Why did one of hip-hop’s cult heroes end up living, and eventually dying, in Leeds? I spoke to the team behind a new podcast about MF DOOM www.theguardian.com/music/2026/f...

Unmasking US rap iconoclast MF Doom’s final years in West Yorkshire

Podcast by Adam Batty and BBC 6 Music DJ Afrodeutsche follows the leads to Leeds

theguardian.com

Muso people: I want to expand my knowledge of Brazilian music from the 60s-80s. Where should I start?

Anyone else ready to talk about the hamster in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You?

Featuring @lanre-bakare.bsky.social @joemayes.bsky.social and more! Read the full list: www.thenerve.news/p/books-of-2...

Exclusive: Barbican to shut its doors for a year during a multimillion renovation project starting June 2028 www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

Barbican to close its doors for a year for multimillion-pound renovation

London site’s theatre, music venue and galleries to close in June 2028, in first stage of upgrades before 50th anniversary

theguardian.com

I’m back on tour. Come see me in Durham, London (x2) and Bath!

I'm entering into the world of Substack. My free newsletter is called No Archive and is the kind of writing I don't get to do as much nowadays: irreverent and off the cuff. The first piece is about Hulk Hogan, WWF/E and race. open.substack.com/pub/lanrebak...

'When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside': On Hulkamania, WWF + race

A debut post about growing up watching wrestling in the 1980s and looking back now to see the racial faultlines all too clearly following Hulk Hogan's death

open.substack.com

Tickets are on sale now for Hidden Histories with @lanre-bakare.bsky.social & @jakecampbell88.bsky.social at Durham Book Festival. Both authors highlight the unsung stories of people from across the North, painting a portrait of a diverse and rich heritage: newwritingnorth.com/event/hidden...

Hidden Histories with Lanre Bakare and Jake Morris-Campbell - New Writing North

Jake Morris-Campbell’s Between the Salt and the Ash asks what stories the North East can tell about itself in the...

newwritingnorth.com

New Writing North@newwritingnorth.bsky.social · 12mo ago

🎉 Celebrate the power of the written word at Durham Book Festival 2025! 📚 From 10-12 October, delve into an autumn weekend jam packed with books, ideas and talent at Gala Durham, Clayport Library, Collected and online. Find the full programme at DurhamBookFestival.com

Nice write up of WWT in TLS. Will do a post at some point about “political blackness” …

Kieran Connell@kieranconnell.bsky.social · last yr.

My review of Lanre Bakare’s excellent book We Were There is in this week’s TLS www.the-tls.com/regular-feat... @lanre-bakare.bsky.social @thetls.bsky.social

My review of Lanre Bakare’s excellent book We Were There is in this week’s TLS www.the-tls.com/regular-feat... @lanre-bakare.bsky.social @thetls.bsky.social

Staking a claim

It’s 1974, and Steve Caesar, a teenager whose family recently migrated from the Caribbean, is about to go on stage. The setting is the Wigan Casino, an

the-tls.com

On Ballymena, 1919 and a history of violence www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The racial violence in Ballymena repeats a pattern that’s blighted Britain for years. We must wake up to that | Lanre Bakare

History tells us attacks on migrants are a predictable result of political failings, distorted media coverage and far-right opportunism, says Lanre Bakare, an arts and culture correspondent for the Gu...

theguardian.com

Enjoyed this look at manc Morrissey diehards by The Mill. Would love someone to do something similar in east LA - arguably the biggest Moz fanbase outside the north west of England. manchestermill.co.uk/does-manches... Does Manchester still love Morrissey?

Does Manchester still love Morrissey?

A night at Co-op Live with the icon’s die-hard fans

manchestermill.co.uk

Real storyline from the game is Brennan Johnson’s hair

When we were drawing up plans for world domination, Start The Week was top of the list of shows to get on. I was lucky enough to be on with Tiffany Jenkins and Geoff Dyer who both have fascinating books out (a memoir and a history of privacy and its limitations). www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Enjoyed talking about STRANGERS & INTIMATES on @BBCRadio4 #StartTheWeek on history as private, personal & political, with the hilarious, Geoff Dyer (HOMEWORK) & the insightful @lanre-bakare.bsky.social (WE WERE THERE). Brilliantly chaired by @tds153.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Radio 4 - Start the Week, History: private, personal and political

Tom Sutcliffe talks to Tiffany Jenkins, Geoff Dyer and Lanre Bakare.

bbc.co.uk

@ayshahtull.bsky.social and I spoke with @lanre-bakare.bsky.social on the history of black Britain outside of London, in his hometown of Bradford. Two things he’s an expert on. www.channel4.com/news/lanre-b...

Lanre Bakare on the forgotten voices of Black Britain

When people think about Black British history, London is often seen as its cultural heart.

channel4.com

2️⃣ Lanre Bakare: We Were There Join writer & broadcaster Désirée Reynolds for a conversation with @lanre-bakare.bsky.social, who will set out a compelling portrait of modern Britain that weaves Black stories far away from the capital into our national narrative. 🎟️ loom.ly/PTNOEzw

Lanre Bakare: We Were There

We Were There is about a Black Britain that for too long has been unknown and unexplored – the one t…

loom.ly

Huge thanks to everyone who came along to our event last night with @lanre-bakare.bsky.social & Lisa Williams! 🤩 If you missed out, you can watch the livestream over on our website, and also order a signed copy of We Were There below 😊 www.theportobellobookshop.com/978184792747...

Had a blast on 6Music chatting to Zakia Sewell about my new book WE WERE THERE which is all about Black British culture in the 70s and 80s. Listen back here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

🗣️ 1 May - Lanre Bakare: We Were There Join @lanre-bakare.bsky.social to explore his new book We Were There, in which he sets out a compelling portrait of modern Britain that weaves Black stories far away from the capital into our national narrative. Get tickets ➡️ loom.ly/PTNOEzw

Londoners - I’ll be at Waterstones Trafalgar Square tomorrow night with Emma Dabiri. Last few tickets remaining www.waterstones.com/events/we-we...

The first review is in for We Were There! Colin Grant in The (Mighty) Observer declares We Were There is “sharply intelligent history” that “admirably achieves what it sets out to provide” and is a “necessary corrective”. Feeling blessed 😇 www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...

We Were There is on the cover of Guardian’s Saturday culture pages! It’s incredible to see Ellery Hanley, Nightmares on Wax, Empire Road and all the other figures from the book, assembled together and brought to life in print. Live dates, pre-order link and playlist: www.lanrebakare.com/events

We’re thrilled that @lanre-bakare.bsky.social will be coming to the bookshop on 28th April to celebrate his new book: We Were There: How Black culture, resistance and community shaped modern Britain. 💥 More info & tickets here: www.theportobellobookshop.com/events/lanre...

Your second headliner!🎉 @lanre-bakare.bsky.social's work focuses on the intersection of art, race & culture. His book, We Were There, is about a Black Britain that for too long has been unknown and unexplored – the one that exists beyond London Info & tickets ➡️ festivalofdebate.com/2025/lanre-b...

If anyone is about 18th March I'll be giving a public seminar for the Manchester Uni history department. The talk will be exploring photographs of industrial struggle, race and resistance and discussing 'Bolton's Grunwick', a mill strike in 1978. All welcome! events.manchester.ac.uk/event/event:...

🚨Tour klaxon🚨 I’m taking We Were There out on the road in April and May. Please come and say hi!

New project launches today looking at class, the arts and the leadership of some of our biggest institutions. Our analysis shows: Nearly a third (30%) of artistic directors and other creative leaders were educated privately compared with a UK average of 7%. www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

Working-class creatives don’t stand a chance in UK today, leading artists warn

Exclusive: Analysis by the Guardian shows a third of major arts leaders were educated privately

theguardian.com

New from me: An extraordinary story about a new security breach at the British Museum broke late last night www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...

British Museum forced to partly close after alleged IT attack by former employee

A recently dismissed contractor shut down several systems before being arrested, the museum said

theguardian.com

New from me: National Portrait Gallery accused of ‘nepotism’ over show for one of the donors to its massive £40m refurb www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

National Portrait Gallery accused of nepotism over Zoë Law exhibition

The photographer’s exhibition, which features images of Noel Gallagher, took place after donation to the gallery’s £40m makeover

theguardian.com