iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Matt Taylor @matt-taylor.bsky.social · 5h

We call John Lennon the posh Beatle. He wasn't raised by his parents. He was raised by his aunt. Today we'd call that kinship care. The most famous care-experienced person in modern culture, and almost nobody counts him. I hope you enjoy reading underclasshero.substack.com/p/outside-th...

underclasshero.substack.com

Outside the Gates: John Lennon and the Childhood We Keep Getting Wrong

A children's home, two sets of gates, the aunt who raised John Lennon, and what we choose to see when we look at a childhood from the outside.

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Matt Taylor @matt-taylor.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

Britain's music industry keeps getting richer. Its recording studios keep closing. We brag about selling music while exporting the making of it. Support lands where music is played, not where it's made. That's backwards. I wrote about why: underclasshero.substack.com/p/support-la...

underclasshero.substack.com

Support lands where music is played, not where it's made.

In 1996, 53% of the UK Top 40 was recorded here. Today, it’s 25%. What happened?

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Matt Taylor @matt-taylor.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

30 years ago, 53% of the UK Top 40 was recorded in Britain. Now it's 25%. We love celebrating British music's success, but how much of it is still actually made here? You can't stay world-leading while losing the places where music gets made. underclasshero.substack.com/p/studios-sa...

underclasshero.substack.com

Studios saved me, so I’m trying to save them.

Recording studios are the last door into music that doesn’t ask who your parents are.

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Matt Taylor @matt-taylor.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

@lisanandymp.bsky.social said that the music industry has become so posh. Maybe start with the doors. If getting in requires unpaid work, parental support and cheap housing, the people who survive will disproportionately be the people whose families can afford the entrance fee.

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Matt Taylor @matt-taylor.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

To coincide with the #NationalYearOfReading2026, I've created a mini-series on how I learnt to read. At 18, like many boys from children's homes, I couldn't. Now I hold a master's degree from Oxford. Check it out if you'd like to see how I got there. #GoAllIn2026

underclasshero.substack.com

Learning to Read - Pt. 1

A little series on how I went from not being able to read at 18, to becoming a writer. Part 1 - my first book. Autumn 2008.

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Matt Taylor @matt-taylor.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Got asked to share my awkward views about Santa in a piece for @theguardian.com. First time having a piece like this in a national, what a way to wind up 2025. If you want to see me have a good Xmas roast, check the comments 😎 Thanks @jonnelledge.bsky.social for helping with the pitch. 🙏

theguardian.com

My family has never believed in Father Christmas – I don't want to hurt my kids if the money ever runs out | Matt Taylor

I would never want them to feel that they had been naughty if I couldn’t afford their gifts one year, says writer and music producer Matt Taylor

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Matt Taylor @matt-taylor.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

✨🏆 I won an award. 🤯 Every year for 4yrs, I’ve submitted something to the @creativefutureuk writing competition, and usually my piece gets ignored. This year, I won the Bronze Award for Creative Non-Fiction.

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Matt Taylor @matt-taylor.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

My first proper commission - I actually got paid to write something 🤯 I wrote a little piece for @beelitmag.bsky.social about why I can't wear tracksuit anymore. Class has a uniform - prove me wrong.

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Matt Taylor @matt-taylor.bsky.social · 12/05/2025

Statistics don’t capture our stories. #Careleavers in the creative industries remain undocumented. Invisible. I suppose this isn’t surprising, as this is how we are in society. Invisible. People only keep stats on things they care about. People don’t care enough about care leavers doing well.

open.substack.com

I met Giles Martin - Not the normal I ever dared to expect.

Most days, this life now feels ordinary. I’m not gonna lie, I take it for granted. Yet every so often these moments remind me of how unusual it is that someone from my background gets to be in them.

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Matt Taylor @matt-taylor.bsky.social · 26/02/2025

A band I'm in, Isaac Neilson, has been shortlisted to play this year's #YNOTFestival. Isaac and I are both council estate kids, & opportunities like this don't show up often. Do #Samfender proud and give us a vote. 🙏 Type Isaac Neilson into the search box and vote. 🗳️

ynotfestival.com

Apply To Play Vote - Y Not Festival

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Matt Taylor @matt-taylor.bsky.social · 25/02/2025

The music industry is not for #careexperience people like me. This week #samfender highlighted the struggle of working-class people in the industry. I sat down with my written off 15yr old self for coffee to see what he would make of me now smashing it. #CEP #careleaver

open.substack.com

I met my younger self for coffee today.

Inspired by Jennae Cecelia's poem in her book 'deep in my feels'. A reflective lyric essay on some time with my younger self who most people don't believe exists.

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Matt Taylor @matt-taylor.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

I’m always blown away when people like my writing enough to share it. Thanks @iandunt.bsky.social Obtaining photos for care leavers is a big issue that is never talked about. We don’t get them because you can’t redact a photograph.

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