Chris Salewicz

Chris Salewicz has documented and shaped the story of popular culture for more than four decades across print, film, television, and radio.

As a senior features writer at NME, he reported from the front lines of the punk and reggae movements before contributing to leading international publications including Q, MOJO, Uncut, The Sunday Times, The Independent, The Guardian, and Condé Nast Traveller.

Salewicz is the author of eighteen books, including the acclaimed Rude Boy: Once Upon a Time in Jamaica, the bestselling Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer, and Bob Marley: The Untold Story. His Jimmy Page: The Definitive Biography was published to widespread critical acclaim in 2018.

His connection with Jamaica has been a defining influence throughout his career. While living on the island in the mid-1990s, he wrote the screenplay for Third World Cop, which became the Caribbean’s most successful film. He later presented a BBC Radio 4 series exploring The Harder They Come and its cultural impact, followed by a BBC World Service documentary on Polish reggae.

Most recently, Salewicz authored the text for The Clash Chronicles (2024), a collaboration with photographer Adrian Boot celebrating “the only band that matters.”

Through writing, broadcasting, and film, Chris Salewicz continues to explore the intersections of music, culture, and contemporary history.