Lucy O'Brien
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lucy O'Brien (born September 13, 1962 in west Catford, London; grew up in Southampton, and now living in London) is an author and journalist whose work focuses on women in music.
In 1979, whilst attending a convent school in Southampton, she formed a punk band aptly named "the Catholic Girls". Her parents forced her to quit the band to dedicate more time to her 'A' Level studies, resulting in the dismemberment of the group. At university she became editor of the University of Leeds magazine, Leeds Student. She submitted gig articles to the music paper the New Musical Express (NME), which then published Charles Shaar Murray and Nick Kent. Her best-known contribution to the paper may be the notorious "Youth Suicide" cover article.
Forming an alliance with fellow soul and socialism heads Stuart Cosgrove and Paolo Hewitt, O'Brien became part of a leftist faction at NME which was eventually discharged by incoming editor Alan Lewis — an IPC troubleshooter instructed to de-politicise the magazine and boost sales.
O'Brien then moved on to write for The Guardian and The Independent, and music magazines Q Magazine and MOJO. Her reputation as a writer and commentator was seriously established by the publication of her first book Dusty — a best-selling biography of British soul legend Dusty Springfield (Sidgwick & Jackson, 1989). The book was instrumental in the rediscovery and reappraisal of Springfield's work, and was the foundation for O'Brien's reputation as an authority on female artists and soul music.
Her next music biography, Annie Lennox (St Martin's Press, 1993), was also published in the United States. O'Brien charted Annie Lennox's career from the early troubled days of The Tourists through to the global success of Eurythmics to Lennox's decision to take a pop sabbatical at the height of her career to work on behalf of the homeless.
In 1995, O'Brien took a broader look at female musicians in She Bop: The Definitive Encyclopedia Of Women In Rock, Pop & Soul (Pan, 1995).
The second edition of Dusty appeared in 1999 and covered events up to Springfield's death, while the updated She Bop II was published in 2002 by Continuum Press, including more recent artists and a chapter on girl power.
In 2007, O'Brien wrote an in-depth biography of Madonna, entitled Madonna: Like An Icon. This was published on 28th August 2007 in the UK and later, on 6th November 2007, in the USA.
O'Brien's books, notably She Bop, have led to frequent television appearances as an authority on rock music.
