John Harris was born in 1969, and raised in Cheshire, possibly England's least remarkable county (although, come to think of it, Hertfordshire might put up a convincing challenge). 19 years later, he began writing professionally: though he had just begun his first year at college, the much-missed music weekly Sounds added him to their pool of freelancers, and he wrote his first cover story the following year.
Regrettably, Sounds closed in 1991 - but after a brief spell at Melody Maker, and three months spent studying for an MA in Political Theory, he became a full-time writer at the NME, where he stayed until the summer of 1995. Fortuitously, this represented ideal timing: John was around for the birth of what became known as Britpop, and wrote reams about most of its key players: Suede, Blur, Elastica, Oasis. His April 1994 interview with the Gallagher Brothers, during which Liam and Noel all but came to blows, later achieved legendary status thanks to its release as a single entitled Wibbling Rivalry.
Having served his statutory three years, John left NME to become Features Editor at Q, and then Editor of Select magazine, before deciding to return - two weeks before his 30th birthday - to the life of a freelance writer. Since then, he has written about music for Q, Mojo and Rolling Stone, and contributed articles on a variety of subjects to the UK newspapers The Independent, The Guardian, The Times and The Observer.
After 18 months of research and writing, John Harris's acclaimed first book, The Last Party: Britpop, Blair And The Demise Of English Rock, was published by Fourth Estate in May 2003. He is currently reading Marc Resiner's Cadillac Desert: The American West And Its Disappearing Water, and listening to Love Is Hell Pt 1 by Ryan Adams, for what it's worth.
