The Fall’s legendary front-man has some deep-fried career advice for the Arctic Monkeys and the Kaiser Chiefs (Arena Hommes Plus, Summer 2006) “’Avin’ been around the world I reckon we’re very lucky,” says Mark E Smith, pop genius and (usually) lovable curmudgeon in a moment of uncharacteristic optimism. “They don’t… Read More »The North Rises Again: Interview With Mark E Smith
The MP Chris Bryant has faced calls for his resignation for appearing in his pants in messages sent via a gay website – but others see Gaydar as the future of dating. So what is it really like? Mark Simpson speaks with the (exhausted) voice of experience (Independent on Sunday,… Read More »Promiscuity into Bureaucracy: Gaydar and Online ‘Dating’
In case you thought I was joking when I wrote about the gentlemen of the British press being unable to leave George Michael’s penis alone, today’s Sun newspaper, twisted sister tabloid to the News of the World scandal sheet that ran the original front page Hampstead Heath expose, provides further,… Read More »I (Still) Want Your Sex: The Sun & George Michael’s Privates
Why are the gentlemen of the popular press so interested in George Michael’s manhood? Why won’t they leave it alone? In 1998, after stalking him for years, in a painful pincer movement with Beverly Hills Police Department’s finest, they finally succeeded in catching him short in a men’s toilet. Now… Read More »I Want Your Sex: Why the Press Can’t Leave George Michael’s Manhood Alone
by Mark Simpson (Independent on Sunday, 23/07/06) “Oh, Bertie, when are you going to write your memoirs?” asks punk academic Jon Savage at a chance meeting with the author in Berlin. Berties replies: “Oh, I don’t know, Jon… what would I write, a teenage boy lost in suburbia, prostitution and… Read More »Suburbohemian Rhapsody: review of ‘Berlin Bromley’