Happy 2026, punk scholars and other interested parties! Your Punk Scholars Podcast co-hosts, Jessica Schwartz and Paul Hollins, are back in action with a recursively engaging interview of Prof. Martin James. Let us let you in on a couple of fun facts about our guest. Martin has been punched by Goldie, pissed on by Iggy Pop and kidnapped by an unknown DJ in Italy. He also once swam across crocodile-infested waters in Indonesia, got stoned senseless with Cypress Hill in Amsterdam, and played Resident Evil with Ice T in Hollywood. Furthermore, he’s travelled the world with The Prodigy, written two books about them, provided record label biogs for each of their last 5 albums, and supplied sleeve notes to their greatest hits collection, Their Law. As a journalist, his weirdest interview was when he brought Afrika Bambaataa together with the hip hop originator’s hero Gary Numan: they were both quite bemused. And Legendary DJ Annie Nightingale MBE once described Martin as: ‘… one of the most conscientious, outspoken and honest writers working in music today — and he’s not afraid to cry!’
About Our Guest
Prof. Martin James is an independent scholar who was, until three years ago, Professor of Creative and Cultural Industries at Solent University in Southampton, UK. His areas of specialist interest include music journalism and the UK & US music press, music cities and late-twentieth-century alternative music; specifically, punk, post-punk, synth pop and electronic music. Martin’s academic and trade publications have focused on hidden histories in the mediated narratives of popular music. He is the author of several critically acclaimed books about music, including State of Bass: Jungle – the story so far (Velocity Press, 1997, 2020) and French Connections: from discotheque to discovery (Velocity Press, 2004, 2022). He is co-editor of the forthcoming Intellect Handbook of Global Music Industries (Intellect), Media Narratives in Popular Music (Bloomsbury Academic, 2022), and co-author of Understanding the Music Industries (Sage, 2012). Prior to becoming an academic in 2004, Martin worked in the UK national music press as a writer and editor. He was on the editorial staff of Melody Maker, Muzik, Vox and various others. Furthermore, he contributed to The Guardian, The Independent, and various lifestyle magazines. He continues to write for special music magazines and interview artists turned author at music literature events.
This episode features music from Nostalgia Deathstar’s ‘ZU (Night of the Claustrozombies)’ featuring Professors Tara Brabazon and Steve Redhead. 2025. All rights reserved.
Links
Email: martinjames2562@gmail.com