The History of The NME - Book Review

As a birthday present, I received the book "The History of The NME" and I have to say I was really intrigued to read it, as an aspiring music journalist it was a great insight into the world of music journalism and how the NME came to be so iconic.

Pat Long did a brilliant job of opening my eyes up to the struggles that come with working alongside people that are hard to please in the industry and also with people that aren't actually that bothered about doing the job full stop. Although I found that parts of the book were sometimes over complicated with the phrasing of sentences, I enjoyed getting absorbed in all the amusing anecdotes told from people such as Tony Parsons about how unprofessional working (I use that word very loosely!) for NME could be back in the 60s/70s. Rocking up 2 hours late for work, incredibly hungover from a session the night before and NOT getting fired seems hard to believe when you think of how it would be nowadays! It made me appreciate the contrast of music journalism now compared to back when it all started, where it seemed to be dealt with very casually and seen more as a hobby rather than a job.

The structure of the book was well thought through, while it seems obvious to do it in chronological order when its focusing on the history of the magazine, it was done in a way which really made you understand all the high and low points of the magazine's progression to success. It helps the reader to see how it all began and how minimal the magazine's resources were, compared to its glossy and up market standard now (technology has obviously helped with that) and also how much competition they were up against to publish bigger and better articles. Pat Long reveals how determined and influential the original writers at NME were to keep the magazine going, even at very low points, despite having barely any money or readers they were going to make sure it became successful; and they achieved just that.

As much I support the growth of the internet over recent years and how it is opening up more opportunities for budding music journalists, this book made me think about the value of writing with pen and paper and sadly, how underused that medium is nowadays (she says, typing on a computer...) Consequently, the popularity of music magazines has declined considerably since the 60s, but the NME still continues to be one of, if not the biggest music magazine on the shelves. Its used as a number one source for music fans to get information about the latest and upcoming news in British pop and indie music culture, and this book makes you realise how long it took for the NME to become that.

Hannah Jolley

You can buy The History of The NME here