John Earls is an English music journalist, broadcaster, and columnist, best known for his work as chief writer and editor of

Planet Sound Planet Sound was a Teletext music page on ITV and Channel 4 in the UK, active from 1997 until 2009. It was broadcast on analogue Teletext from page 340, and on digital Teletext from page 820. From 24 May 2007, Planet Sound was also available to ...

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

's and

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 ...

Teletext A British Ceefax football index page from October 2009, showing the three-digit page numbers for a variety of football news stories Teletext, or broadcast teletext, is a standard for displaying text and rudimentary graphics on suitably equipp ...

analogue television Analog television is the original television technology that uses analog signals to transmit video and audio. In an analog television broadcast, the brightness, colors and sound are represented by amplitude, phase and frequency of an analog s ...

and online. He has contributed widely in UK media by writing for the ''

News of the World The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling En ...

'', ''

When Saturday Comes ''When Saturday Comes'' (''WSC'') is a monthly magazine about football, first published in London in 1986. "It aims to provide a voice for intelligent football supporters, offering both a serious and humorous view of the sport, covering all the ...

'', and the ''

Sunday People The ''Sunday People'' is a British tabloid Sunday newspaper. It was founded as ''The People'' on 16 October 1881. At one point owned by Odhams Press, The ''People'' was acquired along with Odhams by the Mirror Group in 1961, along with the ' ...

'' amongst other publications.

Early career

Born on 25 August 1972, Earls grew up in

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

. He wrote reader reviews for Blue Suede Views on

ORACLE An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination. Description The word '' ...

and for ''

Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the followi ...

'' in 1987 at the age of 14. He started writing professionally 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 ...

in 1990 for football magazines ''90 Minutes'' and, after completing a month's

work experience Work may refer to: * Work (human activity), intentional activity people perform to support themselves, others, or the community ** Manual labour, physical work done by humans ** House work, housework, or homemaking ** Working animal, an animal tr ...

there, ''

''. After completing a year's journalism course at

Harlow College Harlow College is a further education college in Harlow, Essex, England. This medium-sized college has 5,900 students as of 2018 of which 2,585 are on 16-19 programmes and 2,000 are on adult educational programmes. Its main campus is in the tow ...

in 1992, Earls became a showbiz interviewer for ''The Sunday People'', a post he left in 1999. Two months later, he became a teen entertainment interviewer for

, the successor to ORACLE.

Planet Sound and beyond

Earls became a writer for Teletext's music section, Planet Sound, 18 months after joining the company. He was named

chief editor An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

of the publication in 2001 and was at the post until its end in January 2010. He wrote the whole of the magazine, including news, single and album reviews, and features. Earls became synonymous with Planet Sound and his work was often cited by other publications. He wrote the Rated music column for the ''

'' until its closure in 2011. During his career, Earls has interviewed many acclaimed musicians. He is considered by the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

as one of the most influential and impartial UK-based music critics and broadcasters of recent times. Earls has set up a

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

, WET, with friends. He also makes irregular appearances as a stand-up on the London comedy circuit, and has shared bills with comics including Brian Damage,

Ross Noble Ross Markham Noble (born 5 June 1976) is an English stand-up comedian and actor. Noble rose to mainstream popularity through making appearances on British television, particularly interviews and on panel shows such as '' Have I Got News for You' ...

, Paul Foot,

Paul Chowdhry Tajpaul Singh Chowdhry ( Punjabi: ਤਜਪੌਲ ਸਿੰਘ ਚੋਦਰੀ, born 21 August 1974), better known as Paul Chowdhry, is an English comedian and actor. He is of Indian Punjabi Sikh descent. He began his stand up career in 1998 an ...

and

Iain Lee Iain Lee (born Iain Lee Rougvie; 9 June 1973) is an English broadcaster, writer, and former television presenter and stand-up comedian who hosts the phone-in talk show '' The Late Night Alternative'' on "pay to view" Patreon. Lee's career began ...

Music reviews

Earls lists the following albums as ones readers should own, apart from "the obvious great ones they'd already own": *

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

– '' Very'' *

My Life Story My Life Story are an English pop group formed in London, England, in 1993. The group's success peaked in the mid to late 1990s as part of the Britpop era. Fronted by singer/songwriter Jake Shillingford, the group inherited their name from an ear ...

– ''

Greetings from Mornington Crescent Greeting is an act of communication in which human beings intentionally make their presence known to each other, to show attention to, and to suggest a type of relationship (usually cordial) or social status (formal or informal) between indivi ...

'' *

The Delgados The Delgados are a Scottish indie rock band formed in Glasgow in 1994. The band is composed of Alun Woodward (vocals, guitar), Emma Pollock (vocals, guitar), Stewart Henderson (bass guitar), and Paul Savage (drums). Biography The band was for ...

– '' The Great Eastern'' *

The Teardrop Explodes The Teardrop Explodes were an English post-punk/neo-psychedelic band formed in Liverpool in 1978. Best known for their Top Ten UK single "Reward", the group originated as a key band in the emerging Liverpool post-punk scene of the late 1970s. T ...

– '' Wilder'' * The National – ''

Alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis''). Additiona ...

References

External links

John Earls
at

Interview with John Earls
at The Music Fix {{DEFAULTSORT:Earls, John 1972 births Living people English writers English music journalists English sports journalists Alumni of Harlow College English male non-fiction writers