# Chris Salewicz

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{{Short description|British journalist}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2016}}

'''Chris Salewicz''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|æ|l|ə|v|ɪ|tʃ}} {{Respell|SAL|ə|vitch}}<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psq6onx8PDg|title=Chris Salewicz In-Studio with Jonesy|accessdate=20 August 2020|type=video|publisher=955KLOS|via=YouTube|date=2019-04-02}}</ref>) is a journalist, broadcaster and novelist who lives in London.

==Career==
Salewicz was as a senior features writer for the  ''[New Musical Express](/source/New_Musical_Express)'' (''NME'') from 1975 to 1981, where, under tutelage of editor [Neil Spencer](/source/Neil_Spencer), he and other journalists were said to have "re-written the book on [music journalism](/source/music_journalism)". The period Salewicz spent at ''NME'' is regarded by some as a 'Golden Age of Music Journalism',<ref name="guardian2005">{{cite web|author=[Neil Spencer](/source/Neil_Spencer) |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/jul/03/pressandpublishing.popandrock |title=Fraternising with the NME|publisher=Guardian |date=2005-07-03 |accessdate=2013-07-26}}</ref> where, fuelled by the [punk rock](/source/punk_rock) explosion, the whole genre changed into a complex revolutionary socioeconomic critique rather than the fan club–style journalism of the previous decades. Along with other ''NME'' alumni (notably [Tony Parsons](/source/Tony_Parsons_(British_journalist)) and [Julie Burchill](/source/Julie_Burchill)) of that period, Salewicz's work was soon featured in mainstream publications such as the ''[Sunday Times](/source/Sunday_Times)'', ''[The Independent](/source/The_Independent)'', ''[The Daily Telegraph](/source/The_Daily_Telegraph)'', ''[Conde Nast Traveller](/source/Conde_Nast_Traveller)'', ''[Q](/source/Q_(magazine))'', ''[Mojo](/source/Mojo_(magazine))'' and ''[Time Out](/source/Time_Out_(magazine))''; he also wrote for ''[The Face magazine](/source/The_Face_magazine)''.<ref name=Rocksbackpages/>

Salewicz's time at the ''NME'' allowed him to form close friendships with [Joe Strummer](/source/Joe_Strummer) of [the Clash](/source/the_Clash)<ref name=RedemptionSong/> and [Bob Marley](/source/Bob_Marley).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/08/20/author-chris-salewicz-on-soundsystems-and-jamaicas-global-impact/ |title=Author Chris Salewicz on soundsystems and Jamaica's global impact|author=Marcus Barnes|publisher=Blogs.independent.co.uk |date=2012-08-20|accessdate=2013-07-26 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131101092301/http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/08/20/author-chris-salewicz-on-soundsystems-and-jamaicas-global-impact/ |archivedate=2013-11-01 }}</ref> His journalism covered some of the experiences he had with them, including the [Trenchtown](/source/Trenchtown) Ghetto, [Jamaican Gun Court](/source/Gun_Court), and [Zimbabwean independence](/source/Zimbabwean_independence), and [Maida Vale](/source/Maida_Vale) Squat, [Groucho Club](/source/Groucho_Club), and a search for [Garcia Lorca](/source/Garcia_Lorca)'s bones in [Andalucía](/source/Andaluc%C3%ADa).{{cn|date=May 2025}} Salewicz's writing and subsequent books on Strummer (''Redemption Song'')<ref name=RedemptionSong>{{cite web|last=Hawkins |first=Paul |url=http://blogcritics.org/books/article/interview-with-chris-salewicz-author-of/ |title=Interview With Chris Salewicz, Author Of Redemption Song: A Biography Of Joe Strummer |work=[Blogcritics](/source/Blogcritics) |date=2007-06-29 |accessdate=2013-07-26|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090925130004/http://blogcritics.org/books/article/interview-with-chris-salewicz-author-of/|archive-date=2009-09-25}}</ref> and Marley (''The Untold Story'') expanded beyond their musical impact into what made them political and cultural icons.{{citation needed|date=July 2013}} In 1995, he and film director [Don Letts](/source/Don_Letts) moved to [Jamaica](/source/Jamaica) for two years to develop film ideas. Drawing on extensive research, Salewicz wrote ''[Third World Cop](/source/Third_World_Cop)'', which became Jamaica's highest-grossing film ever when it was released in 1999.<ref name=Rocksbackpages>{{cite web|url=http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Writer/chris-salewicz |title=Chris Salewicz |publisher=[Rocks Back Pages](/source/Rocks_Back_Pages) |accessdate=January 8, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.caribbean-beat.com/issue-111/chris-browne-third-world-filmmaker#axzz6M2WeJG9o|title=Chris Browne: third world filmmaker|newspaper=Caribbean Beat|last=Crosskill|first=Araya|date=September 2011}}</ref>

Salewicz is the author of fifteen books, including ''Rude Boy: Once Upon a Time in Jamaica''; ''Redemption Song: the Definitive Biography of Joe Strummer'';<ref name="nytimes2007">{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/03/books/review/Christgau-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|title=Combat Rocker|date=2007-06-03|author=Robert Christgau|publisher=The New York Times}}</ref> and ''Bob Marley: The Untold Story''. He was the on-screen narrator in 2010's ''{{ill|Beats of Freedom|pl}}'',<ref name="Krakow Post">{{cite web|url=http://www.krakowpost.com/article/1944 |title=Beats of Freedom Premieres in Poland |publisher=Krakow Post |date=2010-03-12 |accessdate=2013-07-26|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100723143318/http://www.krakowpost.com/article/1944|archive-date=2010-07-23}}</ref> a documentary feature film, released cinematically in Poland, about how [Polish rock and roll](/source/Rock_music_in_Poland) helped bring down [communism](/source/communism). The same year, Salewicz went into [Tivoli Gardens](/source/Tivoli_Gardens%2C_Kingston) in Kingston to report on the "[Dudus affair](/source/Dudus_affair)" for ''[The Wall Street Journal](/source/The_Wall_Street_Journal)''.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748704717004575268850282820346 |title=Chris Salewicz: Jamaica's 'Constitutional Crisis'|publisher=Wall Street Journal|author=Chris Salewicz |date=2010-05-28 |accessdate=2013-07-26}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
* ''Bob Marley: The Untold Story'' (2010)
* ''Redemption Song: The Definitive Biography of Joe Strummer'' (2012)
* ''Reggae Explosion'' (2013) - with [Adrian Boot](/source/Adrian_Boot)
* ''Dead Gods: The 27 Club'' (2015)
* ''Jimmy Page: The Definitive Biography'' (2018)

==References==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{twitter|chrissalewicz}}
* {{imdb name|758152}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20121119234032/http://www.sabotagetimes.com/author/chris-salewicz Articles by Chris Salewicz] for ''[Sabotage Times](/source/Sabotage_Times)'' (2012 archive)

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salewicz, Chris}}
Category:British male journalists
Category:British writers
Category:Living people
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chris Salewicz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Salewicz) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Salewicz?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.