The former Media Week deputy editor Mark Andrews did his best job in his years in our old Double Bay office, but it was love to Kylie and Madonna which eventually separated it from the Australian Bible Trade Bible.
A lover of pop culture has also worked for many years on the keyboard in the Australian edition Smash Hits before being sold out by the British edition of the world’s best-selling music magazine.
These days Andrews is calling home to London again and he has just pumped out two books for the British publisher Fonthill Media about the world’s most prolific and successful solo performers. The books are part of the Song after Song series and cover significant works released since the 1980s by Kylie Minogue and Madonna.
Madonna song after song available now Kylie song after song should be in late May 2022.
«These books by Madonna and Kylie were works of love and I hope this comes to mind when people read books“Andrews said.” Media Week in our exclusive interview.
He admitted that he has exceptional qualifications for two projects: “To make such books accurately, you need to be a proper fan.”
Andrews has been asked to make more books for the publisher, but he is wary of embarking on projects for artists unless he considers himself a true fan. “I have to think about whether I’m willing to dedicate six months of my life to other artists to do them properly.
While it can be argued that the careers of Kylie (perhaps) and Madonna (of course) have reached a peak, Andrews noted that this year both artists see interesting moments in their musical travels. “They are both significant years. Madonna is celebrating 40 years since the release of her first record. Kylie is 35 years old since her release Moving. These are perspectives that we can use to market both books.
“The milestones also point to the length of their careers. Both managed to survive their critics. “
With a long career for both artists this means that working on evaluating their catalogs is a significant challenge. “There’s so much music and so much information about each artist. These books are about 50,000 words, which means we had to edit carefully. The book of Madonna, which I wrote, numbered 100,000 words, and it had to be cut immediately.
“Kylie’s book, which I wrote, was actually 150,000 words and was really trimmed. They are both about to gather the best information about each artist.
“Over the years, a lot of people have said a lot of interesting and interesting things, and I’ve included the best in the books. I’ve also tried to give comments a context that you don’t get in things like Wikipedia.
“During Madonna’s career, she put her life into her music, and I note why some songs acquire special significance because she may have been going through a breakup or perhaps a battle for custody.
“Why in Kylie’s career she decided not to record a song Toxic which eventually went away Britney Spears instead. Probably because she had just come out of a toxic relationship, and the last thing she wanted to do was talk about it.
“I make sure the books are contextual, not too tabloid or gossipy, but to keep the reader informed when I browse their music catalog.”
Andrews contacted the publisher after helping his friend Ian Cole [“the world’s leading fan authority on Abba”] on Abba song after song the book. “Ian came to me with the understanding that he was not a writer. He liked my work Smash Hits for many years. I gave him advice about the manuscript. “
The titles “Song after Song” show the identity of the writer, not just a statement of facts and statistics. «I wanted the music to be sure it was a fun read, not just a forensic examination.
“Kylie and Madonna have literally helped pay me for the last 35 years and I am well informed and I hope people can trust my opinion when I tell them a remix In fact, nothing matters on Club 69 it’s the best remix of all time for Madonna. “
As for the relationship with their superfans, Andrews commented: “Kylie and Kylie’s team make much better use of social media and how they should be used. My problem with Madonna and social media is that someone needs to take control. I don’t know how many photos of Madonna sitting on the toilet we really need to see. [Laughs]
“But telling Madonna not to do anything is like a red flag for her and she will go and do it. She always wants to do something, no matter what others say. ” Andrews noted that this month marks 30 years since she released her controversial film Sex the book.
“She hopes she’ll never stop being Madonna, so fans love her.”
Madonna has had a key impact on Kylie’s career. Andrews quotes Mike Stock [of hitmakers Stock Aitken Waterman] that’s when Kylie heard Madonna’s 1989 album Like a prayer, Kylie also wanted to start writing songs. “Later Kylie started working with Stephen Bray who wrote Express yourself in the groove and others for Madonna. Kylie’s next album had songs she co-wrote, which was Kylie’s transition from pop star to pop singer.
“Kylie’s career has had many interesting, quirky twists that people didn’t expect. Pete Waterman noted that for Kylie moves from working with Stoke Aitken Waterman to materials like I can’t get you out of my head she went through Nick Cave.
«It is also interesting that Kylie has a larger catalog than Madonna. Many people might assume that the opposite was true. Kylie’s other collaborations included music from Jimmy Little, Ben Lee, The Pet Shop Boys, and Scissor Sisters. In stock Mikhail Hudinsky The mushroom family seemed important to her working with Australian artists along the way. She recently did a cover for one of Troy Sivain songs “.
Andrews noted the success that Kylie still enjoys with her latest album Disco heads the UK and Australian charts. This year there should be new or at least repackaged music (in the case of Madonna) from both. Andrews noted that Madonna continues to work on her biopic project also as a co-author and director.
In addition to working on Media Week and Smash Hits in Australia and then in the UK, Andrews also continues to write for the Indie-Australian glossy gay magazine DNA in 20 years. He also spent time at Mail Online in the UK (“It almost killed me and I got a warning for being too interesting when writing a story about Rihanna! ”). He has also worked as a freelance music and travel author for a number of titles.
He is now in London and working on a major book project Smash Hitsone of the best-selling British magazines of all time.
Look for Kylie Song By Song and Madonna Song By Song in your online bookstore publisher or from Amazon.
https://www.mediaweek.com.au/how-marc-andrews-went-from-mediaweek-to-world-of-hitmakers-kylie-and-madonna/
