Julie Burchill

Julie Burchill (born July 3, 1959 in Frenchay, a suburb of Bristol) is a British journalist noted for her acerbic writing. She started her career writing for the New Musical Express after responding, with her husband-to-be Tony Parsons, to an advert in that paper seeking hip young gunslingers to write about the then emerging punk rock movement. Until 2003, she wrote a weekly column in The Guardian.

Related Topics:
July 3 - 1959 - Bristol - Journalist - New Musical Express - Tony Parsons - Punk rock - 2003 - The Guardian

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Her departure was caused by disagreements with the readers over her pro-Israel and anti-Arab views in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict although, she claimed that it came down to differences between her working class origins and the middle class stance of the Guardian. She currently writes for The Times. Shortly after starting her weekly column she referred to George Galloway but appeared to confuse him with former MP Ron Brown, reporting the misdeeds of Brown as those of Galloway. Galloway threatened legal action which was averted when she apologised and The Times paid damages http://politics.guardian.co.uk/media/story/0,12123,1170342,00.html.

Related Topics:
Israel - Israeli-Palestinian conflict - The Times - George Galloway - Ron Brown

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Burchill is noted for her confrontational and iconoclastic views, which have been criticised as contradictory. In the 80s she wrote in favour of Margaret Thatcher, but she has always claimed she has never renounced the Communist beliefs of her youth. She is a consistent defender of the old Soviet Union. Burchill is famed for her frequent attacks on various celebrity figures, which have been criticised for their cruelty, though her supporters note the self-deprecating aspects of her writing. She is perhaps best known in America for the "Fax wars" or "Battle of the Bitches" with Camille Paglia http://website.lineone.net/~jon.simmons/julie/paglia.htm. She has written many books and has made a television documentary regarding the death of her father from asbestosis.

Related Topics:
Margaret Thatcher - Communist - Soviet Union - Celebrity - Asbestosis

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Burchill was briefly married to Parsons and then to Cosmo Landesman, the son of Fran and Jay Landesman. Both marriages produced a son. Both sons live with their fathers. In 1990 Burchill and Landesman established a short-lived magazine Modern Review through which she met Charlotte Raven and the pair had a much publicised affair. She recently married again, to Raven's brother - a much younger man. She wrote of the joys of having a "toyboy" in her Times' Weekend Review column. Fellow NME journalist/author Paul Wellings wrote about their friendship in his book "I'm A Journalist...Get Me Out Of Here".

Related Topics:
Cosmo Landesman - Fran - Modern Review - Charlotte Raven - Paul Wellings

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Her 2004 lesbian-themed novel for teenagers Sugar Rush was adapted for television in 2005 by Channel 4.

Related Topics:
Sugar Rush - Channel 4

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She has lived for many years now in Brighton.

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