British GQ November 2019

On page 202 of this issue you’ll find an interview I conducted with Michael Hutchence, once the inordinately famous singer with the band INXS, a superstar who bestrode the world like the rock’n’roll colossus he was. In his time he was as famous as his good friend Bono, as popular as Ed Sheeran and as fawned-over as Timothée Chalamet is now. INXS were never thought of as critics’ darlings, but they were ridiculously popular and had huge hits, filling stadiums from London to Melbourne, from Los Angeles to Oslo. Then, in the time it takes to make a few bad decisions, have a potentially life-threatening accident and redefine the term “substance abuse”, Hutchence went from rock god to media casualty, someone whose name was always accompanied by the prefix “troubled”, so…

Alastair CAMPBELL One-time Liberal Democrats voter Alastair Campbell interviewed new party leader Jo Swinson about the Lib Dems’ resurgence in a febrile political climate. “It’s hard,” says Campbell, “not to feel old interviewing the first party leader born in the Eighties. Swinson takes the helm at an important moment in our political history. If she is daunted, it doesn’t show.” Anthony LOYD Runaway teenager Shamima Begum prompted fury in the right-wing press when she sought to return to the UK after travelling to Syria to join Isis. GQ contributor Anthony Loyd reflected on the extreme hostility she faced. “I am not often surprised by how humans behave,” says Loyd. “Yet the brutish reaction to her story in the UK came as a shock.” Sue WEBSTER In this month’s Details, artist Sue Webster revisits a fraught…

MORE THAN 1,000 PEOPLE MADE THEIR WAY TO LONDON’S SOUTH BANK FOR OUR 22ND ANNUAL AWARDS PARTY. SEE HOW IT ALL UNFOLDED ON GQ.CO.UK AND BY READING ON… PAGE 40-50 In association with David Beckham GQ Editor’s Special Award Dylan Jones: “Twenty years ago this winner helped secure the Treble as a member of Manchester United’s Class Of ’92, but he was already well on his way to iconic status. This is a man who would go on to make 115 appearances for England, more than 50 as captain and have trophy-winning spells at Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and LA Galaxy. His personal style has set trends for more than two decades and his ongoing fashion projects rarely put a foot wrong. No wonder he’s been on GQ’s cover eleven times! “He is also launching…

8:34am 3 September @MayaJama GQ Awards tonight and I’m so sorry in advance. “She’s doing the most!” Twitter is really gonna be pressed when they finally realise I have been and will be serving multiple looks for life. No I will not rest . Happy Tuesday x 4:51pm 3 September @george_ezra Hello, everyone, I hope you all had an amazing summer! You may have noticed I’ve been quiet the last few months. I’ve been enjoying time at home with family and friends… and perfecting my blue steel in aid of tonight’s GQ Awards. 5:51pm 3 September @GordonRamsay So proud and excited to be serving up some of our iconic @GordonRamsayGRR dishes from the past 21 years at tonight’s GQ Men Of The Year. 7:07pm 3 September @piersmorgan Posing for GQ Men Of The Year Awards limo selfie inbound before things turn ugly.…

Although you may think you’d only need a minuscule bag for a naughty night in the country – a laptop-size carrier, for instance (how much storage space does a man really need?) – the reality is that by the time you’ve packed a change of shoes, a washbag, some reading material and, of course, a change of boxers, you’re well into holdall territory. Enter the new breed of mini mini-break holdalls, designed expressly for 24 hours elsewhere. For the best, look to Gucci, Burberry or Michael Kors and don’t be afraid to go heavy on the monograms: it’s only for one night, after all. Shirt by Boss, £99. boss.com…

Recently, cycling has got more extreme. Events such as the Dirty Kanza (a 200-mile run on the rough gravel roads of Kansas) and the Transcontinental Race (an unsupported European ultra-distance ride that runs at a saddle sore-inducing 2,500 miles) are presenting increasing numbers of competitors with whole new sets of challenges – and, importantly, taking cyclists off car-choked roads to explore rough-and-ready routes. The movement has given rise to a new genre of ride: top-end brands such as Open and 3T are producing gravel bikes that are all about speed. And now, Cervélo, best known for its coveted road frames, is getting in on the game too. The Áspero (Spanish for “rough”) is based around a stiff, full-carbon frame for efficient power transfer (scientist for “speed”) with a geometry that virtually…