The New Musical Express

an English rock and roll rag

During my three years at the NME, I was flash, amateurish, out of my box on sulphate, unable to hold the most basic conversation with record company personnel - in fact, I could barely function as a grown-up. But I also brought a degree of innocence and integrity to the paper that was unheard of; I wasn't interested in ligs, or freebies, or expenses, or all those other things that ruin writers. The NME reached new heights of both sales and credibility and quite naturally one's own fame grew... One's colleagues were not amused.