Mark R. BeechFRSA (1959 – 24 April 2020)[1][2][3] was a British author, journalist and
broadcaster. Best known for his two books on the origins of names in rock music,[4][5] and for his columns about music and
the arts,[6] Beech was the editor of DANTE magazine. A fellow of the
UK Royal Society of Arts, he lived in London.[7] Beech died on 24 April 2020, at the age of 60.[3]
In September 2015, Mark R. Beech became the editor of the multilingual arts and lifestyle journal, DANTE magazine. A writer-editor for
Blouin ArtInfo,[24] he also contributed to
Forbes.[25]
On rock music names
Inspired by Mark R. Beech's interviews with leading musicians,[26]The A-Z of Names in Rock was published in 1998.[27] The book reveals the origins of 2,400 names used by individual stars and bands.[28] It won praise from
John Peel[29] and
BBC TV called Beech "the world's leading expert on music names".[30] Writing in The Independent, Christopher Hirst called the book "an enjoyable exploration of pop nomenclature",[31] while Andrew Coleman reported in the Birmingham Mail that Mark R. Beech's interest in names, before the age of Internet research, "stemmed from an interview with
Sting, real name Gordon Sumner [who] once wore a striped black and yellow jumper which made him look like a wasp."[32]
An illustrated companion volume, The Dictionary of Rock and Pop Names, was published in 2009.[33]
Other works
Mark R. Beech was the author of a poetry collection, Passionfruit, published in 1979 as part of the Outposts Modern Poetry Series edited by
Howard Sergeant MBE,[34] and two plays, Happy/Sad and Freaks Come Out at Night, performed at London's
Soho Theatre in 2001 and 2005 respectively.[8] Featuring
Burn Gorman and Robert Mountford, the latter production was one of the winners of the 2005 Westminster Prize.[8]
A regular television and radio commentator in Britain, Europe and the United States,[7][29] Mark R. Beech was represented by the London-based literary agent
Andrew Lownie.[35]
Bibliography
Passionfruit (1979)
The A-Z of Names in Rock (as Mark Beech, 1998)
The Dictionary of Rock and Pop Names (as Mark Beech, 2009)
All You Need Is Rock: A Decade of Music Writing (as Mark Beech, 2014)