Tony Fletcher (born 27 April 1964) is a British

music journalist Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

best known for his biographies of drummer

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 1946 – 7 September 1978) was an English musician who was the drummer for the rock band the Who. Regarded as one of the greatest drummers in the history of rock music, he was noted for his unique style of playing and ...

and the band

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

, and also as a show director for the Rock Academy in

Woodstock The Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held from August 15 to 18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. Billed as "a ...

''Jamming!''

Born in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, England, Fletcher was inspired by the

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 ...

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

movement and started a

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) for the pleas ...

as a thirteen-year-old schoolboy which he named ''Jamming!''. Founded in 1977, the magazine began as a school-printed fanzine and in 1978, with the fifth issue featuring interviews with

Paul Weller John William Weller (born 25 May 1958), better known as Paul Weller, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam, alongside ...

Adam Ant Stuart Leslie Goddard (born 3 November 1954), known professionally as Adam Ant, is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK ...

and

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

, adopted professional printing and wider distribution. From 1979-84, it was printed and partly distributed by Better Badges. Between 1978-83, ''Jamming!'' featured interviews with a range of artists that included

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...

Aztec Camera Aztec Camera were a Scottish pop/ new wave band founded by Roddy Frame, the group's singer, songwriter and only consistent member. Established in 1980, Aztec Camera released a total of six studio albums: '' High Land, Hard Rain'' (1983), ''Kn ...

Dexys Midnight Runners Dexys (known as Dexys Midnight Runners from 1978 to 2011) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul music, soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid- 1980s. They are best known in the UK for their ...

, the Damned, Delta 5,

the Jam The Jam were an English rock band formed in 1972 in Woking, Surrey, consisting of Paul Weller, Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler. They released 18 consecutive top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in ...

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician, attorney, and former astronaut who served from 2001 to 2019 as a United States Senate, United States senator from Florida and from 2021 to 2025 as the Administrator ...

Scritti Politti Scritti Politti are a British band formed in 1977 in Leeds by singer-songwriter Green Gartside, who is the sole remaining member of the original band. Initially formed as a punk culture, punk-aligned underground act influenced by leftist poli ...

, the Selecter, the Beat,

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...

and more. In September 1983, ''Jamming!'' went bi-monthly, and later monthly. Artists featured in this later phase included

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 ...

, U2,

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, author and political activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic th ...

Julian Cope Julian David Cope (born 21 October 1957) is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band the Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side proj ...

Lloyd Cole Lloyd Cole (born 31 January 1961) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. He was lead vocalist of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions from 1984 to 1989 and subsequently worked solo. Early life Cole was born in Buxton, Derbyshire, England. He ...

, the

Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins were a Scottish rock music, rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth on the Firth of Forth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981. In 19 ...

, Echo and the Bunnymen,

the Specials The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, J ...

Everything But the Girl Everything but the Girl are an English musical duo formed in Kingston upon Hull in 1982, consisting of lead singer, songwriter, composer and occasional guitarist Tracey Thorn and guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, composer, producer and sing ...

, Madness, and more. In January 1986, after 36 issues, the magazine shut down.

Media career

His success with ''Jamming!'' led Fletcher to more opportunities, starting with a major published interview with

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 ...

in 1982. He presented TV programmes, including ''

The Tube The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or as the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent home counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The Undergro ...

'', where he interviewed

Wham! Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981 consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to ...

in 1983, and networked with

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...

figures including

and

Echo & the Bunnymen Echo & the Bunnymen are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch (singer), Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bassist Les Pattinson. By 1980, Pete de Freita ...

, the latter being the subject of his first book, published in 1987. Fletcher also juggled band and record label management, before moving to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in the late 1980s. Fletcher produced and co-hosted 2019's ''It's a Pixies Podcast'', which broke new ground by unveiling the recording process of Pixies' then upcoming album ''

Beneath the Eyrie ''Beneath the Eyrie'' is the seventh studio album by American alternative rock band Pixies, released on September 13, 2019, by BMG/ Infectious. Produced by Tom Dalgety, and preceded by the singles "On Graveyard Hill" and "Catfish Kate", the a ...

'' before it had been released. In 2020, Fletcher also launched the fitness and travel podcast ''One Step Beyond'', inspired by spending most of 2016 traveling around the world with his then-wife and 11 year old son.

New York

In New York, Fletcher established himself as a DJ, club promoter and music industry consultant, all the while settling down as a serious scholar of contemporary music history, authoring a guide to the music of

the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

, plus major biographies of

and

. With the advent of the Internet in the 1990s, Fletcher returned to topical writing, with his ijamming.net website, adding wine to his musical interests. In 2010, he published a study on the musical history of New York City in the 20th century. His biography of the Smiths, ''A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of the Smiths'', was published in September 2012. On 4 July 2013,

William Heinemann William Henry Heinemann (18 May 1863 – 5 October 1920) was an English publisher of Jewish descent and the founder of the Heinemann publishing house in London. Early life On 18 May 1863, William Heinemann was born in Surbiton, Surrey, Englan ...

published Fletcher's memoir, ''Boy About Town'' about his youth in London. He is currently a show director at the Rock Academy in Woodstock.

Personal life

Fletcher has two children and was married to Posie Strenz. He lives in

upstate New York Upstate New York is a geographic region of New York (state), New York that lies north and northwest of the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area of downstate New York. Upstate includes the middle and upper Hudson Valley, ...

. He became a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

and later a

vegan Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...

inspired by the 1985 album '' Meat Is Murder''.

Books

* ''Never Stop: The Echo and the Bunnymen Story'' * ''Remarks Remade - The Story of R.E.M.'' * ''Dear Boy: The Life of Keith Moon'' (published in the United Kingdom; American title is ''Moon (The Life and Death of a Rock Legend)'') * ''Hedonism - A Novel'' * ''The Clash: An Essential Guide to Their Music'' * ''All Hopped Up and Ready to Go: Music from the Streets of New York 1927-77'' * ''A Light That Never Goes Out: The Enduring Saga of the Smiths'' (2012) * ''Boy About Town'' (2013) * ''In the Midnight Hour: The Life and Soul of Wilson Pickett'' (2017) * ''Knock! Knock! Knock! on Wood: My Life in Soul'' (2020) * ''The Best of Jamming! Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up, 1977–86'' (2021)

References

External links

*
Author biography at amazon.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fletcher, Tony 1964 births Living people English biographers English music journalists 20th-century English novelists 21st-century English novelists Journalists from Yorkshire English male novelists 20th-century English male writers 21st-century English male writers English male non-fiction writers British male biographers