John Harris (critic)
John Rhys Harris (born 1969) is a British journalist, writer and critic. He is the author of "The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the Demise of English Rock" (2003); "So Now Who Do We Vote For?", which examined the 2005 UK general election; a 2006 behind-the-scenes look at the production of Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon"; and "Hail! Hail! Rock'n'Roll" (2009). His articles have appeared in "Select", "Q", "Mojo", "Shindig!", "Rolling Stone", "Classic Rock", "The Independent", the "New Statesman", "The Times" and "The Guardian". Early life. Harris was raised in Wilmslow  in north Cheshire, his father was a university lecturer in nuclear engineering and his mother a teacher who was the daughter of a nuclear research chemist. He became fixated by pop music at an early age. He attended the comprehensive Wilmslow County High School (at the same time as members of the band Doves), then went to Loreto College, Manchester, a Roman Catholic sixth form college between the University of Manchester and Old Trafford. He applied to study Modern History at Keble College, Oxford, but was rejected, and claimed his membership of left-wing organisations had not won him many  favours with such a traditional and conservative college. He spent three years studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at another Oxford college, Queen's, between 1989 and 1992. Media career. In 1991, Harris joined "Melody Maker". Between 1993 and the summer of 1995, he wrote for the "NME". In 1995, he was named editor of "Select" magazine after a brief stint with "Q". In 1995, Harris resumed his career as a freelance writer, writing about pop music, politics and a variety of other subjects. His articles have appeared in "Q", "Mojo", "Rolling Stone", "The Independent", the "New Statesman", "The Times" and  The Guardian. He believes Britpop was a shining moment for the UK's music industry, and possibly the end of an era, with (manufactured) music now deliberately catering for the lowest common denominator. He presented a BBC Four documentary on the musical movement, "The Britpop Story". In addition to writing, Harris often appears on television programmes concerned with late-'80s/early-'90s British pop music, as well as being a regular pundit on BBC Two's "Newsnight Review". In December 2018 Harris wrote and presented a four-part " BBC Radio 4" series, Tyranny of Story. In 2010 he created the video series  Anywhere but Westminster for "The Guardian", documenting the political feelings of people around the country. Personal life. He lives in Frome, Somerset. Harris has been an ethical vegetarian since the mid-1980s.