Robert Crampton
Encyclopedia
Robert Crampton is an award-winning English journalist. He is also the son of Peter Crampton
, former Member of the European Parliament
for Humberside
.
in 1964. His family lived in Solihull
for a while before moving to Hull in 1970 where he grew up in an affluent suburb. He has a brother David, born 1962. His parents were active in politics locally. His father Peter Crampton
was a teacher and lecturer in geography and later a United Kingdom
member of the European Parliament
from 1989 to 1999, representing the Humberside constituency
for the Labour Party
. His mother came from London and was a geography teacher. Robert attended St Andrews County Primary School then Wolfreton School
, a local comprehensive school. After re-taking his A-levels elsewhere, he went on to Wadham College, Oxford University in 1986. At this time he was heavily involved in CND. When he was 18 he was convicted of a breach of the peace
and fined £20 for his part in a political demonstration. Later he attended the City University Journalism Department
at City University, London
.
as a columnist in 1991. He writes Beta Male, a regular weekly column in The Times
Saturday magazine. In 2008 he used the column to advertise his wish to gain practice in public speaking, "not because I was any good, but because I wasn’t and wanted to be...At the risk of humiliation
I want to come to talk to your school, business, darts team, whatever. I do not require, nor indeed do I merit, any payment.” He received more than 400 requests.
He subsequently described his experiences of speaking at Caistor Grammar School
in Lincolnshire
, Highbury Grove School
in North London
, a training day in Bath, a
Rotary Club, a women’s group, a prison, a church sermon, as a best man at a wedding and delivering a eulogy at a family funeral.
He also writes features and interviews in the newspaper itself. In February 2008 he exclusively previewed the new Wii Fit
computer game.
His past interviewees include Tony Blair
, David Cameron
, Paul McCartney
, Kate Winslet
, Kelly Brook
, Alex Ferguson
, David Walliams
, Liam Gallagher
, Sienna Miller
, and John Terry
.
In 1999 he signed a deal with a publisher to write a book, tracking down his old O-Level classmates. The book was given the working title "Whatever happened to...?" and issued with an ISBN number (ISBN 0385601891), but Crampton got bored with the project and never finished it. However, the non-existent book is to this day advertised as for sale online at W.H. Smith and Amazon
where "readers" have even posted reviews.
described his Beta Male column as "light in tone, insightful but unpretentious, and above all, just the right length. I always enjoy Crampton - a naturally funny, likeable, columnist. He's the kind of fellow you'd like to go for beer with, so he'd make a good US President. It's a real drag when he's away and a substitute fills in for him."
Nigel Williams
has praised his interviews: "Robert Crampton's work I really like. Somehow, he combines showmanship with something like self-effacement in a very entertaining way. To me he sounds like he's telling the truth, which is one of the most difficult things to pull off in journalism. His opinions sound hard-won and thought through, and that's to do with his prose style, which puts me in mind of what Orwell said about good prose being like a window".
, London
with their children Sam and Rachel. They own a second home at Kingsdown Park near Deal, Kent
.
Peter Crampton
Peter Crampton was a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1999 representing the Humberside constituency. He was also the father of Times journalist Robert Crampton....
, former Member of the European Parliament
Member of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament is a person who has been elected to the European Parliament. The name of MEPs differ in different languages, with terms such as europarliamentarian or eurodeputy being common in Romance language-speaking areas.When the European Parliament was first established,...
for Humberside
Humberside (European Parliament constituency)
Humberside was a European Parliament constituency, covering most of the Humberside district of England.Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales...
.
Early life
He was born in BlackpoolBlackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
in 1964. His family lived in Solihull
Solihull
Solihull is a town in the West Midlands of England with a population of 94,753. It is a part of the West Midlands conurbation and is located 9 miles southeast of Birmingham city centre...
for a while before moving to Hull in 1970 where he grew up in an affluent suburb. He has a brother David, born 1962. His parents were active in politics locally. His father Peter Crampton
Peter Crampton
Peter Crampton was a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1999 representing the Humberside constituency. He was also the father of Times journalist Robert Crampton....
was a teacher and lecturer in geography and later a 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...
member of the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
from 1989 to 1999, representing the Humberside constituency
Humberside (European Parliament constituency)
Humberside was a European Parliament constituency, covering most of the Humberside district of England.Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales...
for the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. His mother came from London and was a geography teacher. Robert attended St Andrews County Primary School then Wolfreton School
Wolfreton School
Wolfreton School and Language College is a large state secondary school in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.It is situated five miles to the west of Kingston upon Hull city centre. It is split over two sites, one in Willerby and one in Kirk Ella...
, a local comprehensive school. After re-taking his A-levels elsewhere, he went on to Wadham College, Oxford University in 1986. At this time he was heavily involved in CND. When he was 18 he was convicted of a breach of the peace
Breach of the peace
Breach of the peace is a legal term used in constitutional law in English-speaking countries, and in a wider public order sense in Britain.-Constitutional law:...
and fined £20 for his part in a political demonstration. Later he attended the City University Journalism Department
City University Journalism Department
The Department of Journalism at City University London is one of the world's leading journalism schools. It is considered the best university in the United Kingdom in that field of study as well as the nation's largest centre for journalism education...
at City University, London
City University, London
City University London , is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute and became a university in 1966, when it adopted its present name....
.
Career
He joined The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
as a columnist in 1991. He writes Beta Male, a regular weekly column in The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
Saturday magazine. In 2008 he used the column to advertise his wish to gain practice in public speaking, "not because I was any good, but because I wasn’t and wanted to be...At the risk of humiliation
I want to come to talk to your school, business, darts team, whatever. I do not require, nor indeed do I merit, any payment.” He received more than 400 requests.
He subsequently described his experiences of speaking at Caistor Grammar School
Caistor Grammar School
Caistor Grammar School is a selective school and academy in the English town of Caistor in the county of Lincolnshire. It was founded in 1630, and has since grown to be one of the most respected and high performing schools in the East of England. The school has been awarded specialist sports and...
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
, Highbury Grove School
Highbury Grove School
Highbury Grove School is a co-educational comprehensive secondary school in the London Borough of Islington. It covers the age range 11 to 18 inclusive and currently has about 1,100 pupils. It is classified as a Community School, specialising in business, enterprise studies and music . The head...
in North London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, a training day in Bath, a
Rotary Club, a women’s group, a prison, a church sermon, as a best man at a wedding and delivering a eulogy at a family funeral.
He also writes features and interviews in the newspaper itself. In February 2008 he exclusively previewed the new Wii Fit
Wii Fit
is a video game developed by Nintendo for the company's home video game console, Wii, designed by Hiroshi Matsunaga. It is an exercise game consisting of activities using the Wii Balance Board peripheral...
computer game.
His past interviewees include Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
, Kate Winslet
Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Reader...
, Kelly Brook
Kelly Brook
Kelly Brook is an English model, actress, entrepreneur, television presenter and Playboy model.-Early life:...
, Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
, David Walliams
David Walliams
David Edward Walliams is an English comedian, writer and actor, known for his partnership with Matt Lucas on the TV sketch show Little Britain and its predecessor Rock Profile...
, Liam Gallagher
Liam Gallagher
William John Paul "Liam" Gallagher is an English musician and singer-songwriter, the former frontman of the English rock band Oasis and currently of the band Beady Eye. Gallagher's erratic behaviour, distinctive singing style, and abrasive attitude have been the subject of commentary in the press...
, 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 John Terry
John Terry
John George Terry is an English professional footballer. Terry plays in a centre back position and is the captain of Chelsea in the Premier League...
.
In 1999 he signed a deal with a publisher to write a book, tracking down his old O-Level classmates. The book was given the working title "Whatever happened to...?" and issued with an ISBN number (ISBN 0385601891), but Crampton got bored with the project and never finished it. However, the non-existent book is to this day advertised as for sale online at W.H. Smith and Amazon
Amazon.com
Amazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...
where "readers" have even posted reviews.
Critical reception
Bryan AppleyardBryan Appleyard
Bryan Appleyard is a British journalist and author.- Career :Appleyard was educated at Bolton School and King’s College, Cambridge and after graduating with a degree in English, he became Financial News Editor and Deputy Arts Editor from 1976 to 1984 at The Times. Subsequently he became a...
described his Beta Male column as "light in tone, insightful but unpretentious, and above all, just the right length. I always enjoy Crampton - a naturally funny, likeable, columnist. He's the kind of fellow you'd like to go for beer with, so he'd make a good US President. It's a real drag when he's away and a substitute fills in for him."
Nigel Williams
Nigel Williams
Nigel Williams may refer to:*Nigel Williams , British novelist, screenwriter and playwright.*Nigel Williams , American ice hockey defenceman.*Nigel Williams , English former professional footballer....
has praised his interviews: "Robert Crampton's work I really like. Somehow, he combines showmanship with something like self-effacement in a very entertaining way. To me he sounds like he's telling the truth, which is one of the most difficult things to pull off in journalism. His opinions sound hard-won and thought through, and that's to do with his prose style, which puts me in mind of what Orwell said about good prose being like a window".
Awards
- Shortlisted, "Columnist of the year", British Press AwardsBritish Press AwardsThe British Press Awards is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. Established in the 1970s, honours are voted on by a panel of journalists and newspaper executives...
, 2002. - Winner, "Interviewer of the year", British Press AwardsBritish Press AwardsThe British Press Awards is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. Established in the 1970s, honours are voted on by a panel of journalists and newspaper executives...
, 2004. - Shortlisted, "Interviewer of the year", British Press AwardsBritish Press AwardsThe British Press Awards is an annual ceremony that celebrates the best of British journalism. Established in the 1970s, honours are voted on by a panel of journalists and newspaper executives...
, 2007.
Personal life
He met his future wife Nicola Almond when at school aged 12 in 1977, but only started going out with her thirteen years later. They married on 2 May 1998. They live in HackneyLondon Borough of Hackney
The London Borough of Hackney is a London borough of North/North East London, and forms part of inner London. The local authority is Hackney London Borough Council....
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with their children Sam and Rachel. They own a second home at Kingsdown Park near Deal, Kent
Deal, Kent
Deal is a town in Kent England. It lies on the English Channel eight miles north-east of Dover and eight miles south of Ramsgate. It is a former fishing, mining and garrison town...
.
External links
- http://www.timesonline.co.uk