Garth Cartwright was born in New Zealand. He left school at 16, tried his hand at professional skateboarding, singing in punk bands, promoting concerts and even had a brief sojourn as a boxer, before turning to writing full time. In 1995 he won the Guardian Music Writing Award. He has written for the Guardian, Telegraph, Independent On Sunday, The Times, Time Out, Uncut, Folk Roots, and a multitude of international publications. He lives in London.
