Early life and education
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Alex Niven was born in Hexham, Northumberland.
Alex Niven (born 18 February 1984, Hexham, Northumberland) is an English writer, poet, editor, and former musician. [1]
He is also currently a Lecturer in English Literature at Newcastle University [2] and an editor at Repeater Books. [3]
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2020) |
Alex Niven was born in Hexham, Northumberland.
| | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (May 2020) |
In 2006, Niven was a founding member of the indie band Everything Everything, with friends from Queen Elizabeth High School and played guitar with the band between 2007 and 2009. [4] In 2009, he left the band to study for a doctorate [5] at St John's College, Oxford and to pursue a writing career.[ citation needed ]
Formerly[ when? ] assistant editor at New Left Review [6] and editor-in-chief at The Oxonian Review, Niven wrote for The Guardian, The Independent, openDemocracy, Agenda, The Cambridge Quarterly, English Literary History, Oxford Poetry, Notes and Queries, The Quietus, a number of collective blogs, in addition to his own blog The Fantastic Hope (2007-2017).
In 2011, Niven's first work of criticism, Folk Opposition, was published by Zero Books. The book attempted to reclaim a variety of folk culture motifs for the political left, and excoriated the "Green Tory" zeitgeist that had accompanied the ascendancy of David Cameron's Conservative Party in Britain in 2009-10. Writing in the journal of the Institute for Public Policy Research, Niki Seth-Smith described it as a "rebuttal to ... knee jerk reactions [about folk culture] by way of careful historicisation and incisive cultural analysis", [7] while Joe Kennedy of The Quietus described it as "one of 2011's most incisive polemics". [8]
In 2014, his second book, a study of the Oasis album Definitely Maybe , was published in Bloomsbury's 33⅓ series. [9] The Times Literary Supplement praised its "convincing modulation between a discussion of the post-Thatcher north-west England that informed Oasis's early lyrics, and the finer points of pentatonic and mixolydian melody governing Noel Gallagher's early songwriting". [10] LA Review of Books reviewer Rhian E. Jones judged the book a success, concluding that "Niven displays a thorough appreciation of what made Oasis good while remaining aware of their shortcomings". [11]
In 2014, his first collection of poetry, The Last Tape, was published, and his poem "The Beehive" provided the epigraph to Owen Hatherley's 2012 architecture survey A New Kind of Bleak. [12]
In 2019, his third book was published: New Model Island: How to Build a Radical Culture beyond the idea of England. [13]
Definitely Maybe is the debut studio album by English rock band Oasis, released by Creation Records on 29 August 1994. Oasis booked Monnow Valley Studio near Rockfield in late 1993 to record the album and worked with producer Dave Batchelor, whom lead guitarist and chief songwriter Noel Gallagher knew from his time working as a roadie for the Inspiral Carpets, though sessions were unsatisfactory and Batchelor was subsequently fired. It is the only Oasis album to feature all five original members.
Oasis were a British rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as the Rain, the group initially consisted of Liam Gallagher, Paul Arthurs (guitar), Paul McGuigan and Tony McCarroll (drums). Liam's older brother Noel later joined as a fifth member, finalising the group's core lineup. During the course of their existence, they had various lineup changes, with the Gallagher brothers remaining the only stable members.
Noel Thomas David Gallagher is an English singer, guitarist and songwriter. He was the chief songwriter, lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis until their split in 2009. After leaving Oasis, he formed Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds. He is one of the most successful songwriters in British music history, as the writer of eight UK number-one singles and co-writer of a further number one, as well as the sole or primary writer of ten UK number-one studio albums. He is widely considered to be one of the most influential songwriters in the history of British rock music, cited by numerous major subsequent artists as an influence.
Fleur Adcock is a New Zealand poet and editor, of English and Northern Irish ancestry, who has lived much of her life in England. She is well-represented in New Zealand poetry anthologies, was awarded an honorary doctorate of literature from Victoria University of Wellington, and was awarded an OBE in 1996 for her contribution to New Zealand literature. In 2008 she was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to literature.
(What's the Story) Morning Glory? is the second studio album by English rock band Oasis. Released on 2 October 1995 by Creation Records, it was produced by Owen Morris and the group's lead guitarist and main songwriter Noel Gallagher. The structure and arrangement style of the album were a significant departure from the group's previous album Definitely Maybe (1994). Gallagher's compositions were more focused in balladry and placed more emphasis on "huge" choruses, with the string arrangements and more varied instrumentation contrasting with the rawness of the group's debut album. Morning Glory was the group's first album with drummer Alan White, who replaced Tony McCarroll.
Cornershop are an English indie rock band best known for their single "Brimful of Asha", originally released in 1997 and, in a remixed version, topping the UK chart in 1998. The band was formed in 1991 by Wolverhampton-born Tjinder Singh, his brother Avtar Singh, David Chambers (drums) and Ben Ayres, the first three having previously been members of Preston-based band General Havoc, who released one single in 1991. The band name originated from a stereotype referring to British Asians often owning corner shops. Their music is a fusion of Indian music, indie rock, alternative and electronic dance music.
Hexham is a constituency in Northumberland represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Guy Opperman, a Conservative. As with all constituencies, the constituency elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election at least every five years.
"Cigarettes & Alcohol" is a song by English rock band Oasis, written by Noel Gallagher. It was released on 10 October 1994 as the fourth and final single from their debut album Definitely Maybe (1994), and their second to enter the UK top ten in the United Kingdom, peaking at number 7, eventually spending 79 weeks on the charts. On 13 March 2020, 26 years after its release, the song was certified Platinum, indicating 600,000 sales.
"Supersonic" is a song by English rock band Oasis, released as their debut single on 11 April 1994. It appeared on their debut studio album, Definitely Maybe (1994). The single reached number 31 on the UK Singles Chart, two on the UK Independent Singles Chart and 11 on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It also reached the top 40 in Ireland, Scotland, France and New Zealand.
Paul Francis McGuigan, known professionally as Guigsy, is an English musician. He is best known as the bassist and co-founder of the rock band Oasis.
The discography of the English rock band Oasis consists of seven studio albums, two live albums, five compilation albums, six video albums, one extended play, twenty eight singles which includes one double single, nineteen promotional singles and thirty-six music videos. As of 2022, the band have sold 75 million records worldwide, and been cited by Guinness World Records as the most successful act in the United Kingdom between the years 1995 and 2005. Oasis had 22 consecutive UK top 10 hits between 1994 and 2008. Oasis was formed in 1991 by vocalist Liam Gallagher, guitarist Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs, bassist Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and drummer Tony McCarroll – they were later joined by guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher. The band signed to Creation Records in May 1993 and released their debut single "Supersonic" the following year; it peaked at number 31 in the United Kingdom. Follow-up singles "Shakermaker" and "Live Forever" became UK top 15 hits, with the latter also attaining success in the United States. Definitely Maybe, the band's debut studio album, topped the UK Albums Chart and went on to be certified eight times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).
"Slide Away" is a song by the English rock band Oasis, taken from their debut studio album Definitely Maybe (1994). It was written by lead guitarist Noel Gallagher and serves as the tenth track on the album.
Owen Hatherley is a British writer and journalist based in London who writes primarily on architecture, politics and culture.
Everything Everything are an English art rock band from Manchester that formed in late 2007. Noted for their eclectic sound and complex, sociopolitical lyrics, the band have released six albums to date – 2010's Man Alive, 2013's Arc, 2015's Get to Heaven, 2017's A Fever Dream, 2020's Re-Animator and 2022's Raw Data Feel – and have been widely critically acclaimed. Their work has twice been shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize and has received five nominations for Ivor Novello Awards.
Dick Carruthers is an English music video and film director, based in London, England. He directed the Led Zeppelin Celebration Day film and The Rolling Stones Bridges To Babylon DVD as well as many other live music videos. Carruthers' work on the Oasis Definitely Maybe DVD was nominated for two BAFTAs.
Tariq Goddard is a British novelist and publisher. He has written six novels, the first of which Homage to a Firing Squad, was short-listed for the Whitbread Book Award for First Novel. His first three novels were published by Sceptre. In 2007, he founded the independent publishing company, Zero Books, and is now the publisher of Repeater Books.
Mark Fisher, also known under his blogging alias k-punk, was an English writer, music critic, political and cultural theorist, philosopher, and teacher based in the Department of Visual Cultures at Goldsmiths, University of London. He initially achieved acclaim for his blogging as k-punk in the early 2000s, and was known for his writing on radical politics, music, and popular culture.
The Revenge of History: The Battle for the Twenty-First Century is a 2012 book by British journalist and writer Seumas Milne. An updated edition was published in 2013.
Repeater Books is a publishing imprint based in London, founded in 2014 by Tariq Goddard and Mark Fisher, formerly the founders of radical publishers Zero Books, along with Etan Ilfeld, Tamar Shlaim, Alex Niven and Matteo Mandarini.
Jonathan Joseph Higgs is an English singer, songwriter, filmmaker, director and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known as the frontman of the art rock band Everything Everything, with whom he has released six studio albums and five EPs. He is noted for having an unusually wide vocal range, particularly his use of falsetto.
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