?? 2024 work highlights: Back to the future? ??
In 2024, I found myself back on the BBC Culture team for much longer than initially expected. Amid the challenges of BBC restructure instability, I tried to make the most of it. Here are some highlights - from original features to interviews
1. I began my first day back by writing about the power dramatisations like Mr Bates vs The Post Office can have in bringing about real-world awareness (thanks to Yasmin for writing the box summarising other examples ??).
2. Dived into the challenges facing live music venues, covering the Music Venue Trust's annual report. Spoke to NME's Andrew Trendell and Banquet Records amongst others. In short, small venues need our support!
3. Put my shades on and strutted down memory lane to cover 40 years of London Fashion Week, with thanks to Charlotte for her work on the ground ??
4. Looked at the power of TikTok and streaming in changing how films like Saltburn find success. Murder on the dancefloor? Perhaps. But mostly amazed I'm still alive after getting the cranberry sauce reference published on the BBC ????
5. "Oompa Loompa doompity-dong, most of these films were frankly too long." When Hugh Grant teased the year's awards contenders dragged, I couldn't resist taking a look to see if this really was the case, why it may be, and if intermissions could return ??
6. As I Will Always Love You turned 50, I tried not to break hearts in exploring the song's history - from Dolly Parton's tender original to Whitney Houston's powerhouse classic. No apologies for its pun-tastic opening ??
7. I spoke to the internet's favourite trainspotter Francis Bourgeois about TikTok, fame, online hate, and reclaiming identity. Oh, and as a huge dance music lover (and Aphex Twin fan), he made a great playlist for the BBC, too!
领英推荐
8. My first of two pieces given a push alert: A deep dive into Eminem's Slim Shady legacy. In 1999, he told Jo Whiley: "I used to make up my own heroes and my own villains, but my heroes would always die." Which is Shady? It depends who you ask, and when.
9. For years, the fact my stammer can be worse in pressured speaking situations has left me hesitant to conduct A-list interviews. I forced myself to take the plunge this year ???. Thank you to James McAvoy for his time discussing toxic masculinity and extremism.
10. My interview with Tim Bergling's dad Klas on honouring his son's legacy, both personally and as Avicii, was particularly affecting. Our conversation about mental health, the impact of loss, grief, and overcoming survivor's guilt will always stay with me.
11. Oasis' return became one of the biggest news stories of the year, cutting through as a music story like nothing I've ever seen in my journalism career. I was ready with my cigarettes and alcohol to cover for the live page and website. Mad 'fer it?
12. This year saw Chappell Roan explode into culture like Madonna in the 1980s (via Boy George's aesthetic), thanks to her album of classics. The difference? Toxic fandoms, social media, and 24-hour celebrity. I explored the sour edge of her supernova ??
13. In a pinch-me moment, I covered The Cure’s return with their new album Songs Of A Lost World for the BBC website, including their intimate Radio 2 gig. An album of grief, certainly, but disintegration? Absolutely not.
14. One of my most personal BBC pieces explored how South Park's Timmy is being misused on TikTok to fuel real-life abuse toward disabled people, including myself - 20 years on. Its impact, even reaching ABC News Australia, has been beyond what I imagined.
15. I'm always fascinated at how culture evolves, but timeless art and literature endures. This look at Grand Theft Hamlet - a documentary following attempts to bring Shakespeare to GTA Online during the existential crisis of Covid, stuck with me.