Lucy O'Brien - Freelance Writing, and Books

Freelance Writing, and Books

By 1990, O'Brien had gone freelance, going on to write for The Guardian and The Independent, and music magazines Q Magazine and MOJO, amongst others. Her reputation as a writer and commentator was seriously established by the publication of her first book Dusty — a best-selling biography of British soul legend Dusty Springfield (Sidgwick & Jackson, 1989). The book was instrumental in the rediscovery and reappraisal of Springfield's work, and was the foundation for O'Brien's reputation as an authority on female artists and soul music.

Her next music biography, Annie Lennox (St Martin's Press, 1993), was also published in the United States. O'Brien charted Annie Lennox's career from the early troubled days of The Tourists through to the global success of Eurythmics to Lennox's decision to take a pop sabbatical at the height of her career to work on behalf of the homeless.

In 1995, O'Brien took a broader look at female musicians in She Bop: The Definitive History Of Women In Rock, Pop & Soul (Pan, 1995). Using a personal, polemical, and thematic approach, the book begins with the Blues and Jazz Age, and ends with chapters on protest pop and the business side of the music business, taking in chapters on fifties girl pop, sixties girl groups, rock chicks, punk and its feminine descendents, including riot grrrl, singer/songwriters, Madonna, MTV and the power of image, artistry, androgyny and the lesbian question, Disco and the dance scene, rap and reggae, and world music along the way.

The second edition of Dusty appeared in 1999 and covered events up to Springfield's death, while the updated She Bop II was published in 2002 by Continuum Press, including more recent artists and a chapter on girl power.

In 2007, O'Brien wrote an in-depth biography of Madonna, entitled Madonna: Like an Icon. This was published on 28 August 2007 in the UK and later, on 6 November 2007, in the USA.