Lucy O'Brien
Lucy O'Brien is a writer/academic and broadcaster. She is author of Dusty: The Classic Biography, published in a new anniversary edition in 2019; She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music (now in its 3rd edition); and Madonna: Like An Icon (2018). She has contributed to Q, Mojo, The Guardian, NME and The Quietus, and numerous anthologies such as Mute Records: Artists, Business, History (2018) and Voicing Girlhood in Popular Music: Performance, Authority, Authenticity (2016). She played in all-girl band the Catholic Girls, and is currently working on a memoir about punk and feminism.
Lucy O'Brien on the RBP podcast
96 articles
List of articles in the library
Marillion: Bournemouth Winter Gardens
Live Review by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 9 April 1983
THIS HAPPY breed came to town with Black Sabbath and Thin Lizzy emblazoned on the back of their jackets. Patches, denim and undyed hair were ...
Everything But The Girl: Tracey Goes To Dollywood
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 23 August 1986
"Rob, our drummer, turned up to the first rehearsal with the idea we were vaguely bossa nova-ish. The first thing I said was, 'D'you like ...
Elvis Costello, Joe Strummer, The Pogues: A Fistful Of Pesetas
Report and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 20 September 1986
In the badlands of Spain, a strange scenario... JOE STRUMMER is shooting everyone in sight, SHANE MACGOWAN has been killed, ELVIS COSTELLO is serving coffee... ...
Billy Bragg: Talking With The Taxman About Poetry
Review by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 27 September 1986
SUBTITLED 'THE difficult third album', this is Billy growing into a Big Boy. Decorating the sleeve with Mayakovsky's poem, Bragg takes seriously his role as ...
Smiley Culture: Tongue In Cheek (Polydor)
Review by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 11 October 1986
FROM CHRONICLING his days playing conkers at Tulse Hill Secondary School to running up against police officers Smiley has always been the charmer cheeking his ...
Review by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 25 October 1986
THIS IS an ode to peroxide. Bottle Blonde spikes and matted hair. Gel by the ton. A sneer, a whiplash smile, a surly pout. The ...
Whitney Houston: Wembley Arena, London
Live Review by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 25 October 1986
A TASTE OF ECSTASY ...
Nick Cave: Your Funeral…My Trial
Review by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 8 November 1986
MANSON KILLED a woman. Burroughs killed a woman. Nicholas Cave, performance artist, amoral Baal-like poet and tortured balladeer, sings of killing a woman. ...
Patti Labelle: Labelle Of The Ball
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 15 November 1986
"I LOVE Madonna. I do. I just don't like the way she stepped on my feet. We were at the American Music Awards, in the ...
Madonna: The Crucifixion Of A Junkyard Angel
Comment by Lucy O'Brien, John McCready, New Musical Express, 13 December 1986
Madonna: The Crucifixion Of A Junkyard Angel, part 1Lucy O'Brien ...
Muriel Gray: Don't Touch That Dial, Sassenach!
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 3 January 1987
Sick of Jools? Fed up with Paula? Well, the only saviour for you on The Tube must be MURIEL GRAY, who's now branching out into ...
Cookie Crew: The Cookie Crew: Bite This
Profile and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 11 April 1987
B-girls behave! THE COOKIE CREW call for unity on the homegrown hip-hop scene. LUCY O'BRIEN watches them clear the decks. ...
Curiosity Killed The Cat: Keep Your Distance (Phonogram)
Review by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 2 May 1987
BOREDOM: THE SCRATCH MIX ...
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 2 May 1987
LABI SIFFRE is off his stool and back on the charts, singing against apartheid. LUCY O'BRIEN joins him on the fence. ...
The Proclaimers: Twin set and pearls
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 16 May 1987
Those sons of Auchtermuchty, THE PROCLAIMERS, charge their silver throats with LUCY O'BRIEN and identify the Scots pysche and climate that rumbles through their songs. ...
Review by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 30 May 1987
WITH THIS debut album Well Red, a pointy nosed white boy and a black Lovers rock-head, prove they're the best of Britain's fresh funky little ...
David Bowie, Nona Hendryx: Feyenoord Stadium, Rotterdam, Holland
Live Review by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 6 June 1987
CACKY ACTOR ...
Whitney Houston: Whitney (Arista)
Review by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 6 June 1987
WHITNEY HAS been coached and coutured through the artistic school of MOR showbiz professionalism until, at 23-going-on-40, she has reached the height of airbrushed fantasy ...
Nona Hendryx: Let's get metaphysical
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 20 June 1987
NONA HENDRYX, ex of Labelle, has called her new LP Female Trouble — but LUCY O'BRIEN finds she's now a "big gun" having "big fun", ...
Roxanne Shanté: The Queen Rocks On
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, New Musical Express, 15 August 1987
B-boys beware! ROXANNE SHANTÉ has returned from bambino bearing with a hit 'Have A Nice Day'. LUCY O'BRIEN meets the Queen Bee. ...
Tracy Chapman: She’s Gotta Ticket: Tracy Chapman
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, City Limits, 5 May 1988
TRACY CHAPMAN is fresh, focused and making her points with hard hitting folk. Lucy OBrien talked to a new kind of star. ...
Everything But The Girl, Tracey Thorn: Tracey Thorn: Doctorate feelgood
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 10 August 1988
A daughter of punk, Tracey Thorn is riding high in the pop charts. But academia looms just as large in her life. ...
Neneh Cherry: A Gap in the Rap
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 25 January 1989
Neneh Cherry is one of many women invading the hip hop scene ...
Fine Young Cannibals: Stay fresh and keep 'em hungry
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 8 February 1989
Roland Gift tells Lucy O'Brien about the Fine Young Cannibals' appetite for success ...
Dusty Springfield: Starring role
Comment by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 27 September 1989
Any woman pop star who comes out puts her career on the line as Dusty Springfield discovered. Lucy O'Brien reports ...
The Creatures, Siouxsie & The Banshees: Siouxsie Sioux: Mellowing of a Banshee
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 25 October 1989
Lucy O'Brien on Siouxsie Sioux's new Creature comforts and lasting spirit ...
Michelle Shocked: Culture Shocked
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 8 November 1989
Feminist fans may be outraged by her apparent change of image, but it's no sell-out, as Michelle Shocked tells Lucy O'Brien ...
Belinda Carlisle, The Go-Go's: Belinda Carlisle: From Go Go to Solo
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 22 November 1989
She's come through the live-fast, look-bad, almost die-young scene to a beautiful future. Belinda Carlisle tells Lucy O'Brien how she did it ...
Mel & Kim: Mel Appleby: The Bravery Lying Behind All That Fun, Love & Money
Obituary by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 31 January 1990
Lucy O'Brien finds the pop world full of praise for the courage of Mel Appleby of the bubbly duo Mel and Kim, who this month lost ...
And Why Not?: Brum, brum — hot tracks!
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 6 June 1990
Having seen their heroes' feet of clay and having dodged the Bros comparisons the only way for a successful young group, reports Lucy O'Brien is ...
Betty Boo: Take-off for the girl from Planet Boo
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 22 August 1990
Funky fantasy and shy eyes, hope and regret... Lucy O'Brien on the two sides of Betty, aka Alison ...
A-Ha Have the Last Laugh on the Teeny Tag
Profile and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 14 December 1990
Groups come and go in a flash but the boys from Norway seem to have staying power. Lucy O'Brien reports ...
Eurythmics, Annie Lennox: Annie Lennox: Who's That Girl?
Profile and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Select, February 1991
Never afraid to experiment and shock, Annie Lennox has paraded a succession of challenging images during the last decade — from androgynous hedonist to caring ...
Jesus Loves You: The Martyr Mantras
Review by Lucy O'Brien, Select, March 1991
BOY GEORGE, the good Catholic boy, swaps the symbolism of the Vatican and the crucifix for the rich sensuality of Hindu splendour. ...
Review by Lucy O'Brien, Select, April 1991
YOU HAVE to hand it to them. On first hearing, 'Strawberry Fields Forever' just seemed to be insipid pop, the nadir of the cover version. ...
Boy George, Culture Club, Jesus Loves You: Jesus Loves You: The Last Temptation of Boy George
Report and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Select, April 1991
Four years ago BOY GEORGE'S world crashed, his career in shreds as he struggled to come off heroin. He became a bitter, paranoid recluse, shunning the same media he'd once courted. In this rare interview, ...
Womack and Womack: Womack & Womack: Family Spirit
Review by Lucy O'Brien, Select, April 1991
WHEN THE Womacks play live there's usually a dog, a cat, several children and a mouth organ on stage. They're the original hippy couple, spreading ...
Report and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 14 November 1991
As the recession hits record labels, Lucy O'Brien talks to some of the bands who've been given the chop ...
Carleen Anderson, Brand New Heavies, DaYeene, M People, Joey Negro, Young Disciples: Girls on Song
Report and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Mixmag, June 1992
"IT'S JUST tinkly pianos and wailing slags," was how 808 State once summed up the contribution of female vocalists to house music. If it wasn't ...
Nina Simone: Diva Of The Dives
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 20 November 1992
APPROACHING 60, Nina Simone, Princess Noir with the famed attitude, has got used to putting punters in their place. A one-time classical musician she should ...
Siouxsie & The Banshees: Siouxsie and the Banshees: A Kiss in the DreamHouse
Book Excerpt by Lucy O'Brien, 'Love is the Drug' (Penguin), 1994
ALTHOUGH SHE'D been one of punk's founding fathers, as it were, Siouxsie Sioux never really looked like she could last the distance. She's still here ...
Report and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Vox, April 1994
Singing hairdos? Not any longer. Britain's new breed of single black females are feisty, independent and take no prisoners ...
Transglobal Underground: International Times (LP/CD/MC NAT38)
Review by Lucy O'Brien, Vox, November 1994
World piece ...
Overview by Lucy O'Brien, Vox, April 1995
From models to mods, designer girlfriends to X Girl, it's a fine thread between fashion and rock 'n' roll. VOX explores the world of pop ...
PJ Harvey: Queen of the Night: P.J. Harvey
Profile by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 12 June 1995
SHE’S TAKING America by storm. She’s very fashionable at the moment. She’s hipper than hip. That’s what Paul McGuinness says; he’s the manager of U2 ...
Alanis Morissette: Jagged Little Pill (Maverick)
Review by Lucy O'Brien, Vox, September 1995
THE LATEST signing to Madonna's stable, this debut is striking in its maturity. ...
Skunk Anansie: The Year Skunk Broke: Skunk Anansie
Report and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Vox, September 1995
Two indie EPs have been enough to catapult Skunk Anansie from British cult status to the silver screens of Hollywood. VOX joins them for a ...
Björk: Call Of The Wild: Bjork
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Vox, October 1995
Bjork hasn’t let two years of critical kudos and VIP bullshit go to her head. As she heads out on a major world tour, VOX ...
Melissa Etheridge: One of the Boys
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 3 November 1995
As a woman, Melissa Etheridges success in the major league of American rock is remarkable, as an out lesbian its unique. Lucy OBrien meets a ...
Therapy?: Brixton Academy, London
Live Review by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 16 December 1995
The riot act, scene two ...
Report and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Q, March 1996
"THE BEST THING was when we had Tora Tora, or The Artist Formerly Known As Prince," says Chris Cowey, the noticeably effusive producer of The ...
Alanis Morissette: Bruised: Alanis Morissette: Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Review and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Q, July 1996
Alanis Morissette: she's got the whole world in her hands. ...
John Cale, Patti Smith: John Cale and Patti Smith: How We Met
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Independent on Sunday, 25 August 1996
JOHN CALE, 55, rock musician and composer, was born in South Wales, moved to New York in the early 1960s and became a founder member ...
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Q, October 1996
A decade ago, New Edition were teenage, wildly successful and far from rich. The split, Bobby Brown married Whitney and checked into the Betty Ford ...
Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons: How We Met: Emmylou Harris and Phil Kaufman
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Independent, 5 October 1996
THE SINGER Emmylou Harris, 47, was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She started her career singing with country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, then after his death ...
The Associates, Billy Mackenzie: Those Last Impressions: Billy MacKenzie
Retrospective by Lucy O'Brien, Q, 1997
When Billy MacKenzie committed suicide in January, he was about to re-launch a career that sparkled briefly but brilliantly with The Associates. Lucy O'Brien recalls ...
East 17: Pimply — East 17: Around The World — The Journey So Far (London 826852-2)
Review by Lucy O'Brien, Q, January 1997
East 17: becoming cooler by degrees. ...
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Independent, 1 February 1997
"I can't listen to Days of Open Hand without feeling like I'm getting hives. It was such a difficult album to make, I was doing ...
Sinead O'Connor: An Inconvenient Woman: Sinead O’Connor
Profile and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 26 April 1997
Sinead OConnor bothers people. American audiences were outraged when she shunned their national anthem, the pop establishment was vindictive when she refused a Brit, and ...
Fun Lovin' Criminals: De Westercas Fabriek, Amsterdam
Live Review by Lucy O'Brien, Q, May 1997
"WHEN WE STARTED, people would throw stuff at us for free. We got $25,000 this time," says Huey, lead singer and guitarist of New York ...
MC Lyte: Badder Than B-fore (East West 7559 621222)
Review by Lucy O'Brien, Q, February 1998
"Ruffneck" girl Lana Moorer gains career time with chunky remix album. ...
Michael Hutchence, INXS: Michael Hutchence, 1960-1997: Death Of A Rock Star
Obituary by Lucy O'Brien, Q, February 1998
Living life at supersonic speed, broken by the battle between his fiancée and her ex-husband, scarred by childhood neglect and propelled by his urge for ...
Report and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Q, May 1998
Envy All Saints, but only a little bit, because Brit Awards mean nothing when you're in Miami, working your hits off. Lucy O'Brien is along ...
Gloria Estefan: Gloria! (Epic 48950 4/2)
Review by Lucy O'Brien, Q, July 1998
Miami pop queen goes back to Latin disco roots in unashamedly good time fashion. ...
Alanis Morissette: Rock and Rage: Alanis Morissette Sings Her Heart Out
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Sunday Express Magazine, 22 November 1998
THERE IS SOMETHING quite disarming about the way Alanis Morissette slips into the room. The 24-year-old rock star has sold 28 million records, she has ...
Rock’n’Role: Are Singers The New Feminist Icons?
Overview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 21 December 1998
IN THE US, they call it the Third Wave – a new feminism for a new generation. It is fuelled by popular culture in general ...
Dusty Springfield: You Started Something: Dusty Springfield
Profile and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Observer, 21 February 1999
Dusty Springfield, now battling with cancer, is finally being recognized as the first queen of Britpop after 40 years in the business. ...
Chrissie Hynde, The Pretenders: Chrissie Hynde: The Great Pretender
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 27 April 1999
CHRISSIE HYNDE, wild woman of rock, sits in a private members' club in London's Portman Square in a finely tailored pinstripe suit. Despite the elegance ...
Dusty Springfield: England's Lady Soul
Obituary by Lucy O'Brien, MOJO, May 1999
ON MARCH 2, 1999, Dusty Springfield died of cancer at her home in Henley-on-Thames. She was 59, just six weeks short of her 60th birthday. ...
Destiny's Child: The Writing's On The Wall (Columbia) ***
Review by Lucy O'Brien, Q, August 1999
En Vogue-esque girl power R&B From Texas' latest export. ...
Tammy Wynette: The Mad Life And Crazy Death of Tammy Wynette
Overview by Lucy O'Brien, Q, August 1999
Burt Reynolds nearly died in her bath, George Jones escaped on her lawn-mower, and her second husband traded pictures of her in the nuddy. She ...
Nina Simone: Stocky And Wild-Eyed: Nina Simone at the Royal Festival Hall
Live Review by Lucy O'Brien, MOJO, September 1999
"EVERY GENERATION has to discover Nina Simone. She is evidence that female genius is real," says Germaine Greer, introducing tonights show, one of the highlights ...
Shelby Lynne: Embassy Rooms, London ****
Live Review by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 27 October 1999
ONE OF THE new breed of US country crossover stars, Shelby Lynne doesn't have the smooth, invincible sheen of a Shania Twain or a Mindy ...
Horace Andy: Heavenly Social, London
Live Review by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 30 October 1999
After three decades as a singer, Horace Andy can still surprise. Lucy O'Brien reports ...
Coldcut: Shepherds Bush Empire, London ***
Live Review by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 17 November 1999
Ramraiders of the past ...
Everything But The Girl: Forum, London
Live Review by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 20 November 1999
Smooth grooves ...
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Telegraph Magazine, Summer 1999
SKIN WALKS into her manager's house in St. John's Wood and immediately shows off her jeans. "I wanted a pair of trousers that go VROOM ...
Destiny's Child: Destiny’s Child: Invasion Of The Booty-Snatchers
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Q, 2000
Whats "up" with Destinys Child, R&Bs only three-piece quartet? Members keep getting whacked and replaced by ringers, but millions of fans many of them ...
Oasis: First Union Center, Philadelphia
Live Review by Lucy O'Brien, Q, February 2000
Oasis's American concerts provided tantalising glimpses of their sprightlier, less bald new direction. Lucy O’Brien was there. ...
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Q, July 2000
The fans have turned on her, Billie Piper has rediscovered her surname and written a song about the music business. Teen pop midlife crisis ahoy! ...
Kasey Chambers: Borderline, London
Live Review by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 20 July 2000
KASEY CHAMBERS is a 23-year-old New Country artist, from New South Wales rather than Nashville. She has already sold 70,000 copies of her debut album, ...
Foxy Brown: Ill Na Na (Def Jam) ***
Review by Lucy O'Brien, Q, August 2000
First Lady of glam gangsta rap's 1996 album. ...
Eliza Carthy, Kate Rusby, Kathryn Williams: Sandals Out, Piercing In: The New Folk Sirens
Overview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 24 August 2000
LIVERPUDLIAN ARTIST Kathryn Williams is among the nominees for this years Mercury music prize – and hotly tipped to win. Last year Kate Rusby was ...
Moloko: These Boots Are Made For Walkin'…
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Q, September 2000
…and today they're going to walk all over Q. For she is Roisin Murphy and they are Moloko, the Euro-chart topping Lee 'n' Nancy who ...
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, Q, October 2000
Miraculously, nothing in the postbag about elves or smoked auk; instead it was journo-bashing, fan-suicides and Goldie's "teeth" all the way for the Palme d'Or-winning ...
Madonna: Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
Retrospective by Lucy O'Brien, Q, March 2002
Plagued by accusations of bimboism and blasphemy, Madonna put on her conical bra, reduced her body fat to an "unhealthy level" and began playing with ...
She Bop II: Rock Chicks Fight Back
Comment by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 13 September 2003
Lucy O'Brien reflects on her monumental history of the music business ...
Review by Lucy O'Brien, MOJO, August 2004
Subtle licks and straight talking on the South Carolina neo-soul songstress's third solo album. ...
Madonna: For the first time, her friends and lovers speak out
Retrospective by Lucy O'Brien, Independent on Sunday, 2 September 2007
How did a destitute dance student become the princess of pop? ...
Blondie, Debbie Harry: Debbie Harry
Profile and Interview by Lucy O'Brien, MOJO, October 2007
DEBORAH HARRY'S road manager is a tall Californian called Machine. He has a moustache, a firm handshake, and is ineffably polite. "Deborah will be with ...
Review by Lucy O'Brien, MOJO, March 2008
Soulful, streetwise debut from the much-hyped Tottenham chanteuse. ...
Natalie Cole: The Unforgettable Ms Cole
Interview by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 26 September 2008
Natalie Cole is the superstar's daughter who became a Black Panther, a cocaine addict – and a huge success in her own right. As she ...
Review by Lucy O'Brien, The Quietus, 29 April 2014
"WHEN THE SMOKE clears I'm the last bandit," Iggy Azalea raps optimistically on 'Walk The Line', a stand-out track on her long-awaited debut album. ...
Billie Eilish: When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?
Review by Lucy O'Brien, The Quietus, 29 March 2019
The debut album from 17 year-old singer-songwriter Billie Eilish links Lana Del Ray dreaminess with a savvy, hip hop-inspired sound, finds Lucy O'Brien. ...
Madonna: Where to start in her back catalogue
Guide by Lucy O'Brien, The Guardian, 17 June 2020
In Listener's digest, we help you explore the work of great artists. Next: how the 1980s material girl transformed herself into a mature millennial pop ...
back to LIBRARY