Richard Neville (writer)
Encyclopedia
Richard Neville is an Australia
n author and self-described "futurist
", who came to fame as a co-editor of the counterculture
magazine Oz
in Australia and the United Kingdom
in the 1960s and early 1970s. He was involved with the Sydney Push
libertarians
at the University of New South Wales
(UNSW) in the early 1960s during the production of the Sydney
-based Oz magazine.
, met Richard Walsh, editor of its University of Sydney
counterpart Honi Soit
, as well as artist Martin Sharp
. Neville and Walsh wanted to publish their own "magazine of dissent" and asked Sharp to become a contributor. The magazine was dubbed Oz.
Sydney Oz hit the streets on April Fool's Day, 1963. Its irreverent attitude was very much in the tradition of the student newspapers, but its growing public profile quickly made it a target for "the Establishment", and it soon became a prominent casualty of the so-called "Censorship Wars".
During the life of Australian Oz Sharp, Neville and Walsh were twice charged with printing an obscene publication. The first trial was relatively minor, and should have been a non-event, but they were poorly-advised and pleaded guilty, which resulted in their convictions being recorded. As a result, when they were charged with obscenity a second time, their previous convictions meant that the new charges were considerably more serious.
The charges centred on two items in the early issues of Oz - one was Sharp's ribald poem "The Word Flashed Around The Arms", which satirised the contemporary habit of youths gatecrashing parties; the other offending item was the famous photo (used on the cover of Oz #6) which depicted Neville and two friends pretending to urinate into a Tom Bass
sculptural wall fountain, set into the wall of the new P&O
office in Sydney, which had recently been opened by Prime Minister Robert Menzies
.
Sharp, Neville and Walsh were tried, found guilty and given prison sentences. Their convictions caused a public outcry and they were subsequently acquitted on appeal, but the so-called "Oz Three" realised that there was little future battling such strong opposition.
, they founded the London Oz. This was most notable for the then-longest obscenity trial (1971) in UK history regarding the publication of the Schoolkids OZ
(May 1970) issue; leading to the conviction of Neville, Anderson and Felix Dennis
, later overturned on appeal. London Oz ended in November 1973.
, (co-authored by Julie Clarke) was a global best-seller. It inspired several TV docu-dramas.
In the 1980s, Neville returned to Australia and joined the Nine Network
’s popular Midday Show, where he reported on popular culture, wild ideas and the quest for sustainability. Richard’s segments often aroused controversy, such as when he inhaled marijuana on camera (to test its impact on driving). These segments evolved into the Network Ten
series Extra Dimensions, looking at sustainability and human potential.
In the 90s, in a variety of media, Richard explored the new role for business in the 21st Century. This led to keynote addresses at national conferences, and the essay collection, Out of My Mind (Penguin). He also published his Sixties memoir, Hippie Hippie Shake, which has been adapted as a film, although both projects have been trenchantly criticised by Neville's former friend Germaine Greer
.
Neville is also the co-founder of the Australian Futures Foundation, which aims to bring "futures thinking" into the mainstream.
(1991), Neville was played by Hugh Grant
.
The Irish actor Cillian Murphy
is currently filming Hippie Hippie Shake, in which he plays Neville. Produced by Working Title
, the film is directed by Beeban Kidron
, and co-stars Sienna Miller
and Emma Booth
.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n author and self-described "futurist
Futurism
Futurism was an artistic and social movement that originated in Italy in the early 20th century.Futurism or futurist may refer to:* Afrofuturism, an African-American and African diaspora subculture* Cubo-Futurism* Ego-Futurism...
", who came to fame as a co-editor of the counterculture
Counterculture
Counterculture is a sociological term used to describe the values and norms of behavior of a cultural group, or subculture, that run counter to those of the social mainstream of the day, the cultural equivalent of political opposition. Counterculture can also be described as a group whose behavior...
magazine Oz
Oz (magazine)
Oz was first published as a satirical humour magazine between 1963 and 1969 in Sydney, Australia and, in its second and better known incarnation, became a "psychedelic hippy" magazine from 1967 to 1973 in London...
in Australia and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the 1960s and early 1970s. He was involved with the Sydney Push
Sydney Push
The Sydney Push was a predominantly left-wing intellectual sub-culture in Sydney from the late 1940s to the early '70s. Well known associates of the Push include Jim Baker, John Flaus, Harry Hooton, Margaret Fink, Sasha Soldatow, Lex Banning, Eva Cox, Richard Appleton, Paddy McGuinness, David...
libertarians
Libertarianism
Libertarianism, in the strictest sense, is the political philosophy that holds individual liberty as the basic moral principle of society. In the broadest sense, it is any political philosophy which approximates this view...
at the University of New South Wales
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
(UNSW) in the early 1960s during the production of the Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
-based Oz magazine.
Oz
In late 1963 or early 1964 Neville, then editor of the UNSW student magazine TharunkaTharunka
Tharunka is a student newspaper published at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. Established in 1953 at the then New South Wales University of Technology, Tharunka has been published in a variety of forms by various student organisations...
, met Richard Walsh, editor of its University of Sydney
University of Sydney
The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...
counterpart Honi Soit
Honi Soit
Honi Soit is the student newspaper of the University of Sydney, first published in 1929 and produced by an elected editorial team as part of the activities of the Students' Representative Council...
, as well as artist Martin Sharp
Martin Sharp
Martin Sharp is an Australian artist, underground cartoonist, songwriter and film-maker. Sharp has made contributions to Australian and international culture since the early 60s, and is hailed as Australia's foremost pop artist...
. Neville and Walsh wanted to publish their own "magazine of dissent" and asked Sharp to become a contributor. The magazine was dubbed Oz.
Sydney Oz hit the streets on April Fool's Day, 1963. Its irreverent attitude was very much in the tradition of the student newspapers, but its growing public profile quickly made it a target for "the Establishment", and it soon became a prominent casualty of the so-called "Censorship Wars".
During the life of Australian Oz Sharp, Neville and Walsh were twice charged with printing an obscene publication. The first trial was relatively minor, and should have been a non-event, but they were poorly-advised and pleaded guilty, which resulted in their convictions being recorded. As a result, when they were charged with obscenity a second time, their previous convictions meant that the new charges were considerably more serious.
The charges centred on two items in the early issues of Oz - one was Sharp's ribald poem "The Word Flashed Around The Arms", which satirised the contemporary habit of youths gatecrashing parties; the other offending item was the famous photo (used on the cover of Oz #6) which depicted Neville and two friends pretending to urinate into a Tom Bass
Tom Bass
Thomas Dwyer Bass AM, was a renowned Australian sculptor. Born in Lithgow, New South Wales on 6 June 1916, he studied at the Dattilo Rubbo Art School and the National Art School and established the Tom Bass Sculpture School in Sydney in 1974. In 1988 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia...
sculptural wall fountain, set into the wall of the new P&O
P&O Cruises Australia
P&O Cruises Australia is a British-American owned cruise line with corporate headquarters at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operational headquarters in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
office in Sydney, which had recently been opened by Prime Minister Robert Menzies
Robert Menzies
Sir Robert Gordon Menzies, , Australian politician, was the 12th and longest-serving Prime Minister of Australia....
.
Sharp, Neville and Walsh were tried, found guilty and given prison sentences. Their convictions caused a public outcry and they were subsequently acquitted on appeal, but the so-called "Oz Three" realised that there was little future battling such strong opposition.
London Oz
In late 1966 Neville and Sharp moved to the UK and in early 1967, with fellow Australian Jim AndersonJim Anderson
Jim Anderson may refer to:* Jim Anderson , Wyoming politician* Jim Anderson , New South Wales politician* Jim Anderson , former Major League Baseball player...
, they founded the London Oz. This was most notable for the then-longest obscenity trial (1971) in UK history regarding the publication of the Schoolkids OZ
Schoolkids OZ
Schoolkids OZ was issue 28 of the Oz magazine, famous for being the subject of a high-profile obscenity case in the United Kingdom in June 1971. The OZ trial ended on 5 August 1971.-History:...
(May 1970) issue; leading to the conviction of Neville, Anderson and Felix Dennis
Felix Dennis
Felix Dennis is a British magazine publisher, poet, and philanthropist. His privately owned company, Dennis Publishing, pioneered computer and hobbyist magazine publishing in the United Kingdom...
, later overturned on appeal. London Oz ended in November 1973.
Later career
For the next few years Neville travelled the world, reporting on youth cultures, social inventions and the shape of the future. He broadcast regularly on ABC Radio and wrote for an array of newspapers and magazines. In New York in 1977, Neville was commissioned to write a book about a serial killer incarcerated in Delhi, who preyed upon Western backpackers. The resulting biography of Charles SobhrajCharles Sobhraj
Hatchand Bhaonani Gurumukh Charles Sobhraj , better known as Charles Sobhraj, is a serial killer of Indian and Vietnamese origin, who preyed on Western tourists throughout Southeast Asia during the 1970s. Nicknamed "the Serpent" and "the Bikini killer" for his skill at deception and evasion, he...
, (co-authored by Julie Clarke) was a global best-seller. It inspired several TV docu-dramas.
In the 1980s, Neville returned to Australia and joined the Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
’s popular Midday Show, where he reported on popular culture, wild ideas and the quest for sustainability. Richard’s segments often aroused controversy, such as when he inhaled marijuana on camera (to test its impact on driving). These segments evolved into the Network Ten
Network Ten
Network Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
series Extra Dimensions, looking at sustainability and human potential.
In the 90s, in a variety of media, Richard explored the new role for business in the 21st Century. This led to keynote addresses at national conferences, and the essay collection, Out of My Mind (Penguin). He also published his Sixties memoir, Hippie Hippie Shake, which has been adapted as a film, although both projects have been trenchantly criticised by Neville's former friend Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer
Germaine Greer is an Australian writer, academic, journalist and scholar of early modern English literature, widely regarded as one of the most significant feminist voices of the later 20th century....
.
Neville is also the co-founder of the Australian Futures Foundation, which aims to bring "futures thinking" into the mainstream.
Portrayals
In the television film The Trials of OzThe Trials of Oz
The Trials of Oz is 1991 BAFTA Award-nominated BBC drama film about famous 1971 trial in which the editors of the British underground magazine Oz were charged with obscenity...
(1991), Neville was played by Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
.
The Irish actor Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy is an Irish film and theatre actor. He is often noted by critics for his chameleonic performances in diverse roles and distinctive blue eyes and general sex appeal....
is currently filming Hippie Hippie Shake, in which he plays Neville. Produced by Working Title
Working title
A working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...
, the film is directed by Beeban Kidron
Beeban Kidron
Beeban Kidron is an English Film Director known for her much-lauded adaptation of Jeanette Winterson's autobiographical novel Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit and for directing Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason...
, and co-stars Sienna Miller
Sienna Miller
Sienna Rose Diana Miller is a British-American actress, model, and fashion designer, best known for her roles in Layer Cake, Alfie, Factory Girl, The Edge of Love and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. In 2007, the London Film Criticsnamed her British Actress of the Year for Interview...
and Emma Booth
Emma Booth (actress)
Emma Booth is an Australian model-turned-actress. From Perth in Western Australia, the former teen model and TV star played a significant role in the 2007 film Introducing the Dwights, opposite Brenda Blethyn.-TV and Movies Career :...
.
Books
- Play Power. London: Cape, 1970. No ISBN
- The Life and Crimes of Charles Sobhraj Richard Neville and Julie Clarke. Sydney: Pan Books, 1980 ISBN 033027144X
- Playing Around. Milsons Point, NSW: Arrow Books, 1991. ISBN 0091825474
- Hippie, Hippie, Shake: The Dreams, the Trips, the Trials, the Love-ins, the Screw ups—the Sixties. Port Melbourne: William Heinemann Australia, 1995. ISBN 0855615230
- Out of My Mind: From Flower Power to the Third Millennium—the Seventies, the Eighties and the Nineties. Ringwood, Vic.: Penguin, 1996. ISBN 0140262709
- Footprints of the Future: Handbook for the Third Millennium. North Sydney, NSW: Richmond, 2002. ISBN 192068803X
- Amerika Psycho: Behind Uncle Sam’s Mask of Sanity. Melbourne: Ocean Press, 2003. ISBN 1876175621
- Out of my mind
External links
- Richard Neville website
- http://www.homepagedaily.com/ Richard Neville co-publisher new Beta website