Meet the Team: Claire Perry (Senior Lecturer in Journalism)
From writing reviews on some of the most influential acts of the 90s, to promoting local bands, Claire Perry has an extensive knowledge of the music industry. In the third of our series of posts profiling the Journalism team at the University of Portsmouth, Claire reflects on her career and tells us about her (awesome) cats (NB: Dennis is the best).
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Name: Claire Perry
Background / Education: I was working as a journalist by 19 having taken the NCTJ course post-A levels in Cardiff. I worked for a number of weekly and daily papers around the country, covering news, sport, music, theatre, travel — you name it, I covered it. This included Koi carp dying for very unusual reasons, ghosts in fires, bicurious ducks on Emsworth millpond and Ozzy Osbourne in court for beating up Sharon. Gig reviews were a bonus and I went on to write about all sorts of acts including Oasis, Leftfield, Robbie Williams and Johnny Marr. When I left the industry I worked in a sixth form college teaching popular music and media, while getting my degree through the Open University. I also became a promoter of a Sunday afternoon club and DJ competitions, while orchestrating PR for a number of Portsmouth bands. I joined the university’s Journalism team fulltime in 2015.
What is your subject specialism? An eclectic mix. I’m an expert in feature writing, PR and music but am the perennial jack of all trades.
What units do you teach? Feature Writing, Press and Public Relations, Music Journalism and Reporting.
What is your favourite place in Portsmouth? The Wedgwood Rooms: so many happy memories, so many forgotten nights, so much fun to come. And I do like to be beside the seaside.
What is your favourite book? The Crow Road by Iain Banks. Any book which opens with the line ‘It was the day my grandmother exploded,’ has got to be worth a read.
What is your favourite movie and TV show? I’m far more lowbrow than my colleagues so for pure longevity, as I’ve watched since the beginning, Neighbours.
Film: Trainspotting. And Monty Python’s Life of Brian.
What is your favourite album? That’s like asking a parent to pick a favourite child (apparently). I can’t possibly pick one, at a push I could name a top ten: The Clash London Calling; The Smiths The Queen Is Dead; Leftfield Leftism; Chemical Brothers Exit Planet Dust; Beastie Boys Ill Communication; Super Furry Animals Fuzzy Logic; Happy Mondays Pills Thrills and Bellyaches; Blondie Parallel Lines; Gorillaz Demon Days; Public Enemy Fear of a Black Planet. I’ll go home and weep for all the ones I missed. Duran Duran Rio!
Cats or Dogs? Cats as they hate going out in the cold or rain as much as I do. I have three: Dennis, Lois and Kitty Afro — all named after Happy Mondays records.
