John Earls
Introduction '''John Earls''' (born 25 August 1972) is an English music critic and journalist. He is known for his work as editor of the now-defunct ''Planet Sound'' music magazine, hosted by Teletext Ltd. on their UK teletext service and official website. Earls has also covered music for outlets such as the ''NME'', ''Record Collector'', ''Classic Pop'' and the ''News of the World'', and has served as a sporadic football pundit for magazines including ''When Saturday Comes''.
Childhood and early career Born on 25 August 1972, Earls grew up in Milton Keynes. His writings were published by ''Doctor Who Magazine'', and ORACLE's ''Blue Suede Views'' music magazine, during his teens. Earls started writing professionally following a 1991 work experience placement at football magazine ''When Saturday Comes'', continuing to cover the sport on an infrequent basis as he moved into the realm of entertainment journalism. During the 1990s Earls worked as a showbiz reporter for ''the Sunday People''; he left the newspaper in 1999, becoming a teen entertainment writer for Teletext (the successor to ORACLE).
''Planet Sound'' and beyond Earls became a critic for Teletext's music magazine, ''Planet Sound'', some 18 months after joining the company. He was named editor in 2001 and held this post until Teletext ceased broadcasting in December 2009.He became synonymous with ''Planet Sound'' and his work was often cited by other outlets. Earls has interviewed many musicians throughout his career, and has written about music for publications including the ''NME'', ''Record Collector'', ''Classic Pop'' and the ''News of the World''. He wrote the sleeve notes for the 40th anniversary edition of A Flock of Seagulls' 1982 self-titled debut album, as well as for the Fun Boy Three box set, ''The Complete Fun Boy Three'' (2023).Earls was recognised by ''Music Week'' as a "specialist media tastemaker", and was listed by BBC News as an "influential and impartial UK-based music critic". ''Record Collector'' identifies the 1980s as his "specialist era". Earls won "Best Writer – Specialist" at the British Society of Magazine Editors' (BSME) Talent Awards in 2022, with the BSME recognising him as a "great writer" who "communicates effectively" with readers, while also displaying "great interview skills". The Twilight Sad frontman James Graham expressed his affection for Earls: "I used to read ''Planet Sound'' every day... He's a nice guy and I really appreciate the support he gave us." Aside from his writing career, Earls lectures in journalism, and co-founded a record label, WET, in 2009.In 2009 Earls listed the following albums as ones that music fans should own, besides "the obvious great ones they'd already own":* Pet Shop Boys – ''Very''* My Life Story – ''Mornington Crescent''* The Delgados – ''The Great Eastern''* The Teardrop Explodes – ''Wilder''* The National – ''Alligator''
References
External links * Interview with John Earls at ''The Music Fix''