Colin Irwin (journalist)

British music journalist (1951–2022)

Colin Lester Irwin (19 May 1951 – 3 November 2022) was a British music journalist.

He was born in Chertsey, Surrey, England, and attended Strode's Grammar School in Egham. He studied journalism at Guildford College before working at the Slough Evening Mail, and becoming a patron of folk clubs from the late 1960s. He started writing on a freelance basis for music magazines before joining Melody Maker in 1974, writing mainly about British folk music and interviewing many of the notable performers of the period. He later became features editor and then assistant editor at Melody Maker, leaving in summer 1987 as the magazine moved in a different direction. He became editor of the pop music magazine Number One in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Later, he worked on a freelance basis for magazines including Q and Mojo, as well as magazines covering sport and travel. The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, fRoots, Planet Sound and Spiral Earth, and was a Mercury Music Prize judge. He also wrote books, starting with biographies of Dire Straits (1994) and Abba (with Tony Calder and Andrew Loog Oldham, 1996). His 2003 book In Search of the Craic details a comic journey around Ireland seeking out pub music sessions, and became a best seller in Ireland. Subsequent books were In Search of Albion (2005), a similarly light hearted journey around English traditions and rituals, and Sing When You're Winning (2006), about the history and culture of terrace songs at football matches. His other books included biographies of Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, and Bob Dylan.