| Alex Ogg Freelance Writer |
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Alex Ogg is an author, freelance writer, catalogue A&R Consultant and Project Manager. Member of the Society Of Authors. Literary Agent: James Wills (Watson-Little) (www.watsonlittle.com) Books: Independence Days: The History of UK independent record labels (Published September 2009) No More Heroes A complete history of UK punk 1976-1980 (Cherry Red) The Hip Hop Years (with David Upshal) Radiohead: Standing At The Edge The Men Behind Def Jam Top Ten (with Channel 4) Hip Hop Lyrics: From the Sugarhill Gang to Eminem **************** Magazine, Newspaper, Web Articles The Times, Classic Rock, Record Collector, The Big Takeover (NY), Spiral Scratch, Big Cheese, Bearded. Music Mart, The Quietus Sleevenotes Over 100 artist sleevenotes, often project-managing re-releases. Including: Skids, The Undertones, Buzzcocks, Monochrome Set, Eater, New York Dolls, Marine Girls, The Ruts, The Fall, Motorhead, Ella Fitzgerald, Pillows & Prayers Box Set |
AUTHOR OF:
CONTRIBUTOR TO MORE THAN 50 MUSIC BOOKS AND ENCYCLOPEDIAS
HIP HOP YEARS: 5/5 (Q) 5/5 (HEAT) 8/10 (LOADED) "All have their say, thanks to Ogg's concise, anecdotal style . . . Wherever they go, Ogg's definitive history never flinches from following." Alexis Petredis, Q. "Fascinating, thrilling and essential reading." Paul Croughton, Heat. THE MEN BEHIND DEF JAM: "He can express his reservations without sounding like your parents. which makes this the perfect primer for anyone who doesn't know why rap is the most important musical movement of the last 25 years . . . Naturally, it's a blast from page one." David Hutcheon, Mojo 'Enlightening study...thoroughly readable and often highly revealing...compelling saga' Kerrang TOP TEN: 4/5 (HEAT). 4/5 (JOCKEY SLUT). "Superb" (Joel McIver, Record Collector). "Fantastic. Book of the month" (BUZZ) "ALex Ogg has a detailed knowledge of the vagaries of pop music." (John Coleman What's On In London) |
BAG A GONG! Pillows & Prayers wins 2008 Mojo Award for Best Catalogue Release. TVoted by a panel of MOJO and HMV judges to recognise the best reissue concept and package of the last 12 months. Former winners include The Fall’s Complete Peel Sessions; Johnny Cash – The Legend; and the Complete Motown Singles 1966. |
Nattira Festival, Iceland June 2008 Pictures from the free festival headlined by Bjork and Sigur Ros, as well as the launch for Andri Snaer Magnason's Dreamlands book Pictures from the waterfall areas that will be affected by the construction of new dams to facilitate construction of aluminium smelters. |
I'll Give You My Heart, I'll Give You My Heart Out now: 8-CD Box Set ***** (5/5) The Times ***** (5/5) Record Collector ***** (5/5) Metro As is the tradition with wallowing- based box sets like this, the booklet is duly stuffed with new interviews and old music press clippings in those lovely old NME and Melody Maker early Eighties fonts (sigh...) There are revelations, hindsight and hubris, anorak tidbits, tears, regrets, mistakes made, and, in one case, a mistake corrected....” (Plan B Magazine) |
NEW REVIEWS BBC Rough Trade Documentary Lily Allen's new album Lydia Lunch Interview John Foxx Interview |
Independence Days, even by the standards of author Alex Ogg’s previous work (The Hip Hop Years, No More Heroes etc) is an exhaustive undertaking. Collating more than 150 interviews, it traces the story of the UK independent record label boom of the late 70s to mid-80s. While most of the punk bands were co-opted by major labels, a new generation of independent spirits took the baton and revolutionised the course of popular music. Discrete chapters cover Chiswick/Ace, Stiff, Rough Trade, Beggars Banquet/4AD, Crass, Factory, Cherry Red and Mute. There is also extensive coverage of Fast Product, Zoo, Clay, Small Wonder, CNT, Industrial, Good Vibrations, Postcard and myriad others. The smaller labels and their unique stories are also rigorously explored. From the budget DIY of Buzzcocks and The Desperate Bicycles to the grandiose packaging of Factory and 4AD and eventual chart dominance of Depeche Mode, the Smiths and New Order, all the key moments are documented through painstaking research, analysis and eyewitness accounts. Scheming and rivalries and fiscal brinkmanship contrast with the optimism and opportunism – and incredible diversity and quality of music - of a decade when anything seemed possible. Interviewees include: Geoff Travis, Daniel Miller, Ivo Watts-Russell, Dave Robinson, Ted Carroll, Bill Drummond, Roger Armstrong, Penny Rimbaud, Richard Boon, Martin Mills, Richard Scott Iain McNay, Mike Stone, Mike Alway, Bob Last, Terri Hooley, Bill Gilliam, Charlie Gillett, Miles Copeland, Seymour Stein, etc |
Chapter One Edison . . . And Light Bulbs The Early History of Independent Record Labels Chapter Two Gatecrashers Chiswick and Ace Records Chapter Three So It Goes Stiff Records Chapter Four How About Me And You? Small Wonder, New Hormones, Step Forward and a Cast of Thousands Chapter Five Music Is A Better Noise Rough Trade Records Chapter Six Echoes In A Shallow Bay Beggars Banquet and 4AD Records Chapter Seven Behind The Wheel Mute Records, Industrial, and Electronica Chapter Eight The Graveyard & The Ballroom Rabid, Factory & Zoo Chapter Nine The Sound Of Young Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales Fast, Postcard, Good Vibrations and Z Block Chapter Ten Ever Present Cherry Red Records Chapter Eleven Do They Owe Us A Living? Crass, Southern, The Anarcho Punk Labels Chapter Twelve Get Rid Of These Things The Cartel, its labels, and the building of an independent infrastructure |