//Now at markpowellbespoke.co.uk//

In an in-conversation with British tailoring legend Mark Powell on his website we talk about the ways in which Mark is evolving his business all the while maintaining independence and individuality.

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TAGS: None

I’m looking forward to appearing at Pop Up, the subcultures festival being held in the Gloucestershire town of Stroud next month.

I’ll be comparing and contrasting the work of Barney Bubbles with that of his rivals Hipgnosis in the 70s and 80s with Mark Blake, author of the new book about the British music design studio and Pop Up organiser and writer Ben Wardle.

//Front Cover, Peter Gabriel, Charisma Records, 1977. Design: Hipgnosis//

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Tags: Ben Wardle, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Duggie Fields, Edgard Broughton Band, Fumble, Genesis Breyer P. Orridge, Hipgnosis, Mark Blake, Peter Gabriel, Sammy Hagar, UFO

I’m taking part in the the Christmas authors’ evening at central London’s Foyles bookshop tomorrow.

I’ll be signing copies of Totally Wired: The Rise & Fall of the Music Press, there’ll be readings and Jude Rogers is DJing an alternative Xmas set.

Come along, it will be fun.

Details here.

Tags: Foyle's

I’m talking about my music press history Totally Wired at this weekend’s Write Idea Festival at east London’s venerated Bethnal Green Library.

The library is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year and I’m lining up with such authors as crime writer Ajay Chowdhury, historian Panikos Panayi, writer and publisher Shahida Rahman, performer Vivi Lachs, architecture specialist John Grindrod, comedian Tez Ilyas, former BBC correspondent Nick Higham and journalist Siobhan MacGowan.

I’ll be in conversation with festival organiser Neal Smith about the rise and fall of the music press from 4pm on Sunday (November 6). Tickets are FREE here.

Full details of the Write Idea line-up here.

Tags: Ajay Chowdhury, Bethnal Green Library, John Grindrod, Neal Smith, Nick Higham, Panikos Panayi, Shahida Rahman, Siobhan MacGowan, Tez Ilyas, Write Idea, Write Idea Festival

I’ll be joining contemporary music magazines including Disco Pogo and Ambit Pop at a celebration of the music press then and now at London’s premier magazine outlet Magculture a week on Thursday (October 27).

Magculture currently stocks a dozen music magazines, so is the appropriate place to talk about the past, the present and the future of the media sector which has spawned so many exciting publications as well as writers, designers, photographers and editors.

Starting at 6.30pm, I’ll be discussing the themes raised in my book Totally Wired: The Rise and Fall of the Music Press with magCulture’s Jeremy Leslie,and then we’ll be joined by editors including Paul Benney of Disco Pogo (and also co-founder of 90s mag Jockey Slut) and Kirsty Allison of Ambit + Ambit Pop.

Details and tickets for the event are available here.

Tags: Ambit, Ambit Pop, Disco Pogo, Jockey Slut, Kirsty Allison, Magculture, Paul Benney, Sam Ford, So Young

//With Peter York taking part in new literary/comedy festival Walthamstow Weekender at Walthamstow Trades Hall last Saturday. Photo: Mark Hart//

My new book Totally Wired: The Rise & Fall of the Music Press is out in the UK, Europe, Australia and other countries, so I have been active on the promotional front.

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Tags: Alexis Petridis, Bound Art Book Fair, Dave Haslam, David Hepworth, Laura Snapes, Manchester, Mark Ellen, Monocle Radio, Natty Kasambala, Peter York, Robert Bound, Robert Elms, Walthamstow Weekender, Write Idea Festival

The first review of my next book Totally Wired: The Rise & Fall of the Music Press is in the current issue of British monthly Electronic Sound, which receives a mention in the post-2000 epilogue:

Challenging my ‘rise & fall’ thesis, Electronic Sound‘s review is nevertheless complimentary, describing the book as an ‘illuminating treatise’ and ‘essential reading’.

Visit Electronic Sound and buy the latest issue here.

Order your copy of Totally Wired at all good booksellers, including bookshop.org.

TAGS: None

//Suit jacket + tie: Mark Powell; tab collared polka dot shirt Simon James Cathcart//

Get your Barney Bubbles Button badge set from the Barney Bubbles online shop.

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Tags: Generation X, John Cooper Clarke, Johnny Moped, Mark Powell, Punch The Clock, Simon James Cathcart, Vinyl Factory

//The opening spread of my piece, with images from In The Gutter. Left: Pleasant Gehman, right: Caroline Coon//

//The new issue of MacGuffin//

I’ve returned to the excellent MacGuffin magazine with a piece in their latest issue, which adopts the theme ‘The Chain’.

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Tags: Belmacz, Caroline Coon, Diana Pfammatter, Ernst van der Hoeven, IN The Gutter, Julia Muggenburg, Kirsten Algera, Pleasant Gehman

//George Hardie’s design for card announcing the opening of Universal Witness at 167 Fulham Road on November 17 1970//

Here’s another treasure from the trove of Design magazines given to me by the designer Paul Walters; the invitation for the opening of Paul Reeves’ west London boutique Universal Witness in November 1970.

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Tags: Alkasura, Design, George Hardie, Jimi Hendrix, John Lloyd, Keith Richards, Led Zeppelin, Mr Feed'Em, Paul McCartney, Paul Reeves, Paul Walters, Pink Floyd, Universal Witness, Wings