Paul Lester is a British music

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

, author and broadcaster from

Elstree Elstree is a large village in the Hertsmere borough of Hertfordshire, England. It is about northwest of central London on the former A5 road, that follows the course of Watling Street. In 2011, its population was 5,110. It forms part of t ...

, North London.

Career

He began his career 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 ...

, for ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' in the early 1990s, as well as ''

City Limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate li ...

'', ''

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...

'', '' Sky Magazine'' and ''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''. He covered

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock genre and subculture that emerged during the in the American Pacific Northwest state of Washington, particularly in Seattle and nearby towns. Grunge fuses elements of ...

shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming vol ...

, Madchester and Britpop, also spending time with bands touring the UK and internationally. In 1993, Lester became ''Melody Maker''s features editor; then in 1997, left to join Allan Jones in launching monthly music and film magazine '' Uncut'', remaining deputy editor until 2006. Lester has written more than a dozen rock / pop biographies, co-authored the '' Virgin Encyclopedia of Albums'' and often appears as a radio / television

music pundit Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

. He has interviewed hundreds of thespians and musicians including

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

. He has also written sleeve notes on many, including:

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, multimedia artist, sound engineer and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the band Ut ...

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

, The Smiths and

The Sex Pistols ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

. He currently resides in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

, from where he has been freelancing since January 2007. He contributes newspapers, including : ''

Guardian Guardian usually refers to: * Legal guardian, a person with the authority and duty to care for the interests of another * ''The Guardian'', a British daily newspaper (The) Guardian(s) may also refer to: Places * Guardian, West Virginia, Unit ...

'' (daily

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay ...

of 'Critics Picks' and '

New Band of the Day New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

'), ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'', the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...

'', '' The Mail on Sunday'', ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' and ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its pare ...

''. He writes of other

periodicals A periodical literature (also called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) is a published work that appears in a new edition on a regular schedule. The most familiar example is a newspaper, but a magazine or a journal are also exampl ...

, including: ''

Q (magazine) ''Q'' was a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and David Hepworth, who were presenters of the BBC television music series '' The Old Grey Whistle Test''. ...

'', '' GQ'', ''

Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...

'' and ''

'' (an autobiographical column about recently remarried life, as a father of three children). In July 2011, he joined digital station Amazing Radio to present a weekly show dedicated to new music. The programme continues to broadcast on Thursday afternoons between 1 and 3pm, on the national

Digital One Digital One is a national commercial digital radio multiplex in the United Kingdom, owned by Arqiva. , the multiplex covered more than 90% of the population from 137 transmitters. Coverage was extended to Northern Ireland in July 2013. It conta ...

network in the UK and online vi
amazingradio.co.uk
and the U
RadioPlayer
In 2018, Lester became the editor of ''Record Collector'' magazine.

Bibliography

Books

* * *''Blur: The Illustrated Story'' (Paperback). Pyramid, May 1995, *''Pulp: The Illustrated Story'' (Paperback). Hamlyn, Feb 1996, *''Björk: The Illustrated Story'' (Paperback). Hamlyn, Aug 1996, *''Spice Girls: The Illustrated Story'' (Paperback). Hamlyn, Feb 1997, *''Kula Shaker: The Illustrated Story'' (Paperback). Hamlyn, Mar 1997, *''The Prodigy: The Illustrated Story'' (Paperback). Hamlyn, Nov 1997, *''The Encyclopedia of Albums'' (co-authored with Chris Roberts) (Paperback). Dempsey Parr, 1998, *''The Verve: The Illustrated Story'' (Paperback). Hamlyn. Jun 1998, *''Robbie Williams: The Illustrated Story'' (Paperback). Hamlyn, Oct 1998, *''Gang of Four: Damaged Gods'' (Paperback). Omnibus Press, Sep 2008, *''Lowdown: The Story of Wire'' (Paperback). Omnibus Press, May 2009, *''Pink: Split Personality'' (Paperback). Omnibus Press, November 2009,

Album reviews

Awards

In 2008, Lester won the 'Breaking Music Writer' award at the Record of The Day Awards for Music Journalism and PR for his 'New Band of the Day' column in ''The Guardian''.

References

External links

New Band of the Day: ''The Guardian''Paul Lester's blog: ''The Jewish Chronicle''
*
''UNCUT''Amazing Radio show page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lester, Paul Living people British music journalists Melody Maker writers Mojo (magazine) people British male journalists People from Elstree Year of birth missing (living people)