Alan Lewis, who served as editor of NME and was Uncut‘s editor-in-chief at launch – among other roles in a storied publishing career – has died aged 76, prompting tributes from across the music press.
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Danny Kelly, who succeeded Lewis as NME editor in the late 1980s, shared the news on Twitter yesterday (June 25), remembering him as “a quiet chap, but wickedly funny, no man better knew his way round a magazine flatplan or a public bar. My heart aches. Thank you for everything Alan.”
The cause of Lewis’ death is unconfirmed. However his son Simon – who was among Uncut’s launch team – wrote in a Father’s Day piece in The Telegraph, shortly before his father’s death, that he had been living with Parkinson’s disease and cancer.
Terrible news. My predecessor as @nme editor, my mentor, Alan Lewis has died. He was also editor of Sounds in it's heyday. A quiet chap, but wickedly funny, no man better knew his way round a magazine flatplan or a public bar. My heart aches. Thank you for everything Alan. RIP
— Danny Kelly (@dannykellywords) June 23, 2021
News of Lewis’ death led to a number of tributes from writers, editors and more across the industry.
In an official statement from Uncut, we Tweeted: “We’re deeply saddened to learn of Alan Lewis’ passing. Aside from his many, many credits on Sounds, @NME, Kerrang!, Number One, Vox and Loaded, Alan also helped launch @uncutmagazine back in 1997. A genuine publishing genius. We’ll raise a glass or two to his memory tonight.”
We're deeply saddened to learn of Alan Lewis' passing. Aside from his many, many credits on Sounds, @NME, Kerrang!, Number One, Vox and Loaded, Alan also helped launch @uncutmagazine back in 1997. A genuine publishing genius. We'll raise a glass or two to his memory tonight.
— Uncut Magazine (@uncutmagazine) June 23, 2021
Ted Kessler, former editor of Q,said: “All your favourite music papers and magazines would have lived longer and in ruder health if he’d have been involved with them for more years.”
RIP Alan Lewis. All your favourite music papers and magazines would have lived longer and in ruder health if he’d have been involved with them for more years. A skilled expert and a tremendous lunchtime pint.
— Ted Kessler (@TedKessler1) June 23, 2021
Mojo editor John Mulvey – a former editor of Uncut and NME deputy editor – said he was “forever grateful” to Lewis for offering him work experience at NME when he was starting out.
Former Melody Maker writer, Muzik editor and current Electronic Sound editor, Push remembered him as “an inspiring mentor, a brilliant boss, a giant of the UK music press, and a gem of a man.”
RIP Alan Lewis, Editor and key player at NME, Sounds, Record Collector, Black Music, Melody Maker, Kerrang and more. He let me interview him for two hours, then gave me three weeks' work experience at NME when it wasn't really a thing, and set me on my way. Forever grateful.
— John Mulvey (@JohnRMulvey) June 23, 2021
Terrible news. My predecessor as @nme editor, my mentor, Alan Lewis has died. He was also editor of Sounds in it's heyday. A quiet chap, but wickedly funny, no man better knew his way round a magazine flatplan or a public bar. My heart aches. Thank you for everything Alan. RIP
— Danny Kelly (@dannykellywords) June 23, 2021
Ben Turner, who went on to launch Muzik with Push, wrote: “Sad day for music journalism. Aside from all of the accolades below he signed off the launch of Muzik Magazine in 1995 taking a huge risk in somebody like me aged 21. A true visionary in the publishing world.”
Sad day for music journalism. Aside from all of the accolades below he signed off the launch of Muzik Magazine in 1995 taking a huge risk in somebody like me aged 21. A true visionary in the publishing world. https://t.co/mOn73Y7KGH
— Ben Turner (@graphite1) June 24, 2021
Kevin Cummins, legendary photographer behind iconic pictures of Joy Division, Morrissey and more, said “Alan was a great editor and an all round nice guy. He hauled the NME out of trouble & showed a lot of trust and faith in a whole new range of writers / photographers. He was hugely influential in my career, something I’m eternally grateful to him for.”
Sad news re Alan Lewis. Alan was a great editor and an all round nice guy. He hauled the #NME out of trouble & showed a lot of trust and faith in a whole new range of writers / photographers. He was hugely influential in my career, something I’m eternally grateful to him for #RIP https://t.co/LuZ2ergrtr
— Kevin Cummins (@KCMANC) June 23, 2021
Lewis‘ son Luke, himself a journalist who was the editor of NME.com from 2011 to 2013 among other roles, posted a lengthy list of standout moments from his father’s career, as compiled by his brother.
I can’t say it any better, so sharing this beautiful tribute my brother Simon wrote to our Dad, Alan Lewis. It was…
Posted by Luke Lewis on Thursday, June 24, 2021
Among other things, he remembered his father designing the first-ever cover of Kerrang! on their kitchen table using “glue and a guillotine”, overhearing Lionel Richie writing “Three Times A Lady” on a hotel bar piano, and interviewing a pre-fame Morrissey when he applied (unsuccessfully) for a job as a writer at Sounds.
You can see further tributes to Lewis below.
Alan Lewis, RIP. A great magazine editor at @NME , instigator of new talent, enthusiasm and a time to be unashamed of rock and roll again. It was a joy to be there when it was rising again with a fresh team. We all owe him and fond stories will endure. pic.twitter.com/uVfiE298mO
— Stuart Bailie (@stu_bailie) June 23, 2021
Very sorry to hear that Alan Lewis has passed away. He was my editorial director in the late 90s. A lovely man who taught me so much about magazines and shared so many impossibly entertaining stories.
— Phil Hilton (@Phil_Hilton) June 24, 2021
Alan Lewis has a big place in the history of the music press, and as with so many others, was very encouraging early in my progress as a writer & editor. RIP. https://t.co/DNvKX170Yp
— John Harris (@johnharris1969) June 23, 2021
I read Sounds week in week out from 1979 until the mid-80s so Alan Lewis was pivotal in my music education. Rest in peace Alan, and thank you for everything. https://t.co/Dg6Hi2GJkG
— 101 Collectors Records (@101andyhibberd) June 23, 2021
Lewis began his career in local newspapers, before joining Melody Maker in 1969. He went on to found and edit Black Music in 1973, a pioneering monthly title that was one of the first mainstream British publications to write seriously about reggae, hip hop, and avant-garde jazz.
In the late 1970s he edited Sounds, where he and writer Geoff Barton were the first to name the “New Wave Of British Heavy Metal” scene.
In 1981 he founded longstanding rock and metal publication Kerrang!. In a tribute to Lewis, the magazine’s current creative director Phil Alexander said: “There are […] literally millions of readers who owe him a huge debt of gratitude for developing an editorial approach based on enthusiasm and instinct.”
As well as serving as editor of Sounds, Lewis became editor of NME in 1987, overseeing a period of resurgent circulation figures after years of instability at the publication before departing at the end of the decade.
He was also instrumental in the launch of Loaded in 1994, and Uncut in 1997, and in 2011 retired after stepping down from his final editorial role at Record Collector.