Graham Barnfield (born 5 November 1969 in Leicester) is a British academic and pundit associated with the

hard left In the United Kingdom, the hard left are the left-wing political movements and ideas outside the mainstream centre-left.* * Term The term was first used in the context of debates within both the Labour Party and the broader left in the 1980 ...

Revolutionary Communist Party (1981–1997). In 1993 he began writing on cultural politics in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

under President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

. Barnfield also comments on documentary representation, leading to some radio and television appearances discussing

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early ...

and

happy slapping Happy slapping was a fad originating in the United Kingdom around 2005, in which one or more people attack a victim for the purpose of recording the assault (commonly with a camera phone or a smartphone). Though the term usually refers to relativ ...

.Graham Barnfield: they thought he was an expert. He is now.
''The Guardian'', 7 June 2005 He teaches journalism at the

University of East London , mottoeng = Knowledge and the fulfilment of vows , established = 1898 – West Ham Technical Institute1952 – West Ham College of Technology1970 – North East London Polytechnic1989 – Polytechnic of East London ...

. He is the former editor of ''Culture Matters: Communications, Media & Communities'' (Sheffield Hallam University Press) and was a 2003 Fellow of the

Wolfsonian-FIU The Wolfsonian–Florida International University or The Wolfsonian-FIU, located in the heart of the Art Deco District of Miami Beach, Florida, is a museum, library and research center that uses its collection to illustrate the persuasive power of ...

. He received a BA (Hons) in English with media studies, from the University of Sussex in 1992, and a PhD in cultural studies with the dissertation ''Co-opting Culture: State Intervention in and Party Patronage of Literary and Popular Culture, 1929–1941'', from Sheffield Hallam University in 1996. As a teenager, he was a vocalist in Leicester rock band the Marmite Sisters. He briefly developed a sideline as a bit-part actor, including a feature credit in '' Number One Longing, Number Two Regret'' and now writes for a wide range of publications.

Partial filmography

Film

Television

Marmite Sisters

The Marmite Sisters were an

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

band formed in 1984 from Glenfield, Leicestershire,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. They were initially known as the Anonymouse, with Barnfield on vocals, Steve Hill on guitar, Christopher Murphy on bass and Stub Robinson on drums. The band's name changed to the Marmite Sisters in May 1986, undergoing multiple changes of line-up and personnel. The band's first release was the ''Kick Donkey'' cassette in 1988. This was followed by the ''Songs of Love and Lawnmowers'' cassette in 1989. The final line-up split up in 1994. The band subsequently released the EP ''Gricers'' on a German label in February 1995 and made compilation appearances on Grapefruit Sunrise along with connected bands The Minogues and Cavalier Approach.

Discography

Belper (FLX) on Tea Records Tug EP (FLX) 1991 on Tea Records Gricers (7" MEL 16) 1995 on Meller Welle Produckte

Featured on compilations

C92 (K7) 1993 on Rainbow recordings – My White Amp A Taste of Tea 1993 on Tea Records – Cheapday Returns; Rain

References

External links

Graham Barnfield's weblog
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barnfield, Graham English bloggers Academics from Leicester Academics of the University of East London 1969 births Living people Alumni of Sheffield Hallam University Alumni of the University of Sussex British political writers British communists Musicians from Leicestershire People from Glenfield, Leicestershire British male bloggers Revolutionary Communist Party (UK, 1978) members