Kirsty Fairclough

June 20, 2018
Beyoncé and Jay-Z: the world is going APES**T for their vision of black culture
Kirsty Fairclough, University of Salford
Teeming with references to African culture and experience, the couple’s latest work places ‘blackness'at the heart of the Western canon.

May 10, 2018
Childish Gambino: This is America uses music and dance to expose society’s dark underbelly
Daniel Cookney, University of Salford and Kirsty Fairclough, University of Salford
Donald Glover’s music video is a multi-layered political statement which aims to kick its audience out of its complacency.

October 17, 2017
The music video is a zombie – it may look dead but it’s just been re-animated
Kirsty Fairclough, University of Salford and Daniel Cookney, University of Salford
MTV may not be the power house it used to be but the music video is flourishing online.

April 21, 2017
Purple Reign: the sublime mystery of Prince
Kirsty Fairclough, University of Salford
A year after Prince’s death, fans the world over are still coming to terms with the loss of an uncompromising musical and cultural visionary.

August 8, 2016
Frank Ocean is driving his fans crazy – and he’s a genius for doing so
Kirsty Fairclough, University of Salford
The R&B superstar is demonstrating just how far the use of mystery goes in today’s cluttered music market.

May 3, 2016
Why Beyoncé matters
Kirsty Fairclough, University of Salford
Her visual album Lemonade is important for more reasons than you might think. Pop may never be the same again.

March 18, 2016
Six ways Twitter has changed the world
Sharon Coen, University of Salford; Aleksej Heinze, University of Salford; Deborah Chambers, Newcastle University; Kirsty Fairclough, University of Salford; Philip James, Newcastle University, and Richard Jones, University of Huddersfield
In the decade since its founding, Twitter has built a disproportionately large influence over many aspects of society.

September 15, 2015
Celebrity, youth culture and the question of role models
Kirsty Fairclough, University of Salford
Musicians and performers have long been considered to influence young people in negative ways.