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Charles Thomson is an award winning writer.
Specialising in music and celebrity journalism, Charles has contributed to publications including The Sun, The Mirror, The Guardian, MOJO, Wax Poetics and the Huffington Post.
A soul and funk music expert, Charles's interviewees include two Grammy Lifetime Achievement winners and several Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees. His in-depth profiles have explored the lives and work of artists from calypso pioneer Eddy Grant to architects of funk like George Clinton and James Brown. Martha Reeves once dedicated a song to Charles and Motown musician Jack Ashford has described him as "one of my favourite people."
Charles is also recognised as one of the world's leading authorities on the life and times of Michael Jackson, having broken numerous global exclusives about the star and contributed to two chart-topping biographies.
At just 21 years of age Charles was invited to join the Huffington Post as a blogger - one of the youngest writers ever to receive the honour. His Huffington Post articles highlighting distortion and propaganda in the media have been praised by broadcasters like Aphrodite Jones and J Randy Taraborrelli. He has appeared as a guest speaker on television and radio stations including Sky News, BBC World Service, Blog Talk Radio and KPFA-FM.
In November 2009 Charles won a prestigious Guardian Award for his article 'James Brown: The Lost Album', which appeared in JIVE magazine.
Key Skill:Journalist Experience:Senior
Other Skills:Journalist (Senior), Current Affairs (Senior), Feature Writing (Senior), Arts / Entertainment Review (Senior), Business / Corporate (MiddleWeight), Investigative (Senior), Law (Senior), Lifestyle (Senior), Politics (MiddleWeight), Popular Culture (Senior), Travel/ Tourism (MiddleWeight), Copywriter (MiddleWeight), Arts / Entertainment (Senior), Business / Commercial (MiddleWeight), Education (MiddleWeight), Finance (MiddleWeight), Lifestyle (MiddleWeight)
Tags: music-writer showbiz-writer celebrity-journalist showbiz-journalist feature-writer black-music soul funk blues michael-jackson james-brown
URL: http://www.charles-thomson.net
Award Winner
As one of the UK's brightest young journalists, Charles has received praise for his dedication, enthusiasm and ability.
In November 2009 Charles received a prestigious Guardian Award for his article 'James Brown: The Lost Album'.
Judges commented on the piece:
"Fantastic - incredibly well researched, great quotes, great access and very well written."
"...an extraordinary sustained piece on James Brown, a poignant portrait of a man in his last days."
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Against the Grain
Unlike most reporters, Charles can be relied upon not to churn out predictable copy.
Not afraid to court controversy, his original voice has made his blog, in which he frequently takes the media to task for inaccurate reporting, an internet phenomenon.
A google search on the title of one entry - 'Chandler Suicide Highlights Media Bias Against Jackson' - produces almost a million results (click on thumbnail to view picture).
Charles applies the same flare to all of his prose and has received a Guardian Award for his feature writing.
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Ahead of the Pack
Charles has broken numerous world exclusive stories.
In January 2010 Charles was the first journalist in the world to break the story that England footballer John Terry's affair had resulted in an abortion, publishing the story on his blog long before it appeared on countless front pages (see link).
In March 2009 he was the first journalist to break concrete news of the Michael Jackson's 50 concert comeback when he worked with The Sun to snap exclusive pictures of Jackson arriving at a private airstrip in Luton to announce his UK gigs(see picture).
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Highly Recommended
Charles strives to provide accurate, insightful prose and has been praised for his dedication.
Bestselling author Aphrodite Jones thanked Charles for his 2008 feature on her, calling it "the best piece I think I've ever seen written about my career and my struggle for justice."
For his award winning article 'James Brown: The Lost Album' Charles spent 6 months conducting in-depth interviews with almost 20 sources.
Brown's musicians thanked Charles for his honest, accurate work, which writer Tony Best described as a 'seminal piece of music journalism'.
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Investigative Reporter
Charles is equipped with the core journalistic tools and newswriting skills required for investigative reporting.
In his home county Charles has exposed council cover-ups, revealed appalling conditions in local restaurants and used the Freedom of Information Act to highlight shocking details from council accident logs.
Charles' work on regional papers such as the Echo and the Yellow Advertiser has seen him cover everything from armed robberies and assaults to child abuse trials and knife crime. His stories have been published in Basildon, Southend, Brentwood, Barking and more.
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