Jonh Ingham (born 1951) is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

entrepreneur who has worked in music journalism, pop band and nightclub management, advertising,

internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

application development and management consultancy. In the mid-1970s he worked for the British pop music newspaper ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

'', and was a key journalist in the development of the punk rock pop and fashion music movement in the United Kingdom when he published the first press interview with the Sex Pistols.

Early life

Ingham was born in Australia to English parents, and grew up in Australia, Canada, and the USA. He received his formal education at

South Eugene High School South Eugene High School is a public high school located in Eugene, Oregon, United States. History The school was founded as Eugene High School around 1900, and was located at Willamette Street and West 11th Avenue in a brick building that late ...

, Eugene, Oregon, and at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

in Los Angeles, where he took a course in pop music criticism from Robert Christgau of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

''; Christgau helped him get his first work as a journalist. Ingham's articles appeared in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'', ''

Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is a monthly American music magazine, based in Detroit, whose main print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. Influential crit ...

'', and other contemporary magazines whilst he was still in college. With

Greg Shaw Greg Shaw (January 1949 – October 19, 2004) was an American writer, publisher, magazine editor, music historian and record executive. Biography Shaw was born in San Francisco, California. He began writing about rock and roll music as a ...

he was instrumental in launching the influential music fanzine '' Who Put the Bomp''.

Career

Moving to London in 1972 to study at the London International Film School, he was employed as a

freelance writer ''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 ...

for '' New Musical Express'' and other London-based pop music magazines, before joining the staff of ''

''. From 1975 to 1977 he wrote high-profile interviews with

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

, Jimmy Page,

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone ...

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese having been the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup ...

and

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, and was one of the first journalists to champion London's punk music movement, being the first journalist to hold interviews with the Sex Pistols, and publish gig reviews of the Damned and

the Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...

. In early 1977 he left journalism to become co-manager of the

pop-punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti- suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other p ...

band

Generation X Generation X (or Gen X for short) is the Western demographic cohort following the baby boomers and preceding the millennials. Researchers and popular media use the mid-to-late 1960s as starting birth years and the late 1970s to early 1980s a ...

for a year, before relocating back to Los Angeles to work in the film industry. In 1980 he returned to pop music as the manager of

the Go-Go's The Go-Go's are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1978. Except for short periods when other musicians joined briefly, the band has had a relatively stable lineup consisting of Charlotte Caffey on lead guitar and keyboar ...

; that group became a leading attraction in L.A.'s local music scene under Ingham's influence, leading to their being signed by I.R.S. Records. Ingham started the Fake Club in 1982, the first of LA's many "temporary" nightclubs that were a part of the city's nightlife in the 1980s, before he relocated to Tokyo in 1985 to work in advertising, where he became fluent in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

. Back in London, from 1996 to 1998 he was CompuServe's Head of Content. In 2000, as Head of Content at music startup Worldpop, he created Europe's first content service for mobile phones. From 2001 to 2006 he was O2's Head of Content. Since 2012 he has been Director of the Archer Business Group, a management consultancy. Ingham published the book ''Spirit of '76 – London Punk Eyewitness'' in 2017, detailing the inception of the punk rock movement in the United Kingdom."Photos of the faces of Punk before they were famous", interview with Jonh Ingham, 'Dazed Digital.com', 12 May 2017. https://www.dazeddigital.com/photography/article/35880/1/john-ingham-photos-of-the-faces-of-punk-before-they-were-famous

Publications

* ''Spirit of '76 – London Punk Eyewitness'' (2017).

References

External links

My Back Pages
Jonh Ingham's personal website
MOG – Jonh Ingham
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingham, Jonh British music journalists Living people 1951 births

Early life

Career

Publications

References

Further reading

External links