Matt Grimes
Course Co-Director BA (Hons) Music Business; Senior Lecturer in Music Industries and Radio
- Email:
- matt.grimes@bcu.ac.uk
Dr Matt Grimes is the course co-director for the BA (Hons) Music Business course and a Senior Lecturer in Music Industries and Radio, with over 30 years experience in the music industries and higher education. He was the recipient of the UK Music National Lecturer of the Year 2025/2026. In 2020, he received his PhD exploring ageing and identity in British anarcho-punks.
Matt’s published research and research interests include anarcho-punk and DiY punk scenes; ageing within popular music scenes; popular music memory and nostalgia; DiY music cultures/subcultures and scenes; music activism, music industries entrepreneurship. Matt is General Secretary of the Punk Scholars Network and sits on the editorial board for The Punk Scholars Press and Punk and Post-Punk journal.
Prior to joining the Birmingham School of Media and the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research (BCMCR) as an academic, Matt worked within the music industries, for a number of DiY record labels, tour manager, music promoter and within music festival production.
Areas of Expertise
- Music Industries
- Music Industries Entrepreneurship and Innovation
- Punk Rock studies
- Popular Music studies
- DiY Music Cultures and Subcultures
- Ageing, memory and nostalgia in popular music
- Radio trainer/producer
- Student employability
- Collaborative Partnerships
- Course design and development
- External Examining
Qualifications
- PhD 2020
- PG Cert Research 2010
- PG Cert HE Education 2007
- BA (Hons) Media and Communication 2005
- SEDA Recognised Doctoral supervisor
- SEDA accredited in Embedding Sustainability in the Curriculum
- SEDA accredited in Supporting Technology Enhanced Learning (STEL)
- SEDA accredited in Community of Practice (COP)
Memberships
Professional Bodies and Memberships
- STEAM Fellow
- Fellow of Higher Education Association
- Punk Scholars Network-Co founder and General Secretary
- Higher Education Academy (Fellow)
- MECCSA
- IASPM
- UK Music (Music Academic Partner)
- Birmingham Music Coalition (Executive Board)
Editorial Board Membership
- RIFFS: Experimental Writing On Popular Music (journal)
- Punk and Post Punk (journal)-Assoc Editor
- Punk Scholars Press-Assoc Editor
- Global Punk Book Series-Assoc Editor
Teaching
- BA (Hons) Music Business
Research
Matt’s main research focusses on ageing and identity within anarcho-punk and attendant punk subcultural scenes. His other research interests include; alternative/underground DiY music cultures; memory and nostalgia within popular music; music censorship; music activism; music industries entrepreneurship and innovation and community radio.
He is a member of the Global Reggae Research Project. He was the project administrator for the AHRC/BBC Radio Listeners Online research project that was led by the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research
Postgraduate Supervision
Matt is currently supervising 4 PhD projects:
- 1 UK based written thesis that examines mental health and suicide among young black UK hip hop and grime artists.
- 1 UK practice-based research project that examines the processes of creativity, composition and music industry constraints within Djing Practices.
- 1 UK practice-based research project that examines the processes of creativity, composition within songwriting and composition practices.
- 1 UK based practice-based research project that auto-ethnographically examines the creative songwriting process in light of the Covid Pandemic and isolation.
Matt has examined 2 PhD’s; 1 internally, that examined music mastering processes and the ‘loudness wars’; and 1 externally, that examined ageing and punk rock.
Publications
Publications
Forthcoming
Grimes, M (2023) "I'm not someone who calls himself an anarchist, I am an anarchist". Anarcho-punk praxis and the continuing ideological significance of British anarcho-punk in the later lives of its ex-adherents. In: Matt Grimes and Laura Way (eds) Punk, Ageing and Time. London: Palgrave MacMillan. Fall 2023
Grimes, M. and Way, L.(2023)(eds) Punk, Ageing and Time. London: Palgrave MacMillan. Fall 2023
Grimes, M (2024) “Life We Make”: Identity, Memory and British Anarcho Punk. London: Palgrave MacMillan. Spring 2025
Published
Draganova, A., Grimes, M., Hamilton, C., Kane, D., Raine, S. and Taylor, I. A Punk Pedagogies Manifesto by the Riffs Editorial Team In: Francis Stewart & Laura Way (eds) Punk Pedagogies. Bristol: Punk Scholars Press/Intellect 2023
Chumbawamba: Tubthumping. In S.Hill (ed) One Hit Wonders: An Alternative History of Popular Music. London: Bloomsbury. https://www.bloomsbury.com/ca/onehit-wonders-9781501368417 2022
Punk Identities, Punk Utopias: Global Punk and Media. Bestley, R., Dines, M., Grimes, M., Guerra, P. (eds) Bristol: Punk Scholars Press/Intellect. https://www.intellectbooks.com/punk-identities-punk utopias 2021
“Message From Thee Temple”: Magick, Occultism, Mysticism, and Psychic TV. (With M.Dines) In: Georgina Gregory and Mike Dines (eds) Exploring the Spiritual in Popular Music: Beatified Beats. London: Bloomsbury.
https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/exploring-the-spiritual-in-popular-music-9781350086937 2021
“Dalla protesta alla resistenza”: Le punkzine Britanniche (1980-84) come siti di resistenza e simboli di ribellione. In Giulio D’Enrico (ed & trans.) Attitudine Riottosa: Anarcopunk in UK. AgenziaX https://www.agenziax.it/attitudine-riottosa 2020
Punk Now! Contemporary Perspectives on Punk. (2020; with Dines, M) Bristol: Intellect.
“Dis one is for alla the junglists”: From Rebel MC to Conquering Lion and Beyond. The journeying of Michael West. Riffs. Experimental Writing On Popular Music. (2018) Vol 2 (2) https://riffsjournal.org/2018/12/17/volume-2-issue-2-matt-grimes-dis-one-is-for-alla-the-junglists-from-rebel-mc-to-conquering-lion-and-beyond/
How I finally Learnt To Love…Grindcore! And in Doing So Reclaimed a Very Close Friend. Riffs. Experimental Writing On Popular Music. (2017) Vol 1 (1) pp. 44-48 https://riffsjournal.org/issues/volume-1-issue-1-feb-2017/how-i-finally-learnt-to-love-grindcore-and-in-doing-so-reclaimed-a-very-close-friend-matt-grimes-birmingham-city-university-phd/
'From Protest to Resistance: British anarcho-punk fanzines (1980-1984) as sites of resistance and symbols of defiance'; in M. Dines and M. Worley (eds) The Aesthetic of Our Anger: Anarcho-punk, politics and music. Minor Compositions/Autonomedia. (2016)
'Call it Crass, but 'There is No Authority But Yourself': De-canonising Punk's Underbelly' in Punk and Post-Punk. Special Double Issue 4.2/4.3. (2016)
'Anarcho-punk webzines: Transferring symbols of defiance from the print to the digital age?' (with Prof Tim Wall) in M. Worley (ed) Fight Back: Punk, Politics and Resistance. Manchester University Press. (2015) https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9780719090295/
'Radio as a Tool for Rehabilitation and Social Inclusion' [with Stevenson, S] in Mollgard, M (ed) 'Radio & Society: New Thinking for an Old Media' Cambridge Scholars Publishing (2012) https://www.cambridgescholars.com/product/978-1-4438-3607-4
Conference Papers
"I'm not someone who calls himself an anarchist, I am an anarchist". Anarcho-punk praxis and the continuing ideological significance of British anarcho-punk in the later lives of its ex-adherents. Subcultures Network International Conference. University of West England. Bristol 2023
“Dis one is for alla the junglists”: From Rebel MC to Conquering Lion and Beyond. The journeying of Michael West. International Summer Institute for Reggae Studies University of Minnesota. 2023
"I'm not someone who calls himself an anarchist, I am an anarchist". Anarcho-punk praxis and the continuing ideological significance of British anarcho-punk in the later lives of its ex-adherents. KISMIF International Conference. Universidad do Porto. Portugal 2022
A Punk Pedagogies Manifesto by the Riffs Editorial Team. Grimes, M., Raine, S., Draganova, A. and Taylor, I. Punk Pedagogies. University of Lincoln. July 2019
Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Music Education. Reeboot Music Business Education
conference. ICMP, London. 2019
“The Cord is Cut”: Exit Narratives of British anarcho-punks 1978-1986. KISMIF International Conference. Universidad do Porto. Portugal. July 2018
“Dis one is for alla the junglists”: From Rebel MC to Conquering Lion and Beyond. The journeying of Michael West. Reggae Innovation and Sound System Culture, Birmingham City University. April 2018
“The Cord is Cut”: Exit Narratives of British anarcho-punks 1978-1986. Punk Scholars Network 4th Annual International Conference and Post Graduate Symposium, University of Bolton. Dec 2017
“Life we Make”: The continuing significance of anarcho-punk in the subsequent lives of its previous participants. Equal Platforms Research Conference, University of Gloucester. April 2017
Conference organiser and convener: Punk NOW!! Punk Scholars Network 2nd Annual International Conference and Post Graduate Symposium, Birmingham. Oct 2015
Organiser and co-ordinator: Punk Rock! So What? Art exhibition at Birmingham City University. Sep-Nov 2015
From Protest to Resistance: British anarcho-punk fanzines (1980-1984) as sites of resistance and symbols of defiance' Punk Scholars Network 2nd Annual International Conference and Post Graduate Symposium. Birmingham City University. Oct 2015
"Where There’s a Will There’s a Way”: Methodology, investigating memory and the life courses of 1980’s British anarcho-punks. Punk Scholars Network Post Graduate Symposium, University of Leicester. Oct 2014
“Life We Make”: The value of music across the life courses of British anarcho-punks. KISMIF Underground Music and Scenes International Conference, University of Porto, Portugal. July 2014
“Life We Make”: The value of music across the life courses of British anarcho-punks.
Pop Life Conference, Northampton University. 2014
Call it Crass but “There Is No Authority But Yourself”. De-canonizing histories of punk. No Sir I Won’t! Examining the Legacy of Crass, Oxford Brookes University. June 2013
‘Anarcho-punk webzines – transferring symbols of defiance from the print to the digital age?’ Subcultures, Popular Music and Social Change: A cross disciplinary symposium London Metropolitan University. September 2011
Music Webzines: Acts of Defiance in a Digital Age? Shifting Ground II: A Symposium on Music and Publishing, Oxford Brookes University. April 2011
Radio for Rehabilitation and Inclusion. The Radio Conference: A Transnational Forum. Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand. Jan 2011
Punk’s Underbelly: De-canonizing histories of punk. Sights & Sounds: Interrogating the Music Documentary, Salford University. June 2010
Using radio for health promotion in prisons. World Health Organisation International Conference Prison Health Protection Madrid. 2009
Media Work
Matt Grimes is one of the University’s dedicated team of trained media champions, and can comment on a range of subjects including:
- Music industry
- Popular music
- Popular music culture
- Online and digital music
- Music censorship
- Subcultures
- Music industry innovation and entrepreneurship
To arrange a media interview, please contact Birmingham City University Press Office on 0121 331 6738, 07967 271532,
email press@bcu.ac.uk or via Twitter @BCUPressOffice
Work With Industry
Matt is currently working with organisations such as UK Music, Birmingham Music Coalition, Birmingham NTIA, Birmingham Music Archive, Afroflux, Safer Dance, SUKI10C and Birmingham Music Promoters.
Previous to working at BCU, Matt also worked for the BBC and a number of large music festivals including Glastonbury Festival, Boomtown Fair, The Big Chill and Shambala Festival.
Links and Social Media
BA (Hons) Music Business Course:
- Course page
- Instagram: @bcu_music_industries
- Twitter/X: @BcuMusic