Martin Aston

My first paid piece of writing was a live review for Melody Maker in 1984: New Order at the salubrious Golddigger’s in Chippenham. The car broke down on the way, but I got there in time. I have since contributed to various publications, including MOJO, Q, The Guardian, Radio Times, Attitude, Music Week, BBC Music, The Vinyl Factory, Esquire, Spin, Details and The Vinyl Factory, and written four books, plus plenty of press biographies and sleevenotes.

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The four books are: Pulp (Pan MacMillan, 1995), Björkgraphy (Simon & Schuster, 1996),

Facing the Other Way: The Story Of 4AD (The Friday Project/HarperCollins with editions in French, Russian and, in 2025, Spanish) and Breaking Down The Walls Of Heartache: How Music Came Out (Constable/Little, Brown in the UK, Backbeat in the US), the last a hundred years-plus history of the LGBTQ+ pioneers of Popular Music,

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I was Music Editor for the first (and very different) incarnation of Heat and, at various junctures, I've been news editor (MOJO), independent music editor (Music Week), consultant editor (Radio Times and UK correspondent for OOR (the Netherlands), College Music Journal (US) and the Auckland Star (New Zealand).

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In 2000, I edited the book series Divas (individual profiles of four incomparable female performers: Billie Holiday, Judy Garland, Aretha Franklin and Barbra Streisand, published by Unanimous).

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I've also worked in A&R for Rough Trade Records, and in digital media, as managing editor of a European-based content provider (think Time Out meets Rough Guides), ​​

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With 40 years of writing, and most examples in print, there is a limited amount of online links but examples of work can be found at MOJO's website, The Guardian, Rock’s Back Pages (subscription needed, though some free access), The Vinyl Factory and BBC Music.

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For more personal information than anyone (including myself) could possibly need, this Q&A for literary journal The Writing Disorder.

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Favourite albums include Marquee Moon (Television), Pawn hearts (Van Der Graaf Generator) Ziggy Stardust.... and Station To Station (David Bowie),  Baltimore (Nina Simone), The Velvet Underground & Nico, Astral Weeks (Van Morrison),  Forever Changes (Love), Horses (Patti Smith), Rock Bottom (Robert Wyatt), New York Tendaberry (Laura Nyro), Belle (Al Green’), Radio City (Big Star), Pampered Menial (Pavlov’s Dog), Throwing Muses’ first, OK Computer (Radiohead), Queen Of Denmark (John Grant). Favourite single  is a tie between 'Starman' (Bowie), 'Past, Present & Future' (The Shangri-La’s) and 'Classical Mudley' (Portsmouth Symphonia).

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Favourite film: Don't Look Now. Book: Gravity's Rainbow

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             Interviews include: ​

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MOJO: Patti Smith, Beck, Björk, Alice Cooper, Pixies, Roy Harper, Feist, Neil Tennant, David Gahan, The Breeders, Hot Chip, Jerry Dammers, Tricky, Terry Hall, Suede, Beth Ditto, Thurston Moore, Rodriguez, Viv Albertine, John Cale, John Barry, Johnny Marr, John Grant, Laurie Anderson, The Edge.

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Q: David Bowie, Jeff Buckley, Abba, Björk, Portishead, Supergrass, Suede, Robert Wyatt,

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The Guardian: Deerhunter, BLK JKS, Other Lives, Flying Nun, Sinead O’Connor, 4AD.

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The Times: John Cale, Candi Staton, Anohni,  Secret Machines, Ben Harper, Teddy Thompson.

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The Independent: John Cale, Kristin Hersh, The Triffids, New Order/World Cup Songs.

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Attitude: Boy George, Marc Almond, Rufus Wainwright, Jimmy Sommerville, Elizabeth Fraser, Franz Ferdinand, Hercules And Love Affair, gay footballers Anton Heysen and Liam Davis.

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Neon: Gary Oldman, Tim Burton, Wim Wenders, Cuba Gooding Jnr, Kevin Kline, John Walters, Baz Lurhman, Karen Black, Bruce La Bruce, Joe Strummer.

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Esquire: Todd Terje, Metronomy, Damon Albarn.

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Radio Times: Drama: Dame Judi Dench, Sir David Attenborough, Stephen Fry, Whoopi Goldberg, Kiefer Sutherland, Robert Vaughan and Adrian Lester, Julie Walters, Martin Clunes, John Sims, Colin Farrell, Music: Paul Simon. Annie Lennox, Brian Wilson. Jarvis Cocker, Dolly Parton, Sting, Marianne Faithfull, Ozzy Osbourne, Ellie Goulding, Bat For Lashes. Current Affairs: John Humphreys, Jeremy Paxman, Kate Adie, John Pilger, Kirsty Walk, John Simpson. Comedy: Dawn French, Mitchell & Webb, Joan Rivers, Barry Humphries, The League of Gentlemen, Alan Davies, Catherine Tate, Michael Palin, Michelle Gomez, Red Dwarf, Clement & Le Frenais, Harry Shearer, Paul O’Grady, Graham Norton. Food: Heston Blumenthal, Michel Roux Jr, Jamie Oliver, John Torode and Gregg Wallace, Marco Pierre White, Pru Leith, Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall, The Hairy Bikers. Sport:  Gary Lineker, Claire Baulding, Terry Venables, Rudd Gullit, Steve Redgrave, John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, Tim Henman, Boris Becker, Virginia Wade, Tracey Austin, Ilie Nastase.

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OOR Magazine: Roy Orbison, Lou Reed, Morrissey, Siouxsie Sioux, Robert Smith, Stone Roses, Jeff Buckley, The Cramps

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