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Ian Birrell

  • Award-winning columnist and foreign reporter. Contributing editor of The Mail on Sunday and weekly columnist in the 'i' paper. Writes regularly for many other papers, platforms and magazines. Frequent broadcaster and speaker at events. Co-founder wth Damon Albarn of the Africa Express music project and executive producer of 4 albums...Read more
  • Twitter: @ianbirrell
  • Facebook: click here

Recent Articles

  • Why isn’t China a pariah state?
  • We don’t need another review. The care system is rotting while politicians play tawdry games
  • Jimmy Carter’s selfless work for the poor and sick after he left office serves as a stinging rebuke to the venality of Blair and Cameron
  • The tragedy of Joe Biden: he betrayed democracy
  • A woman of heroic strength and dignity

Tags

aid autism Blair Boris Brexit Cameron China coalition Conservatives Corbyn coronavirus crime Daily Mail democracy Dfid Disability drugs EU Guardian human rights immigration Independent ipaper Labour LibDems Libya May Miliband MoS NHS Nigeria Observer Putin Russia social care Syria Times Trump Ukip Ukraine UN UnHerd USA Wuhan Xi Jinping


Tweets by ianbirrell

Britain’s music is being silenced by ministerial failure

Published by The Times (20th July, 2022) Britain does not have many world-leading industries but our music business is most... Read Full Article

15 years in a slave labour camp – just for listening to pop music in North Korea

Published by The Mail on Sunday (11th July, 2021) Three years ago, North Korea’s ‘Supreme Leader’ Kim Jong Un clapped along... Read Full Article

Musicians deserve a helping hand

Published by The i paper (25th January, 2021) Seventeen years ago, I spent a day in Pimlico with Paul Weller. We met... Read Full Article

The music industry has been left to die

Published by UnHerd (12th October, 2020) After more than a decade in the music business, Georgia Barnes was on the... Read Full Article

Beat perfect until the end

Published by The i paper (4th May, 2020) Last Thursday I received an email from Audrey Gbaguidi, a singer whom... Read Full Article

Whitney’s back from the dead. But is her hologram tour a joyful tribute or ghoulish exploitation?

Published by The Mail on Sunday (16th February, 2020) Whitney Houston will soon be back on stage. Tickets are being... Read Full Article

Singing songs in harmony

Published by The i paper (15th July, 2019) Fifteen years ago I travelled to the world’s most astonishing music festival,... Read Full Article

Hello Syria! Joss Stone plays the world’s most unlikely gig

Published by The Mail on Sunday (3rd March, 2019) When British singer Joss Stone, barefoot as usual, walked on stage... Read Full Article

Britain is open for business? Not for African artists

Published by The Guardian (27th July, 2018) Moonchild Sanely oozes star quality. When musicians from Africa Express – the organisation... Read Full Article

Clubs are closing and British culture will suffer

Published by theipaper (22nd August, 2016) Seventeen years is a long time in club culture. Yet Fabric has survived and... Read Full Article

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Recent Articles

  • Why isn’t China a pariah state?
  • We don’t need another review. The care system is rotting while politicians play tawdry games
  • Jimmy Carter’s selfless work for the poor and sick after he left office serves as a stinging rebuke to the venality of Blair and Cameron
  • The tragedy of Joe Biden: he betrayed democracy
  • A woman of heroic strength and dignity

Tags

aid autism Blair Boris Brexit Cameron China coalition Conservatives Corbyn coronavirus crime Daily Mail democracy Dfid Disability drugs EU Guardian human rights immigration Independent ipaper Labour LibDems Libya May Miliband MoS NHS Nigeria Observer Putin Russia social care Syria Times Trump Ukip Ukraine UN UnHerd USA Wuhan Xi Jinping

Twitter

Tweets by @ianbirrell

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