Alexis Petridis

Alexis Petridis
Alexis Petridis speaking in 2015
Petridis in 2015
Born (1971-09-13) 13 September 1971 (age 53)
Sunderland, England
EducationUniversity of Cambridge
Occupations
  • Journalist
  • critic
EmployerThe Guardian

Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971)[1] is a British journalist. He is the head rock and pop music critic for The Guardian, and a regular contributor for GQ.[2] In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written a weekly column in the fashion section of The Guardian's Weekend section, as well as contributing to its Lost in Showbiz column.

Petridis was born to a family of Greek descent in Sunderland in the north of England, but grew up in Silsden, near Keighley in Yorkshire.[3][4] The family later moved to Buckinghamshire.[citation needed] After studying at Dr Challoner's Grammar School in Amersham, he began his writing career at the University of Cambridge by contributing to the student newspaper Varsity. He was the final editor of the now defunct music magazine Select. He was also the ghostwriter of Elton John's 2019 autobiography Me.[5]

Petridis has won the "Record Reviews Writer of the Year" category at the Record of the Day awards eight times, every year from 2005 to 2012, as well as winning "Artist and Music Features: Writer of the Year" in 2006 and "Best Music Writer" (as voted by students) in 2012.[6][7][8] In 2017, he was awarded a Fellowship by Leeds College of Music.[9]

  1. ^ "Dellam Corporate Information Limited, England". Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  2. ^ "Alexis Petridis Profile". The Guardian. London. 26 September 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  3. ^ Petridis, Alexis (7 July 2005). "We're gonna make you a star". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  4. ^ Who's the BRITS for these days? Alexis Petridis on what teenagers think about music, 2 March 2022, retrieved 8 September 2023
  5. ^ Freeman, Hadley (16 October 2019). "Me by Elton John review – hilariously self-lacerating". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Awards 2011". Archived from the original on 11 November 2011.
  7. ^ Glendinning, Lee (21 November 2007). "Guardian has best music coverage for second year". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  8. ^ "Record of the Day Awards, November 2012". The Guardian. London. 29 November 2012. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
  9. ^ Hartley, Kath (28 July 2017). "Leeds College of Music awards three Fellowships to key industry figures". Leeds College of Music. Retrieved 19 January 2020.