Paul Du Noyer (born Paul Anthony Du Noyer; 21 May 1954) is an English rock journalist and author. He was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, and educated at the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

. He has written and edited for the music magazines ''

NME ''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 ...

'', '' Q'' and ''

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 * ' ...

''. Du Noyer is the author of several books on the music industry, rock musicians,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and on his hometown, Liverpool. He was associate editor at '' The Word'' magazine from 2002 until its demise in 2012.

Career

Du Noyer began his writing career in London after moving from Liverpool at the age of eighteen. He was a freelance journalist from 1978 to 1980 and then worked as an assistant editor for the ''

'' before becoming a staff writer in 1980. At '' Q'', he was assistant editor until 1990 and then served as editor before becoming the founding editor of ''

'' magazine. In the latter role, he won an award for "Editor of the year" in 1994. He left ''Mojo'' in 1995 but remains a contributing editor. He was editor director for Emap Digital Music from 1999 to 2001. During his career as a rock journalist and editor, Du Noyer has interviewed music artists such as

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

and

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

. In 1997, he wrote ''We All Shine On'', a book about the solo songs of

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

. Du Noyer has worked as an editorial consultant for clients such as

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

and

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

. He edited the programme for McCartney's 1989–90 world tour and wrote an essay there forwarding McCartney's association with the 1960s

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

scene in London. The programme was part of McCartney's campaign, begun in 1986, to challenge the public's perception of him as musically conservative in the years following Lennon's murder in 1980. Du Noyer went on to serve as editor of subsequent McCartney tour programmes and has supplied the liner notes for several McCartney album reissues.

Books and publications

*''The Story of Rock 'n' Roll'' (1995) *''We All Shine On: The Stories Behind Every John Lennon Song'' (1997) *''The Clash: Modern Icons'' (1998) *''Marc Bolan (Virgin Modern Icons)'' (1999) *''Liverpool: Wondrous Place'' (2002) *''In the City: A Celebration of London Music'' (2010) *''John Lennon: The Stories Behind Every Song 1970–1980'' (2010) *''Working Class Hero'' (2010) *''Deaf School: The Non-Stop Pop Art Punk Rock Party'' (2013) *''Conversations with McCartney'' (2015)

References

External links

Paul Du Noyer websiteInterview: Paul Du Noyer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Du Noyer, Paul 1954 births Living people English essayists English magazine editors English music critics English music historians English music journalists Journalists from Liverpool Writers from Liverpool Alumni of the London School of Economics English male non-fiction writers British male essayists