Garry Bushell
Garry Bushell (born May 13, 1955 in South East London) is an English television critic, television presenter, and newspaper columnist.
He wrote for The Sun before leaving in 2001 as a result of a dispute over Bushell's crime novel, The Face, being serialized by the rival tabloid The Daily Star (after former Sun editor David Yelland decided it was "too filthy" to be promoted in the Sun).
Bushell has five children, Julie, Danny, Robert, Jenna and Ciara. He currently runs his own business and his television column is published in The People.
Early career
Son of a fireman, Bushell was a musician before becoming a journalist. He first played at secondary school in Pink Tent, which was heavily influenced by Monty Python. They wrote songs and comedy sketches, performing at parties and at each other's houses.
Bushell was involved in The National Union of School Students and The Schools Action Union, a socialist organisation that had a strong situationist streak which allowed them to mix schoolboy hijinks with student activism. Bushell was regularly confronted by members of the British Movement, who called him a communist. He was attacked and hospitalized by these neo-Nazis in 1981. Ironically, some leftists called him a fascist later on.
Pink Tent evolved into The Gonads, an Oi! and ska band that continues to perform today. Many of their songs were comical party tunes, but they occasionally did more serious material. Two examples of their more serious songs are "Dying for a Pint" (which tackled nightclub bouncer brutality) and "Jobs Not Jails". One of their humorous songs was "I Lost My Love To A UK Sub", about rival punk band UK Subs, playing on Charlie Harper's supposedly huge libido. They also did rock versions of old music hall numbers.
Other Bushell musical projects included Prole, Orgasm Guerrillas, and Lord Waistrel & The Cosh Boys. He also managed The Blood and Cockney Rejects, getting them their EMI deal.
Journalism
Bushell began his journalism career in the mid-1970s. After leaving grammar school, he worked for Shell and then the London Fire Brigade before attending the North East London Polytechnic and the London College of Printing. At 18, he became an active member of the International Socialists, writing for the left wing newspaper Socialist Worker, Temporary Hoarding, Rebel and his own punk fanzine. From 1978 - 1985, he wrote for Sounds, covering the punk rock genre. He was one of the few rock journalists at the time writing about other "street" movements, such as 2 Tone, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and the Mod Revival. In 1984, he wrote Iron Maiden's biography, Running Free.
Bushell was key in promoting the Oi! music genre, also known as "real punk" or streetpunk. Oi! was surrounded by controversy because of an alleged link to racism and the far right. However, the leading Oi! bands rejected racism and far-right politics, as did Bushell. They were much more concerned with pro-working class issues, even promoting socialist ideas.
Bushell moved to Fleet Street in 1985, working for The Sun, The Evening Standard and The Daily Mirror. He was coaxed back to the Sun to write its "Bizarre" column as the show business editor. He was also assistant editor of The Daily Star.
In the mid-1990s, he hosted a programme called Bushell On The Box (the same title as the column he wrote for The Sun from 1987-2001), analysing and criticising the week's TV programs. A regular feature of the column was "Garry's Goofs", in which he highlighted an unintended double entendre. In 2002, he published King of Telly: The Best of Bushell on the Box, containing highlights of his column.
His style is often compared to that of Richard Littlejohn. Both are illiberal, and have been described as homophobic and bigoted. Bushell's columns are notable for metaphors that can be described as politically incorrect (such as describing something as being "as fair as Frank Bruno's arse" or (in his May 1, 2005 column) "Today's TV is so obsessively gay, it's a wonder the Radio Times doesn't come with a pink Versace wrap and a free glass of Muscadet".)
His humour is known to have upset some Sun executives such as Rebekah Wade, but fans include the comedian Roy Hudd, who has called him "the Max Miller of the tabloid press."
Politics
Although he started out as a socialist, Bushell's main political focus today is patriotism. In particular, he sees his identity as English rather than British. He has campaigned have St George's Day recognised as a public holiday in England, in the same way St Patrick's Day is a holiday in the Republic of Ireland, and is a vocal opponent of the European Union.
In the 2005 General Election, he stood as a candidate for the English Democrats Party, who promote the establishment of an English Parliament, and want England to leave the European Union. Bushell got 1216 votes (3.4% share) in the Greenwich and Woolwich constituency, finishing fifth out of seven in a race won by Nick Raynsford of Labour.
The result represented the high point for the party in the election, as Bushell finished ahead of the UK Independence Party candidate in that constituency. Bushell also represented the party in the South Staffordshire constituency, where the general election ballot was held on June 23, 2005 following the death of the Liberal Democrat candidate after nominations had closed. In that poll, Bushell managed 643 votes (2.51%). His campaign was supported by the Campaign for an English Parliament and Veritas.