Fangirls

From Beatlemania in the early 1960s to the Directioners and Beyhive of today, female music fans have long driven the objects of their affection to the dizzying heights of life-changing fame. But marginalized fan groups are never given appropriate credit. Frequently derided, their worlds and communities are self-contained and rarely investigated by cultural historians and commentators.

Yet without these people, in the past, records would have gathered dust on shelves, unsold and forgotten. Now, concerts wouldn’t sell out and revenue streams from merchandising would disappear, changing the face of the music industry as we know it.

In Fangirls: Scenes From Modern Music Culture, journalist Hannah Ewens is on a mission to give these individuals their rightful due. A dedicated music lover herself, she has spoken to hundreds of fans from the UK to Japan to trace their path through recent pop and rock history. She’s found the untold stories behind important events and uncovered the ups, the downs and the lengths fans go to, celebrating the camaraderie and lifelines their fandoms can provide.

About the Author

Hannah is currently Features Editor at VICE, having previously worked at Dazed and Confused. She writes about music, film, mental health and fandom for publications that include the Guardian and the Telegraph, and presents on-screen for VICE and Vevo. She is one of the most successful rock music journalists in the UK frequently doing cover features for Kerrang!. Her interview subjects include everyone from Patti Smith and Deftones to Jennifer Lawrence and Sofia Coppola.

Over her short but rapidly rising career, her articles have gone viral and her intimate, emotional and analytical writing cuts to the heart of her subject. An incomplete list of pop culture she fangirls over: Courtney Love, Sylvia Plath, David Lynch, Kirsten Dunst, Marilyn Manson, Lord of the Rings, punk rock and Buffy The Vampire Slayer.