Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' and many other magazines and newspapers, and has been interviewed for a number of television documentaries and reports on music.

Biography

Murray grew up in Reading, Berkshire, England, where he attended

Reading Grammar School Reading School is a grammar school for boys with academy status in the English town of Reading, the county of Berkshire. It traces its history back to the school of Reading Abbey and is, thus, one of the oldest schools in England. There are no ...

and learnt to play the harmonica and guitar. His first experience in journalism came in 1970, when he was one of a number of schoolchildren who responded to an invitation to edit the April issue of the satirical magazine '' Oz''. He thus contributed to the notorious Schoolkids OZ issue and was involved in the consequent obscenity trial. He then wrote for '' IT (International Times)'', before moving to the ''New Musical Express'' in 1972 for which he wrote until around 1986. He subsequently worked for a number of publications including '' Q magazine'', ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

'', '' MacUser'', '' New Statesman'', ''

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (mining ...

'', '' The Guardian'', '' The Observer'', '' The Daily Telegraph'', '' Vogue'', and '' The Independent''. He currently writes a monthly column about his lifelong love affair with guitars in ''

Guitarist A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselv ...

'' magazine''.''

Bibliography

In addition to his magazine work, Murray has written a number of books. ;Non-fiction *''David Bowie: An Illustrated Record'' (1981), with Roy Carr, *''Crosstown Traffic: Jimi Hendrix and Post-War Pop'' (1989), a musical biography of

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

, ; won the Ralph Gleason Music Book Award *''Shots From The Hip'' (1991), , selected writings from his first two decades as a journalist *''Blues on CD: The Essential Guide'' (1993), *''Boogie Man: Adventures of John Lee Hooker in the American 20th Century'' (1999), a biography of

John Lee Hooker John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1912 or 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. The son of a sharecropper, he rose to prominence performing an electric guitar-style adaptation of Delta blues. Hooker often ...

, ; shortlisted for the Gleason award. ;Novels *''The Hellhound Sample'' (2011),

Broadcasting

His broadcasting credits include: *"The Seven Ages of Rock" (BBC2, 2007) as series consultant and interviewee *"The South Bank Show" (ITV, 2006) Dusty Springfield – interviewee *"Inky Fingers: The NME Story" (BBC2, 2005) – interviewee *"Dancing in the Street" (BBC2) – series consultant *"Jazz From Hell: Frank Zappa" (BBC Radio 3) writer and presenter *"Punk Jazz: Jaco Pastorius" (BBC R3) writer and presenter *"The Life and Crimes of Lenny Bruce" (BBC R3) writer and presenter

Performance

Murray also sang and played guitar and harmonica as Blast Furnace in the band

Blast Furnace and the Heatwaves Blast or The Blast may refer to: *Explosion, a rapid increase in volume and release of energy in an extreme manner *Detonation, an exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front Film * ''Blast'' (1997 film), ...

and currently performs with London blues band Crosstown Lightnin'.

References

External links

*
Professional biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Charles Shaar 1951 births Living people writers from Reading, Berkshire English blues guitarists English male guitarists Rhythm and blues guitarists English music journalists English music critics Labour Party (UK) people NME writers People educated at Reading School Rock critics