Julie Burchill
Julie Burchill (born July 3 1959 in Frenchay, Bristol) is British journalist known for her acerbic writing. She started her career writing for the New Musical Express (NME) after responding, with her husband-to-be Tony Parsons, to an advert in that paper seeking hip young gunslingers to write about the then emerging punk movement.
Life
Burchill was briefly married to Parsons and then to Cosmo Landesman, the son of Fran and Jay Landesman. Both marriages produced a son. Both sons live with their fathers. In 1990, Burchill and Landesman established a short-lived magazine Modern Review through which she met Charlotte Raven, with whom she had a much publicised affair. She recently married again, to Raven's brother Daniel, a much younger man[1]. She wrote of the joys of having a "toyboy" in her Times' Weekend Review column. Fellow NME journalist/author Paul Wellings wrote about their friendship in his book "I'm A Journalist...Get Me Out Of Here".
In 2003, Burchill was ranked number 85 in Channel 4's poll of "100 Worst Britons". The poll was inspired by the BBC series 100 Greatest Britons, though it was less serious in nature. The aim was to discover the "100 worst Britons we love to hate". The poll specified that the nominees had to be British, alive and not currently in prison or pending trial.
Having previously converted to Christianity, she announced in February 2006 plans for a year's sabbatical from journalism, during which she plans, among other things, to study theology. The Times has recently dropped her Saturday column, and had arranged a more flexible arrangement where Burchill writes for the daily paper (see[1]).
Despite her sabbatical, 2006 is proving to be a busy year for Burchill. As well as continuing with her studies, she is working on three books and two documentaries, and has contributed an introduction to the novel A Year in the Life of TheManWhoFellAsleep by Greg Stekelman.
She has lived for many years now in Brighton, and a book on her adopted home town is forthcoming.
Ms Burchill has on occasions expressed concern for animal welfare. She is a supporter of the Safe Haven for Donkeys in the Holy Land.
Career
Until 2003, she wrote a weekly column in The Guardian. As Lynn Barber wrote in The Observer, "She moved at the beginning of this year because when she asked for a rise, the Guardian offered her a sofa. 'They said, "We can't give you no more money" - lying bastards - "but we'll buy you the biggest bestest sofa you've ever seen." And I said, "Well, I'll think about it." And I put down the phone and I thought, "That was an insult!" Because it was saying: You are a white working-class woman who may have come up in the world but basically you're sitting on your fat ass all day, eating chocs and watching Trisha. Which I do - but they don't have the right to say it.' So she moved to the Times, who paid her in dosh rather than sofas."[2] She also claims she left the Guardian in "protest at what [she] saw as its vile anti-Semitism."[3]
She currently writes for The Times. Shortly after starting her weekly column, she referred to George Galloway but appeared to confuse him with former MP Ron Brown, reporting the misdeeds of Brown as those of Galloway. Galloway threatened legal action which was averted when she apologised and The Times paid damages[4].
Burchill is noted for her confrontational and iconoclastic views, which have been criticised as contradictory. In the 1980s, she wrote in favour of Margaret Thatcher, but she has always claimed she has never renounced the Communist beliefs of her youth. She is a consistent defender of the old Soviet Union. Burchill champions the working-class against the middle-class in most cases, and has been particularly vocal in defending the much-maligned chavs. But in reality she is saying that being a scum bag is okay. She has also made the working class appear to be a group of thugs, when what she should of done is say that people choose to be chav's and ruin their lives and other peoples, and anyone that earns money to live is in fact working class.
Burchill has made frequent attacks on various celebrity figures, which have been criticised for their cruelty, though her supporters note the self-deprecating aspects of her writing. She is perhaps best known in America for the "Fax wars" or "Battle of the Bitches" with author Camille Paglia ([2]). She has written many books and has made television documentaries about the death of her father from asbestosis and about Heat magazine.
Her 2004 lesbian-themed novel for teenagers Sugar Rush was produced by Shine Limited and aired on Channel Four. [3]
Bibliography
- The Boy Looked at Johnny co-written with Tony Parsons, 1977
- Love It or Shove It, 1985
- Girls on Film, 1986
- Damaged Gods: Cults and Heroes Reappraised, 1987
- Ambition, 1989
- Sex and Sensibility, 1992
- No Exit, 1993
- Married Alive, 1998
- I Knew I Was Right, 1998, an autobiography
- Diana, 1999
- The Guardian Columns 1998-2000, 2000
- On Beckham, 2002
- Sugar Rush, 2004 (adapted for UK television in 2005)
References
- ↑ Lynn Barber Growing pains The Observer 22 August 2004
- ↑ Lynn Barber Growing pains The Observer 22 August 2004
- ↑ Bleeding-heart ignoramuses - Haaretz. August 11, 2006
- ↑ The Guardian (Owen Gibson) Galloway demands Burchill apology 16 March 2004
External links
- Photo
- Unofficial Julie Burchill website
- Guardian columns by Julie Burchill
- Hurricane Julie 2005 Spike Magazine extensive interview with Julie Burchill
- Details of Sugar Rush on Channel Four
- The Julie Burchill Random Recycler
