Paul Gorman is…

Totally Wired: Music publications that made a difference

Jun 28th, 2023

When he launched the small-format 32-page song sheet The Melody Maker in 1926, Tin Pan Alley music publisher Lawrence Wright sparked the media revolution that created the music press.

This multi-million pound business eventually straddled the Atlantic and simultaneously proved a fertile breeding ground for generations of writers, photographers, film-makers and performers who made their mark in the wider world.

Everyone from Bob Geldof, Chrissie Hynde and Neil Tennant to Danny Baker, Caroline Coon, Julie Burchill, Barbara Ellen, Caitlin Moran, Miranda Sawyer and movie directors Cameron Crowe and Anton Corbijn (and even Michael Winner) cut their teeth on music magazines such as Melody Maker, New Musical Express, Rolling Stone, ZigZag and Smash Hits.

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Sunglasses Ron in rocking rabble-rousing mode at The Rainbow 1977

Jun 26th, 2013

//"Sunglasses Ron" Fahey, top right, leads the applause onstage at the Rainbow, Finsbury Park, London, spring 1977. Photo: Neal Purvis//

The photograph above – taken by a friend, Neal Purvis – captures one of the leading lights of London’s Ted scene at the height of his rabble-rousing powers.

Here is “Sunglasses Ron” Fahey taking to the stage of north London venue The Rainbow during The Sun Sound Show, which ran on the nights of April 30 and May 1 1977 and featured rockabilly giants Charlie Feathers, Buddy Knox, Jack Scott and Warren Smith.

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The Word’s out on The Modern Outfitter

Feb 4th, 2012

Lloyd Johnson: The Modern Outfitter in The Word magazine (290)Lloyd Johnson: The Modern Outfitter in The Word magazine (290)

The new issue of The Word magazine includes a photo-spread on the exhibition Lloyd Johnson: The Modern Outfitter.

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