Robert Elms

Last updated

Robert Elms
Tim Marshall Robert Elms 2014.JPG
Robert Elms on the left
Born
Robert Frederick Elms

(1959-06-12) 12 June 1959 (age 63)
Hendon, London, England
Education London School of Economics
OccupationBroadcaster, writer

Robert Frederick Elms (born 12 June 1959) is an English writer and broadcaster. Elms was a writer for The Face magazine in the 1980s and is currently known for his long-running radio show on BBC Radio London. His book, The Way We Wore, charts the changing fashions of his own youth, linking them with the social history of the times. [1] [2]

Contents

Early life and education

Elms was born in Hendon and educated at Orange Hill Grammar School for Boys, a state grammar school in the north-west London suburb of Burnt Oak, after passing the 11-plus examination for state school pupils. [3] From there, Elms studied at the London School of Economics (LSE) in Central London.

Life and career

While still at the LSE, Elms became deeply involved in the "club scene" that was developing in London suburbs. [3] He became a columnist for both The Face and NME , writing on both music and fashion. According to Elms, he was "almost a member" of the band Spandau Ballet. He championed them, having suggested their name, and introduced the group at early concerts by declaiming a brief verse. [4] Band member Gary Kemp later commented that Elms was their "spin doctor", and said he "inspired" songs such as "Chant No. 1 (I Don't Need This Pressure On)", a number 3 UK Singles Chart hit for the band in 1981. [5] Elms also worked as a DJ at clubs including the Palladium in New York. [6]

Elms was a chronicler of the New Romantic movement of the early 1980s, [3] which saw him become a popular interview choice for the broadcast media. Elms then developed a broadcasting career of his own, working in both radio and television. He was a contributor to Loose Ends (BBC Radio 4) and presented the Channel 4 travel series Travelog during the 1990s. [7] In 1989, his first novel, In Search of the Crack was published by Penguin Books.

He served as a patron for the Arts Council's Architecture Week, until the demise of the event in 2007. [8]

Since 1994, Elms has presented a long-running radio show on BBC Radio London, in 1999 being referred to as "its top presenter". [9] The show features reports, discussions, and call-ins about Greater London, the history, architecture, geography, city planning and the language of London: in short, the minutiae of the city. Guests who are acknowledged experts in their fields of study appear on a regular basis, including architect Maxwell Hutchinson and film critic Jason Solomons. An extract of the shows is published as a podcast every week. Solomons often covers for Elms when he is on holiday.

Elms is a critic of The Beatles, and refuses to play the band on his BBC London daily radio show. He has been quoted as saying "I just think they are either childlike and simple or rather leaden and pompous – one or the other all the time. For me they turned something that was once sexy and raw and had roots, into something that was totally soulless, playground sing-along music. I think everything that is over-inflated deserves a pin-prick in it occasionally. How can they be above criticism? That's ludicrous." [10]

His memoir, London Made Us, was published in 2019. [11]

Personal life

In the 1980s, Elms squatted with singer Sade Adu in Tottenham. [12]

He is married to Christina Wilson and has three children: Alice, Alfie and Maude. The family lived in Camden, an area of London he promotes [13] and where he has renovated a Georgian house. [14] Elms is a Queens Park Rangers F.C. fan. [15]

In 2021, Elms and his wife moved from their home in Camden to a flat at the Barbican Estate, Central London. [16]

Bibliography

Related Research Articles

John Peel English DJ and radio presenter (1939–2004)

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey and radio presenter. He was the longest serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004.

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds 1967 song by the Beatles

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership. Lennon's son Julian inspired the song with a nursery school drawing that he called "Lucy – in the sky with diamonds". Shortly before the album's release, speculation arose that the first letter of each of the nouns in the title intentionally spelled "LSD", the initialism commonly used for the hallucinogenic drug lysergic acid diethylamide. Lennon repeatedly denied that he had intended it as a drug song, and attributed the song's fantastical imagery to his reading of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland books.

Gerry and the Pacemakers British band

Gerry and the Pacemakers were a British beat group prominent in the 1960s Merseybeat scene. In common with the Beatles, they came from Liverpool, were managed by Brian Epstein, and were recorded by George Martin. Their early successes alongside the Beatles were instrumental in popularizing the Merseybeat sound and launching the wider British beat boom of the mid-1960s.

Spandau Ballet English new wave band

Spandau Ballet were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European Dance Music" as "The Applause" for this new club culture's audience. They became one of the most successful groups of the New Romantic era of British pop and were part of the Second British Invasion of the Billboard Top 40 in the 1980s, selling 25 million albums and having 23 hit singles worldwide. The band have had eight UK top 10 albums, including three greatest hits compilations and an album of re-recorded material. Their musical influences ranged from punk rock and soul music to the American crooners Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.

Blitz Kids

The Blitz Kids were a group of people who frequented the Tuesday club-night at Blitz in Covent Garden, London in 1979-80, and are credited with launching the New Romantic subcultural movement.

Absolute Radio British Independent National Radio station

Absolute Radio is a British National radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Absolute Radio Network. It broadcasts nationally across the UK via Digital audio broadcasting and on 1215 kHz MW.

Gary Kemp English actor and musician

Gary James Kemp is an English singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist, and principal songwriter for the New Romantic band Spandau Ballet.

Elbow (band) English alternative rock band

Elbow are an English rock band formed in Bury, Greater Manchester, in 1997. The band consists of Guy Garvey, Craig Potter, Mark Potter and Pete Turner. They have played together since 1990, adopting the name Elbow in 1997. Drummer Alex Reeves replaced Richard Jupp in 2016.

Charlie Higson British actor, comedian and author

Charles Murray Higson is an English actor, comedian, author and former singer. He has also written and produced for television and is the author of the Enemy book series.

KOKO (music venue) Music venue and former theatre in London, England

KOKO is a concert venue and former theatre in Camden Town, London, England. The building was known as Camden Palace from 1982 until its 2004 purchase and extensive restoration, led by Oliver Bengough and Mint Entertainment. Since, the club has been known as KOKO and serves as one of the premier live music venues in London.

Suggs English musician

Graham McPherson, known primarily by his stage name Suggs, is an English singer-songwriter, musician, radio personality and actor from Hastings, England.

Alex Horne British comedian and musician

Alexander James Jeffery Horne is a British comedian. Horne is the creator of BAFTA award-winning TV series Taskmaster, in which he also performs as the Taskmaster's assistant. He is the host and bandleader of The Horne Section, a comedic band. Horne runs the band's eponymous podcast and has appeared with them on their music variety show on BBC Radio 4 and TV channel Dave.

Mark Lewisohn English author and historian

Mark Lewisohn is an English historian and biographer. Since the 1980s, he has written many reference books about the Beatles and has worked for EMI, MPL Communications and Apple Corps. He has been referred to as the world's leading authority on the band due to his meticulous research and integrity. His works include The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions (1988), a history of the group's session dates, and The Beatles: All These Years (2013–present), a three-volume series intended as the group's most comprehensive biography.

John Maxwell Hutchinson is an English architect, broadcaster, and Anglican deacon. He is a former president of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).

Paul McCartney English musician, member of the Beatles (born 1942)

Sir James Paul McCartney is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One of the most successful composers and performers of all time, he is known for his melodic approach to bass-playing, versatile and wide tenor vocal range, and musical eclecticism, exploring styles ranging from pre–rock 'n' roll pop to classical and electronica. His songwriting partnership with Lennon remains the most successful in history.

<i>Journeys to Glory</i> 1981 studio album by Spandau Ballet

Journeys to Glory is the debut studio album by English new wave band Spandau Ballet, released on 6 March 1981 by Chrysalis Records. All of the songs on the album were produced by Richard James Burgess and written by band guitarist Gary Kemp to appeal to the patrons of a weekly Tuesday night club the band started attending called the Blitz, where they were accustomed to hearing "white European dance music". Their performances at the Blitz and other exclusive venues attracted the attention of record labels eager to sign them, and one of the songs they had been performing, "To Cut a Long Story Short", gained popularity through a recording session made at BBC Radio 1.

Dappy British rapper and singer (born 1987)

Costadinos Contostavlos, better known by his stage name Dappy, is a British rapper and singer. He is the lead singer of the Camden-based hip hop and grime trio N-Dubz, with his cousin Tulisa and Fazer. He was known for his lack of dress sense and his love for what he describes as "eye-catching headwear". His trademark was wearing a selection of woolly chullos, turning up one or both of the ear-flaps of the hat.

Shami Chakrabarti British politician (born 1969)

Sharmishta "Shami" Chakrabarti, Baroness Chakrabarti, is a British politician, barrister, and human rights activist. A member of the Labour Party, she served as the director of Liberty, a major advocacy group which promotes civil liberties and human rights, from 2003 to 2016. From 2016 to 2020, she served as Shadow Attorney General for England and Wales.

Goldheart Assembly

Goldheart Assembly were an English indie pop/rock band from London, England.

Graham Alexander (musician) American singer-songwriter

Graham Alexander is an American singer-songwriter, entertainer, and entrepreneur known best for his solo music career and for his roles in the Broadway shows Rain: A Tribute to the Beatles and Let It Be and as the entrepreneur who founded a new incarnation of the Victor Talking Machine Co. in Camden, N.J.

References

  1. ↑ Pauli, Michelle. "Robert Elms: The Way We Bore", The Guardian , 2 June 2005.
  2. ↑ Taylor, Laurie. "The Way We Wore, by Robert Elms", The Independent , 15 April 2009.
  3. 1 2 3 Meades, Jonathon (1984). "Carving a Career in Style: Robert Elms", CliveJames.com. Retrieved 28 April 2009, archived 28 April 2009.
  4. ↑ White, Jim. "Review", The Independent, 8 January 1996, p. 20.
  5. ↑ Harries, Rhiannon (23 October 2011). "How We Met: Gary Kemp & Robert Elms". The Independent. London. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  6. ↑ Todd, Bella. "Norman Jay on Robert Elms", Time Out, 20 August 2008. archived, 28 April 2009.
  7. ↑ "Robert Elms Biography" Channel 4. archived 28 April 2009.
  8. ↑ "Tom Bloxham MBE appointed as Architecture Week Patron", 11 May 2005, Arts Council press release. archived 28 April 2009.
  9. ↑ Robinson, Michael. "'Its a London thing', but sadly for GLR, Londoners are not listening", The Independent, 12 October 1999.
  10. ↑ Robb, Stephen (10 September 2009). "Help! I'm a Beatles hater". BBC News. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  11. ↑ Sturges, Fiona (23 March 2019). "London Made Us by Robert Elms – a love letter to the capital". The Guardian.
  12. ↑ Mahoney, Elisabeth (22 November 2011). "Radio review: From Frestonia to Belgravia – the History of Squatting". The Guardian.
  13. ↑ Dowling, Stephen. "Camden – Britain's musical Mecca?", BBC, 11 February 2008. archived 28 April 2009.
  14. ↑ Canessa, Joey. "My Home: Robert Elms", The Independent, 1 March 2006. archived 28 April 2009.
  15. ↑ "Saturday Talks Tom Hunter in Conversation with Robert Elms 8 January". Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2013.
  16. ↑ "Robert Elms + Christina Wilson (@high_in_the_sky_2021) • Instagram photos and videos".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.