John Michael Blake

Background

Blake, John Michael was born on November 6, 1948 in London. Son of Edwin F. and Evelyn J. (Meadows) Blake.

Education

Student, Northwest London University, 1968.

Career

Beginning as a popular columnist for the London Evening News in the early 1970s, his work developed into a column titled "Ad Liberal", a gossip column and lifestyle guide. lieutenant survived the merger of the Evening News with the Evening Standard. Blake was the first editor of "Bizarre", a column in The Sun launched in May 1982 concentrating on celebrity gossip.

Blake moved to the Daily Mirror and launched a popular column called "White Hot Club".

He was the newspaper"s Assistant Editor between 1984 and 1988. In 1988 Blake became editor of the Sunday People.

Blake was president of the Mirror Group in the United States of America in the run-up to Robert Maxwell"s anticipated purchase of the National Enquirer which lasted until the deal fell through. Blake was a producer for Sky television in 1990.

Six months after the company started, he was joined by journalist Rosie Virgo, who went on to become the company"s managing director

In 1998 the company published autobiographies by bareknuckle fighters Lenny McLean and Roy "Pretty Boy" Shaw. Both books topped The Sunday Times bestseller list. In 2004, Being Jordan by Katie Price was published by Blake after larger firms had rejected the book

While the advance to Price was £10,000, the book, ghost written by Rebecca Farnworth, sold a million copies.

In August 2008 On Her Majesty"s Service a book published by under the name of Ronald Evans, a former bodyguard of Sir Salman Rushdie, had a Declaration of Falsity made against it by a Judge in the High Court for the inclusion of 11 "serious falsehoods" defaming Rushdie. Rushdie did not seek any damages in his legal action.

The company also publishes memoirs of football hooligans, including Cass by Cass Pennant, Massive Attack by Trevor Tanner and Undesirables by Manchester United hooligan Colin Blaney.

Achievements

• John Michael Blake has been listed as a notable Publisher, writer by Marquis Who's Who.

Works

More photos

• book

  • All You Needed Was Love: "Beatles" After the "Beatles"

    (This is a paperback book.)

  • ALL YOU NEEDED WAS LOVE: THE BETLES AFTER THE BEATLES. lst printing

Interests

• Avocations: boats, diving, skiing.

Connections

Married Diane S. Campbell, June 29, 1968. Children: Emma, Charlotte, Adam.

Father:

Edwin F. Blake

Mother:

Evelyn J. (Meadows) Blake

Spouse:

Diane S. Campbell

child:

Emma Blake

child:

Adam Blake

child:

Charlotte Blake