Just Backdated: Melody Maker: Seven Years in the Seventies

Just Backdated - Melody Maker: Seven Years in the Seventies is a memoir by Chris Charlesworth who, between 1970 and 1977, was a staff writer and editor for Melody Maker, the UK's best-selling music weekly in an era when rock stars fell over themselves to appear in its pages. Initially the paper's News Editor, Chris was for four years MM's US Editor, based in New York, a unique position in music journalism, and in that time regularly rubbed shoulders with rock's most iconic heroes. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Elton John and dozens more found themselves face to face with Chris. He went on tour in America with The Who, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and many others. He was at 27 concerts by the original Who, often backstage or onstage. Somewhere above Colorado he took over the controls of Led Zeppelin's private plane. He watched a hitless Elton John at a disastrous festival in 1970 and predicted he would become a star. He chased Bob Dylan in New England and ambushed Pink Floyd in Glasgow. He watched Bruce Springsteen in Norfolk, Virginia, and acclaimed his showmanship 18 months before Born To Run was released. He was among the first music writers to write about the nascent CBGBs scene in New York, introducing MM readers to Debbie Harry long before she became a household name. His only regret was never seeing Elvis. Just Backdated - Melody Maker: Seven Years in the Seventies tells all these stories and many more. If you wanted to know what it was really like working full-time for a big selling music paper, the topsy-turvy lifestyle that went with it, and - yes - enjoy a meaty, beaty, big and bouncy dollop of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll, this is the book for you. in an era when rock stars fell over themselves to appear in its pages. Initially the paper's News Editor, Chris was for four years MM's US Editor, based in New York, a unique position in music journalism, and in that time regularly rubbed shoulders with rock's most iconic heroes. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, David Bowie, Rod Stewart, Elton John and dozens more found themselves face to face with Chris. He went on tour in America with The Who, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and many others. He was at 27 concerts by the original Who, often backstage or onstage. Somewhere above Colorado he took over the controls of Led Zeppelin's private plane. He watched a hitless Elton John at a disastrous festival in 1970 and predicted he would become a star. He chased Bob Dylan in New England and ambushed Pink Floyd in Glasgow. He watched Bruce Springsteen in Norfolk, Virginia, and acclaimed his showmanship 18 months before Born To Run was released. He was among the first music writers to write about the nascent CBGBs scene in New York, introducing MM readers to Debbie Harry long before she became a household name. His only regret was never seeing Elvis. Just Backdated - Melody Maker: Seven Years in the Seventies tells all these stories and many more. If you wanted to know what it was really like working full-time for a big selling music paper, the topsy-turvy lifestyle that went with it, and - yes - enjoy a meaty, beaty, big and bouncy dollop of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll, this is the book for you.

About the Author :
Chris Charlesworth is a former journalist with Melody Maker, once Britain's best-selling weekly music magazine. From 1974 to 1977 he was the paper's US Editor based in New York. He left journalism to become the Managing Director of Omnibus Books, Britain's biggest music book publisher, a role he held for over 30 years.

Review :
Evocative description of 70s music journalism As the title suggests, Chris Charlesworth - a name many of a certain age will recognise - spent seven years working for Melody Maker, at the time when it was fast becoming the UK's best-selling music weekly. Born in 1947 his introduction to rock'n'roll came through hearing Little Richard's Tutti Frutti at school, and 1963 saw him as one of the few males in the audience at The Beatles' show in nearby Bradford. It was then probably foretold that his love of literature and Elvis would result in him becoming a music journalist. Stints on the local newspapers (and convincing the editor to run a pop column) while avidly reading Melody Maker and learning the bass laid the foundations, and in May 1970 he was offered a job on his beloved music paper. The beauty here is Charlesworth's description in fascinating detail - of both the environment and the workings of a 70s' music weekly. Feeling like an imposter at first he soon finds his way and is almost immediately meeting acts like Deep Purple, Free, Elton John and his favourite band The Who ("the most exciting stage act in the world") amongst seemingly hundreds of others. Charlesworth freely admits that Just Backdated is not an "angst-ridden memoir"; instead he's produced an enthralling and evocative snapshot of the golden age of music journalism. John Tucker, Record Collector magazine, August 2024 Chris Charlesworth was on the staff of Melody Maker for seven golden years, between 1970 and 1977. Just Backdated is an engaging and candid account of this period. Mark Blake, Mojo magazine I’m an enthusiast of memoirs by music writers, and Just Backdated is an enlightening addition to that bookshelf. Slide it in there alongside Philip Norman’s ’60s era biography We Danced On Our Desks. Mike Stax, Ugly Things magazine