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More from: James Medd

Style January 2021

THE CLIMBER: Lord Mountbatten

Originally published in Issue 42 of The Rake, James Medd writes that by the time of his death — a fishing boat; the Provisional I.R.A.; shock and outrage — Lord Louis Mountbatten had established himself as an English gentleman, a feted statesman, and, to some, one of the most heroic military men to represent the United Kingdom and its territories. But it wasn’t always so. With vaulting ambition sparked by familial shame, this royal foot soldier went in search of a higher purpose.
Style January 2021

Let's face The Music and Dance

Originally published in Issue 59 of The Rake, James Medd writes that London in the early 20th century was a heady scene, where a privileged few caroused and created, remaking the modern cultural world in their luminous, capricious image. Yet looming over the ferment were the horrors of war.
Pleasure January 2021

Light Years: The Golden Age of the Night Club

When you think of the seventies, what do you see? How about Bianca Jagger on a white horse at Studio 54, or Grace Jones on a pink Harley-Davidson at le Palace? Originally published in Issue 42 of The Rake, James Medd writes that whilst the seventies was the decade of economic and social unrest, it was also the golden age of the nightclub, when fashion, music and art came together to create a lifestyle so desirable it needed a strict door policy at all times.
Style July 2020

PARADISE FOUND: Mustique

As late as the 1960s, Mustique was a couple of square miles of sand and wild cows. Now the Caribbean island is the bolthole of the gilded and bohemian elite. Originally published in Issue 56 of The Rake the transformation, writes JAMES MEDD, was the work of one man, a British aristocrat with reserves of willpower as deep as his pockets…
Icons April 2020

BLOOD BOND (THE SQUIRE OF NETTLEBED)

Peter Fleming was a law unto himself, according to his more regarded younger brother. The adventurer, spy and author deserves, then, to be remembered on his own terms.
Icons March 2020

The Fire in His Belly

As originally examined in Issue 68 of The Rake, Billy Joel’s best songs are an intriguing, genre-defying mixture of melody, musicality and lyrical brimstone. What’s with the attitude? Is he a great-but-flawed entertainer, or forever just a Bronx Joe made good?
Style February 2020

Sica and ye shall find

Originally featured in Issue 36 of The Rake, James Medd examines how Neapolitan style icon and Oscar-winning director Vittorio De Sica imbued his work with his inimitable spirit, giving even his self-confessed “bad films” a touch of playfulness and comic flair, as well as a sense of sophistication.
Icons July 2019

Escaping The Tyranny Of The Ordinary: Paul Theroux

The writer Paul Theroux has been cast in a great American tradition – as an inquirer, an idealist and, most importantly, a subversive. From his defining work, 1975’s The Great Railway Bazaar, he has helped us see the world anew…
Icons September 2018

Sid Vicious: The Grubby Demon of Punk

He was an icon of freedom and a helpless addict, rock ’n’ roll inspiration and cautionary tale. Simon John Ritchie — a.k.a Sid Vicious — just couldn’t escape his own contradictions. He was dead at 21.
Icons September 2017

Miller's Tale: How Robert Miller Made His Fortune

Robert Miller made his immense wealth from duty-free shopping, yet business domination was never enough for this salesman’s son from small-town Massachusetts. Miller, writes James Medd, wrote his own great American story.
Icons August 2017

Paul Simonon: The Clash's Ace of Bass

Without him, The Clash would still have been a great band, but with him they became iconic. Paul Simonon was built for rock ‘n’ roll and his cultural influence is felt to this day.
Icons July 2017

Gunter Sachs: The Ultimate Playboy

Sportsman, dandy, artist, filmmaker and playboy, Gunter Sachs was the last of the golden-era pleasure seekers. The Rake salutes him…