Max Décharné

Max Décharné is an English rock musician and singer, and the author of ten books, mostly non-fiction, and numerous short stories.

Music and writing Max Décharné has written about music regularly for Mojo magazine since 1998, prior to which he wrote extensively about film for Neon. In addition, his work has also appeared in the Daily Telegraph, The New European, The Spectator, the Sunday Times Colour Magazine, the Observer, the Guardian and the TLS, among others. He has interviewed a wide variety of cultural figures, including Mary Quant, Nick Cave, Christopher Lee, Wanda Jackson, Mick Farren, Colin Wilson, The Trashmen, Ingrid Pitt, Dion DiMucci, John Peel, Cynthia Plastercaster, Sonny Burgess, Wreckless Eric and Dick Dale. Décharné has also produced sleeve notes for numerous record reissues of box sets, albums and singles by artists such as Gene Vincent, Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, Little Richard and Sparkle Moore, and also the acclaimed 6-CD Nikki Sudden box set The Boy From Nowhere Who Fell Out Of The Sky.

In 1985 he started writing short stories and in 1986, inspired by the postpunk DIY ethic, co-founded the Malice Aforethought Press with Frank Key. Over the next few years they published a large number of short-run pamphlets. Titles by Décharné included "The Importance of Being Harnessed" and "The Night They Invented Shampoo". Most of these texts were later collected in paperback. He also appeared as a guest on Frank Key's weekly Resonance FM Radio show "Hooting Yard on the Air" in which the former publishing partners discussed their love of unusual literature.

In his musical career, Décharné has released thirteen albums and something in the region of twenty singles since 1989. He played drums with his friend Nikki Sudden before joining Gallon Drunk in 1991, with whom he toured the world. Since 1994, he has been the singer and principal songwriter with The Flaming Stars. In a long and varied career in the music business, he has also recorded nine John Peel Sessions and played shows all across the US, Canada, virtually every country in Europe and also in Japan. One of his songs made the 1995 John Peel Festive Fifty (Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye by The Flaming Stars), then two more of his songs were in the 1996 John Peel Festive Fifty (Ten Feet Tall and The Face On The Bar Room Floor, both by The Flaming Stars).

Décharné is probably one of the only people currently writing about music to have played on BBCTV's Later... with Jools Holland show, on the main stage at the Reading Festival, at Madison Square Garden and at the Hollywood Bowl.