About Frank Owen’s Criminal Minded

Welcome to Frank Owen’s Criminal Minded, a publication that investigates the intersection of pop culture, politics and crime. If you like gripping true crime stories combined with cultural analysis, then you've come to the right place.

I hope to publish at least six long-form investigative stories a year exclusive to Substack, interspersed with shorter pieces and commentary. I will also post exclusive excerpts from my forthcoming book Booze, Blood and Noise: A Personal History of Manchester Punk. Some stories I'm currently working on include "Cruel Britannia", about Britain's decline from the capital of cool to a post-Brexit hellhole, and "50 years of Failure," about how the War on Drugs has made America's drug problem worse.

For the time being, all content is free. As you’re probably aware, investigative journalism is expensive and time consuming, so if you wish to support my work, please subscribe.

About Frank Owen

I was born in Manchester, England, where as a teenager I founded the art-funk band Manicured Noise. After studying at the Birmingham Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, I began my journalism career as a music critic for Melody Maker, where I was an early champion of the burgeoning hip-hop and house music scenes.

In 1987, I moved to America, where I became the Music Editor at Spin, after which I worked for Newsday and Vibe.

In 1995, I became an investigative reporter for the Village Voice, where I wrote a string of controversial cover stories about the seamy underbelly of New York nightlife, including articles about Special K, the Michael Alig killing, and the rise of Mafia bad boy Chris Paciello, which became the basis of my first book, Clubland: The Fabulous Rise and Murderous Fall of Club Culture.

For over a decade, I wrote for Playboy, where I penned a series of long-form investigative stories about drugs and crime, including “The Last Days of Jam Master Jay,” “The Medical Marijuana Murder” and “The Miami Zombie.”

My byline has appeared in Politico, Elle, Details, Maxim, NME, Miami New Times, Radar, i-D, Washington Post, New York Times, the Guardian, RT, and many other publications.

I currently live in Manchester.