that was totally soulless, playground sing-along music. I think everything that is over-inflated deserves a pin-prick in it occasionally. How can they be above criticism? That's ludicrous."
His memoir, ''London Made Us'', was published in 2019.
Personal life
In the 1980s, Elms squatted with singer Sade Adu in
Tottenham
Tottenham () is a town in North London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, bordering Edmonton to the north, Walthams ...
.
He is married to Christina Wilson and has three children: Alice, Alfie and Maude. The family lived in
Camden
Camden may refer to:
People
* Camden (surname), a surname of English origin
* Camden Joy (born 1964), American writer
* Camden Toy (born 1957), American actor
Places Australia
* Camden, New South Wales
* Camden, Rosehill, a heritage res ...
, an area of London he promotes and where he has renovated a Georgian house. Elms is a Queens Park Rangers F.C. fan.
In 2021, Elms and his wife moved from their home in Camden to a flat at the
Barbican Estate
The Barbican Estate, or Barbican, is a residential complex of around 2,000 flats, maisonettes, and houses in central London, England, within the City of London. It is in an area once devastated by World War II bombings and densely populated b ...
, Central London.
Bibliography
* ''In Search of the Crack'', Penguin Books Ltd, 1989,
* ''Spain – A Portrait After The General'', William Heinemann Ltd, 1992,
* ''The Way We Wore: A Life in Threads'', Picador, 2006,
* ''London Made Us'', Canongate Books, 2019,