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Lanre Bakare

@lanre-bakare.bsky.social
755 followers 92 following 35 posts

Culture writer, debut non-fiction WE WERE THERE out 17 April 2025 via The Bodley Head www.penguin.co.uk/books/453942/we-w…

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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Why did one of hip-hop’s cult heroes end up living, and eventually dying, in Leeds? I spoke to the team behind a new podcast about MF DOOM www.theguardian.com/music/2026/f...
theguardian.com
Unmasking US rap iconoclast MF Doom’s final years in West Yorkshire
Podcast by Adam Batty and BBC 6 Music DJ Afrodeutsche follows the leads to Leeds
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 30/01/2026
Muso people: I want to expand my knowledge of Brazilian music from the 60s-80s. Where should I start?
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Anyone else ready to talk about the hamster in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You?
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THE NERVE @thenerve.news · 09/12/2025
Featuring @lanre-bakare.bsky.social @joemayes.bsky.social and more! Read the full list: www.thenerve.news/p/books-of-2...
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 11/12/2025
Exclusive: Barbican to shut its doors for a year during a multimillion renovation project starting June 2028 www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
theguardian.com
Barbican to close its doors for a year for multimillion-pound renovation
London site’s theatre, music venue and galleries to close in June 2028, in first stage of upgrades before 50th anniversary
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 30/09/2025
I’m back on tour. Come see me in Durham, London (x2) and Bath!
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
I'm entering into the world of Substack. My free newsletter is called No Archive and is the kind of writing I don't get to do as much nowadays: irreverent and off the cuff. The first piece is about Hulk Hogan, WWF/E and race. open.substack.com/pub/lanrebak...
open.substack.com
'When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside': On Hulkamania, WWF + race
A debut post about growing up watching wrestling in the 1980s and looking back now to see the racial faultlines all too clearly following Hulk Hogan's death
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Manchester University Press @manchesterup.bsky.social · 15/08/2025
Tickets are on sale now for Hidden Histories with @lanre-bakare.bsky.social & @jakecampbell88.bsky.social at Durham Book Festival. Both authors highlight the unsung stories of people from across the North, painting a portrait of a diverse and rich heritage: newwritingnorth.com/event/hidden...
newwritingnorth.com
Hidden Histories with Lanre Bakare and Jake Morris-Campbell - New Writing North
Jake Morris-Campbell’s Between the Salt and the Ash asks what stories the North East can tell about itself in the...
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 04/07/2025
Nice write up of WWT in TLS. Will do a post at some point about “political blackness” …
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Kieran Connell @kieranconnell.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
My review of Lanre Bakare’s excellent book We Were There is in this week’s TLS www.the-tls.com/regular-feat... @lanre-bakare.bsky.social @thetls.bsky.social
the-tls.com
Staking a claim
It’s 1974, and Steve Caesar, a teenager whose family recently migrated from the Caribbean, is about to go on stage. The setting is the Wigan Casino, an
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 19/06/2025
On Ballymena, 1919 and a history of violence www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
The racial violence in Ballymena repeats a pattern that’s blighted Britain for years. We must wake up to that | Lanre Bakare
History tells us attacks on migrants are a predictable result of political failings, distorted media coverage and far-right opportunism, says Lanre Bakare, an arts and culture correspondent for the Gu...
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Enjoyed this look at manc Morrissey diehards by The Mill. Would love someone to do something similar in east LA - arguably the biggest Moz fanbase outside the north west of England. manchestermill.co.uk/does-manches... Does Manchester still love Morrissey?
manchestermill.co.uk
Does Manchester still love Morrissey?
A night at Co-op Live with the icon’s die-hard fans
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 21/05/2025
Real storyline from the game is Brennan Johnson’s hair
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
When we were drawing up plans for world domination, Start The Week was top of the list of shows to get on. I was lucky enough to be on with Tiffany Jenkins and Geoff Dyer who both have fascinating books out (a memoir and a history of privacy and its limitations). www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
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Tiffany Jenkins @tiffanyjenkins.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
Enjoyed talking about STRANGERS & INTIMATES on @BBCRadio4 #StartTheWeek on history as private, personal & political, with the hilarious, Geoff Dyer (HOMEWORK) & the insightful @lanre-bakare.bsky.social (WE WERE THERE). Brilliantly chaired by @tds153.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio 4 - Start the Week, History: private, personal and political
Tom Sutcliffe talks to Tiffany Jenkins, Geoff Dyer and Lanre Bakare.
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Toby Bakare @tobybakare.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
@ayshahtull.bsky.social and I spoke with @lanre-bakare.bsky.social on the history of black Britain outside of London, in his hometown of Bradford. Two things he’s an expert on. www.channel4.com/news/lanre-b...
channel4.com
Lanre Bakare on the forgotten voices of Black Britain
When people think about Black British history, London is often seen as its cultural heart.
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Festival of Debate 2026 @festofdebate.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
2️⃣ Lanre Bakare: We Were There Join writer & broadcaster Désirée Reynolds for a conversation with @lanre-bakare.bsky.social, who will set out a compelling portrait of modern Britain that weaves Black stories far away from the capital into our national narrative. 🎟️ loom.ly/PTNOEzw
loom.ly
Lanre Bakare: We Were There
We Were There is about a Black Britain that for too long has been unknown and unexplored – the one t…
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The Portobello Bookshop @portybooks.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
Huge thanks to everyone who came along to our event last night with @lanre-bakare.bsky.social & Lisa Williams! 🤩 If you missed out, you can watch the livestream over on our website, and also order a signed copy of We Were There below 😊 www.theportobellobookshop.com/978184792747...
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
Had a blast on 6Music chatting to Zakia Sewell about my new book WE WERE THERE which is all about Black British culture in the 70s and 80s. Listen back here: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
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Festival of Debate 2026 @festofdebate.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
🗣️ 1 May - Lanre Bakare: We Were There Join @lanre-bakare.bsky.social to explore his new book We Were There, in which he sets out a compelling portrait of modern Britain that weaves Black stories far away from the capital into our national narrative. Get tickets ➡️ loom.ly/PTNOEzw
A graphic showing the cover of We Were There by Lanre Bakare, which shows a black and white photograph of a Black woman and man standing in front of a car. Behind the cover image is a aerial photograph of Sheffield. The text reads '1 May, Lanre Bakare, We Were There', with the Festival of Debate logo.
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Londoners - I’ll be at Waterstones Trafalgar Square tomorrow night with Emma Dabiri. Last few tickets remaining www.waterstones.com/events/we-we...
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
The first review is in for We Were There! Colin Grant in The (Mighty) Observer declares We Were There is “sharply intelligent history” that “admirably achieves what it sets out to provide” and is a “necessary corrective”. Feeling blessed 😇 www.theguardian.com/books/2025/a...
lanrebakare.com
Lanre Bakare
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 22/03/2025
We Were There is on the cover of Guardian’s Saturday culture pages! It’s incredible to see Ellery Hanley, Nightmares on Wax, Empire Road and all the other figures from the book, assembled together and brought to life in print. Live dates, pre-order link and playlist: www.lanrebakare.com/events
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The Portobello Bookshop @portybooks.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
We’re thrilled that @lanre-bakare.bsky.social will be coming to the bookshop on 28th April to celebrate his new book: We Were There: How Black culture, resistance and community shaped modern Britain. 💥 More info & tickets here: www.theportobellobookshop.com/events/lanre...
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Festival of Debate 2026 @festofdebate.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Your second headliner!🎉 @lanre-bakare.bsky.social's work focuses on the intersection of art, race & culture. His book, We Were There, is about a Black Britain that for too long has been unknown and unexplored – the one that exists beyond London Info & tickets ➡️ festivalofdebate.com/2025/lanre-b...
Lanre Bakare, a Black man with short hair and glasses, looks directly at the camera. The text reads: 1 May, Lanre Bakare: We Were There.
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Shirin Hirsch @shirinhirsch.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
If anyone is about 18th March I'll be giving a public seminar for the Manchester Uni history department. The talk will be exploring photographs of industrial struggle, race and resistance and discussing 'Bolton's Grunwick', a mill strike in 1978. All welcome! events.manchester.ac.uk/event/event:...
events.manchester.ac.uk
History Research Seminar - 'Bolton's Grunwick': Bulmer and Lumb and Asian Working Class Resistance | Events at The University of Manchester
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 04/03/2025
🚨Tour klaxon🚨 I’m taking We Were There out on the road in April and May. Please come and say hi!
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 22/02/2025
New project launches today looking at class, the arts and the leadership of some of our biggest institutions. Our analysis shows: Nearly a third (30%) of artistic directors and other creative leaders were educated privately compared with a UK average of 7%. www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
theguardian.com
Working-class creatives don’t stand a chance in UK today, leading artists warn
Exclusive: Analysis by the Guardian shows a third of major arts leaders were educated privately
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
New from me: An extraordinary story about a new security breach at the British Museum broke late last night www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
theguardian.com
British Museum forced to partly close after alleged IT attack by former employee
A recently dismissed contractor shut down several systems before being arrested, the museum said
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
New from me: National Portrait Gallery accused of ‘nepotism’ over show for one of the donors to its massive £40m refurb www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
theguardian.com
National Portrait Gallery accused of nepotism over Zoë Law exhibition
The photographer’s exhibition, which features images of Noel Gallagher, took place after donation to the gallery’s £40m makeover
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 06/01/2025
I’m delighted that We Were There has made it onto the Guardian’s and GQ’s must read books for 2025 Guardian: www.theguardian.com/culture/2024... GQ: www.gq-magazine.co.uk/article/best...
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 23/12/2024
Ending the year with some big Succession vibes: huge row at the Hilma Af Klint foundation over a potential agreement with David Zwirner “It’s a hostile takeover” … www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
theguardian.com
‘It’s a hostile takeover’: Hilma af Klint’s family fight ‘plundering’ deal for her art
Relatives say involving gallerist David Zwirner would lead to ‘commercialisation’ of Swedish painter’s work
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Ellen E Jones @ellenejones.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
Is this the most attractive book cover of the year already?! I think it must be! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 @lanre-bakare.bsky.social Can’t wait to get stuck in! www.penguin.co.uk/books/453942...
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Matt Anniss @sellbydave.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
A proof of this turned up today… Full thoughts closer to publication, but I can yell you this: @lanre-bakare.bsky.social is telling important stories here and unveiling many hidden Black British histories. An essential read #BookSky
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
Bit of jolly news from me on a Monday morning about how artists are now being paid at record (low) levels. Average income has dropped by 40% since 2010 www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...
theguardian.com
Britain faces ‘talent drain’ of visual artists as earnings fall by 40% since 2010
Report says funding cuts, inflation and rise of AI contributing to median income dropping to £12,500
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
As We Rise really lived up to the hype @ Saatchi. Lots of classics mixed with surprises and new discoveries (Afonsa Pimenta!). Great photography everywhere at the moment inc 80s @ Tate Britain and Rotimi Fani-Kayode / Abi Morocco, which is a brilliant must see autograph.org.uk
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Name a better OST
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Jonathan Liew @jonathanliew.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
this week's column www.theguardian.com/sport/2024/n...
theguardian.com
Sport may be a blunt tool of social change, but it’s time to take a stand against Israel | Jonathan Liew
As the bombardment continues in Gaza, bodies such as Fifa and the IOC have evaded taking a stand. But fans’ solidarity with Palestinians is growing and should not be ignored
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Once you spot the Stone Island badge you’ll notice it everywhere or rather *on* everyone - from Liam Gallagher and Drake to Keir Starmer and Ronan Keating. I spoke to the Italian brand’s chairman Carlo Rivetti about masculinity, hooliganism and … darts www.theguardian.com/fashion/2024...
theguardian.com
‘Stone Island is a religion’: fashion chief Carlo Rivetti on football’s famous brand and dressing Eric Cantona
‘Stoney’ has been worn by everyone from Drake to Keir Starmer, but its position as label of choice on the terraces gets the highest attention score. We talk to its chair and former owner
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Excited to share the cover for my debut non-fiction book WE WERE THERE, which is out 17 April 2025 via The Bodley Head + is a cultural history of Black Britain in the Thatcher era. Please pre-order it via the link if you feel inclined! www.penguin.co.uk/books/453942...
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Lanre Bakare @lanre-bakare.bsky.social · 23/11/2024
Enjoyed the Substance for its complete lunacy but felt like not much more than a combo of the Shining corridor, Carrie and the Call On Me video
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