June Sarpong
June was born in Walthamstow in 1977 to Ghanaian parents. After a car crash as a teenager that left her hospitalised for a year, she built a career as a presenter for Kiss, MTV, Channel 4 and latterly for Sky with the current-affairs chat show The Pledge, and ITV, where she is a panellist on Loose Women. She is a lifelong Labour supporter, and campaigns to get more kids involved in politics.
Three favourite brands?
Three objects you can’t live without?
Lipgloss, a push-up bra and green juice.
What were you wearing in 1991?
Fluorescent leggings. Still love to wear them now (though perhaps not the fluoro).
Who did you admire in 1991?
Oprah Winfrey. A smart businesswoman who has heart and humanity. And Margaret Thatcher. I like strong women, even if I don’t agree with them.
What was fun for you in 1991?
Partying, my life revolved around it.
What is fun for you now?
Surprisingly for a city girl who grew up in a concrete jungle, I like hiking and spending time with nature.
What do you want to change about the world?
I want a more equal society.
Are you still cool?
I still am in the know about young people. I know it because I’m genuinely engaged with them.
Tom Aikens
Tom was born in 1970, and grew up in Norfolk. He is a ‘crazy, passionate chef’, who careers between his restaurants, which are now on several continents. He has two young daughters, Violette and Josephine, with his partner Justine. There’s always a sourdough in his fridge.
Three favourite brands?
Three objects you can’t live without?
What did you look like in 1991?
I had a terrible hairstyle, bleached and permed. I wore horrific pale jeans, which I would team with some insane tie.
Who did you admire in 1991?
Pierre Koffman, because he was a brute, but fun with it.
Who do you admire now?
People that go beyond what you think is humanly possible. Marathon Man is a guy who has run a marathon every day for a year. He’s a postman, but he’s done it to get recognised. Which he did: he got sponsorship from Lucozade and now holds the record for running the longest distance ever – 380 miles non-stop without going to sleep for four days.
What was fun for you in 1991?
Going on holiday to Praia da Luz in Portugal. Parties, windsurfing and lots of nice girls.
What is fun for you now?
Making gingerbread with my daughters. And Ibiza.
Richard Reed
Richard’s first business was Two Men Went to Mow: a lawnmowing service in his hometown Wakefield that charged £2.50 an hour. After a spell in advertising he launched Innocent Smoothies with his two best friends, which they eventually sold to Coca-Cola. He now runs JamJar Investments, which he runs as a not-for-profit, investing his fortune in everything from an insomnia app to a subscription shaving service. He also writes books and has impeccable taste in music.
Three favourite brands?
Innocent (obviously), Greenpeace and Pacha.
Three objects you can’t live without?
My iPhone, despite years of persevering and resisting with a BlackBerry. A wok, because it’s bloke cooking – you can do it quickly, easily and in one wash-up. And my belt. At my age you need a bit of flexibility around the girth.
What was fun for you in 1991?
Music, clubbing and dancing.
What is fun for you now?
Group holidays.
What were you wearing in 1991?
A grey marl T-shirt and anything from Diesel.
What do you like wearing now?
A grey marl T-shirt and skinny black jeans.
Who did you admire in 1991?
Anita Roddick, because she showed business could have a purpose. And Prince.
Who do you admire now?
Alexander McQueen. I went to see his exhibition and discovered the line, ‘He hoped his clothes would make people a little bit scared of the women who wore them.’ All fashion tries to make you look attractive to the opposite sex – how disempowering that actually is. What McQueen did was empower women.
What do you want to change about the world?
Inequality. Everyone is born with same amount of talent and work ethic, but not with the same opportunity to succeed. Access to opportunity is what makes people successful.
Are you still cool?
Do skinny black jeans count?
Pearl Lowe
Pearl was born in 1970 in Bethnal Green and has been a singer, songwriter, fashion and textile designer, model, author, stylist, interiors expert, TV presenter and spiritual lobbyist. She fled the Primrose Hill set in 2005 and now lives a bohemian life where she combines all her skills with a rail season ticket from Somerset to London. She once took her husband to Champneys after a particularly long party and almost killed him by leaving him wrapped in seaweed in a sauna.
Three favourite brands?
Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Zara.
What were you wearing in 1991?
White Levi’s, vest tops, Gucci loafers.
What do you like wearing now?
Pencil skirts and shirts. I’m going for the power suit over vintage dresses these days.
What three things could you not live without?
Nurofen, reading glasses and my diary.
What music were you listening to in 1991?
Nirvana and the Pixies.
What music are you listening to now?
Elliott Smith, Neil Young and Hope Sandoval.
What did you want to change about the world in 1991?
I used to get really upset about the treatment of animals. All the big cosmetic companies were testing on animals. It made me so angry.
What do you want to change about the world now?
The school system. It’s unfair people have to pay to have a good education and not everyone has access to that. All schools should be free.
Danny Goffey
Danny was born in Oxford in 1974 and got his first set of drums from his parents when he was ten years old. He formed the band Supergrass after being expelled from school. He had his first son, Alfie, with Pearl at 21, then went on to have another, Frankie, and a daughter Betty. He now fronts the band Vangoffey. He is a committed cook (once reaching the semi-finals of Celebrity Masterchef) and has perfected the art of sticking a beer can up a roasting chicken’s bum.
Three favourite brands?
YouTube, Waitrose, old Volvos.
What were you wearing in 1991?
Velvet suits, glitter, women’s clothes.
What do you like wearing now?
Breton tops, cheesecloth and cardigans.
What music were you listening to in 1991?
I was 17 and really into the Manchester scene. Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets. Active 8 by Altern 8 was out the summer I hit the rave scene really hard – one glorious early Nineties summer, I forget which. Songs like this spun around our tiny brains as we danced about with strangers.
What music are you listening to now?
Nick Cave, Ian Dury, Talking Heads. Radio 6 & 4. I also spend a lot of time listening to my children’s needs.
What did you do for fun in 1991?
Illegal raves around the south of England. Five boys in an old red Ford Fiesta looking for convoys to join and arriving in strange fields full of eclectic young people. Marvellous fun. I was also playing in a band with my brother called the Jennifers. Early experience of the toilet tour pubs.
What do you do for fun now?
Writing words and music for Vangoffey. Cooking for friends and then eating and drinking with them. Watching the football. Helping my kids realise their dreams.
Karen Blackett
Karen grew up in Reading, in ‘mini Barbados’, the daughter of West Indian immigrants who taught her ‘You’re black and you’re female, so you have to try twice as hard.’ She had a pension at 20 (‘I’m so sad’) and a flat at 22. Fascinated by psychology and human behaviour, she went into advertising and is now chairwoman of MediaCom, the country’s largest and most successful media agency. She has a son Isaac, who is five.
Three favourite brands?
Net-a-Porter (before children), The Outnet (after children). Also love Not on The High Street and Michael Kors.
Three objects you treasure most?
A framed photo of myself and my son; two paintings by Heidi Berger (a German artist who lives in Barbados); a Monies bracelet.
What music were you listening to in 1991?
The Roots, De La Soul, Jackson 5 and N.W.A.
What music are you listening to now?
The Roots, Ed Sheeran, Lauryn Hill, Beyoncé.
What were you wearing in 1991?
A tracksuit, as I was always doing sport.
What do you like wearing now?
Now? If at work, heels and a colourful dress. If at home, leggings and a Sweaty Betty top.
What did you do for fun in 1991?
The student union and clubbing.
What is fun now?
Time with my son: horseriding, surfing, watching Star Wars.
Who did you admire in 1991?
Nelson Mandela, Oprah, Sir Trevor McDonald, Daley Thompson, Sir Garfield Sobers.
Who do you admire now?
Hasn’t changed. But also includes Mo Farah, Jessica Ennis, Malala Yousafzai.
What do you want to change about the world now?
I want to champion this country’s creative industries on a wider platform, and champion diversity for the fruit salad of thinking it delivers.
Sum up Generation X?
Thoughtful, empowered, dynamic, hungry for more.
Alex James
Alex grew up in Bournemouth, then moved to London when he won a place at Goldsmiths College. There he met Graham Coxon and later Damon Albarn; the three formed the band Blur, which went on to dominate the Nineties Britpop scene. After writing his memoir about their rollercoaster ride through fame and excess, Alex moved to Oxfordshire, where he took up farming and cheesemaking. He is still just as skinny, tall and cool, and smokes just as many cigarettes. Specialist subjects: his award-winning Goddess cheese, astronomy and space travel. He is also the only rock star who has managed to successfully land a call sign on Mars.
What are your three favourite brands?
Oxford University; KPM (vintage library music label); sunny Bournemouth.
What three objects can you not live without?
Guitar; 2 Group cappuccino machine; sharp knife.
What were you wearing in 1991?
Deptford Market chic; charity-shop razzle dazzle.
What are you wearing now?
Skinny jeans, ancient baggy T-shirt, high tops.
What music were you listening to in 1991?
Pixies, Prince, Kirsty MacColl.
What music are you listening to now?
Rossini, Prince, Major Lazer.
What did you do for fun in 1991?
Hot knives, magic mushrooms, Long Island Iced Tea with orange juice. Went out for breakfast, looked at the moon through a telescope.
What now?
Bonfires, naps, go out for dinner, try to get a handle on the Riemann hypothesis, play murder in the dark with the kids.
Who did you admire in 1991?
Jeffrey Bernard, Albert Camus, André Gide, Kim Deal, Des Lynam.
Who do you admire now?
Prince Philip, Lee Child, Arthur Conan Doyle, Florence Welch, Fearne Cotton.
What did you want to change about the world in 1991?
I just wanted to mess around.
What do you want to change about the world now?
I probably spend more time trying to preserve things that I care about than trying to make things different.
Define Generation X:
Anyone smoking in the back of a 747 on the way to NYC with no luggage.
Matt Roberts
The chiselled, Action Man figure of personal trainer Matt Roberts can often be seen jogging in St James’s Park alongside one of his celebrity clients, from David Cameron to Elle Macpherson. A contender for Olympic sprinting, he dropped out of training when he realised his partner Darren Campbell was probably going to be better than him and set up his fitness brand instead.
Three favourite brands?
Apple, Porsche (because I’m a sad car person) and Tom Ford (for his unashamedly ambitious belief in his own image).
What were you wearing in 1991?
Levi 501s; Grolsch bottletops on my Dockers; Paisley shirts.
What do you like wearing now?
Zadig, Boss, Prada.
What was fun for you in 1991?
The Hacienda in Manchester. I was training back then, so I was always the driver.
What is fun for you now?
Travel, my kids and cooking curry: I’m a glory cooker.
Who do you admire?
Bill Gates. I spent a small amount of time with him; he was super-humble, interesting.
Objects you can’t live without?
My phone – my whole life is on there. And my tennis racket.
Serena Rees
Serena graduated from club kid to entrepreneur via Agent Provocateur, the erotic fashion brand she founded with her then husband, Joe Corré, son of Vivienne Westwood. Joe and Serena met in 1992, and grew AP into a brand that spanned 13 countries with over 30 stores. They sold it in 2007. Serena now advises and invests in new business. She has a teenage daughter, Cora, and is the partner of former Clash bassist Paul Simonon.
Who did you admire in 1991?
Vivienne Westwood, John Galliano, Alaïa. But I didn’t want to be anyone else, I just wanted to be myself.
And now?
As above.
What brands do you admire?
Apple, Absolutely Fabulous.
What did you want to change about the world then?
To be heard, to change people’s attitude, to make the world a better place.
And now?
To be heard, to change people’s attitude, to make the world a better place.
What objects do you treasure?
Photographs, my art and book collection, all the strange objects I’ve collected on the way.
What music did you love in 1991?
Rock ’n’ roll, punk, Sixties girl bands, Bowie, the Stones.
Now?
I still love them all!
What did you want to change about the world in 1991, and what now?
I admire everyone who has managed to do what I wanted to do then: to be heard, to change people’s attitude, to make the world a better place.
Jamie East
Jamie grew up in Derby and had his first taste of celebrity with the band the Beekeepers, making the top five of the Indie charts and the front page of the Derby Evening Telegraph. Then he got a job doing overnight shifts as a graphics operator at Sky News, ‘my first experience of miserable graft’. There he learned to code and pick up celebrity gossip, which led him to launch holymoly.com, a blindingly irreverent celebrity gossip site he eventually sold to Endemol. He is now a radio presenter for Virgin and the Sun’s film critic.
Favourite brands?
I wallow in the smugness of my brand loyalty. The removal of choice is a wonderful thing, it’s a luxury not to have to worry about what you put on every day. A guy finds the perfect white T-shirt and now he can spend more time thinking about the things that matter. For me it’s Nudie Jeans, Oliver Sweeney shoes, American Apparel T-shirts, the motorbike brand Deus Ex Machina – and Brylcreem, because it’s served me right, man and boy.
Who did you admire in 1991?
Michael Hutchence. He was sleeping with Kylie on ecstasy: when you are 17 you think, ‘That would be quite a phone call home.’
Who do you admire now?
My eldest son. He is 22 and getting on with it. Like me, he was slightly above average at school, never going to make uni, knew it was up to him just to get on with it. All his mates are just leaving uni now and he’s already earning £30k in a job at an e-gaming company he really loves. That’s as good as it gets.
What did you want to change about the world in 1991?
The welfare state so I could be in a band and sign on.
What do you want to change about the world now?
Invent a bullshit filter. I’d like to get rid of all the people slowing progress down. There should be compulsory retirement at 55.
John Vial
John was plucked from obscurity in Derby to join the Vidal Sassoon apprenticeship programme in Manchester in 1991. ‘I had arrived. At that point, you couldn’t speak to me because I was just too fucking fabulous.’ And he was. Within five years he had become creative director, working on fashion shows and shoots around the world. From city power women to the A-list, editors to top models, his scissors have become the one-stop confessional shop for those seeking identity, security, glamour and style.
Three favourite brands?
Apple, obviously. Coca-Cola, because it has never lost its way. Disney, because it is as important to kids now as it was when it was founded. I’m 47 and I still love Disney.
Three favourite objects?
My Hermès watch, bought with the money my mum left me when she passed away. My scooter, because without it I would have left London by now. Can’t stand the Tube, and sitting in a car in London I lose the will to live. And my dog Max, the most handsome Siberian husky on the planet.
What did you do for fun in 1991?
A club in Derby called Blue Note. I never drank, always drove.
What do you do for fun now?
YouTube. I start out looking for the Bay City Rollers and end up watching a nature documentary about jaguars. I get lost on it for hours.
What music were you listening to in 1991?
All the Manchester bands – the Charlatans, Happy Mondays, Stone Roses.
What music are you listening to now?
Everything from Mahler to Rihanna.
What did you look like in 1991?
I had a mid-length bob that made me look like an Eighties rent boy, and wore super-flared jeans with shirts with extraordinarily large collars.
What do you look like now?
I wear my hair cropped and have had it transplanted three times. Always painful, always worth it. And I have a uniform of a black, navy or charcoal jumper with black jeans, a Hermès belt and Church’s brogues.
Who did you admire in 1991?
Vidal Sassoon and my mum. She tried to teach me what other people were thinking, to think about how to be fair and be a decent human being. She was the only person I was scared of in the world.
Who do you admire now?
What did you want to change about the world then and now?
Same thing: less fighting. There’s no need for it.
Martha Lane Fox
Martha was born in 1973, the daughter of the academic Robin Lane Fox, and educated at Westminster School and Oxford University. ‘I’m really lucky, I’ve had every opportunity.’ But she didn’t waste it: she co-founded lastminute.com, survived the dotcom crash, sold it, then shortly afterwards survived a car crash that broke 28 bones in her body. Now she chairs the government’s digital skills charity Go On UK, sits in the House of Lords and runs the business Doteveryone. She also sits on the board of Marks & Spencer and Twitter, has a penchant for Topshop shoes and has just had twin boys with her partner Chris. ‘All my friends thought I was nuts having anything to do with technology.’
What are your three favourite brands?
Hmmm – I’m not very good at brands but they range from massive, as in Mozilla (the maker of the Firefox browser that ‘fights to keep the internet a global public resource open and accessible to all’), to small, as in Persephone Books (fiction and non-fiction by women, for women, about women).
What three objects can you not live without?
My smartphone, a novel and the custom insoles that balance out my fucked-up legs and help me walk!
What were you wearing in 1991?
I can hardly bear to think about it but red, 14-hole DMs, black jeans and (don’t judge me) a frilly Adam Ant in ‘Prince Charming’ video-style white shirt.
What music were you listening to in 1991?
Groove Armada, Van Morrison and Jimi Hendrix.
What music are you listening to now?
Roberta Flack, Broken Bells, and Toots and the Maytals.
What did you do for fun in 1991?
Hard house parties in our really gross university student home.
What now?
Hard house parties in my awesome London home.
Who did you admire in 1991?
William Godwin, the father of philosophical anarchism.
Who do you admire now?
Ali Smith, the writer.
What did you learn in the recovery from the car crash?
When you’ve had a bad thing happen, one of the things people want you to say is ‘the accident made me think about my life in a completely different way.’ It didn’t at all. It just reinforced the things I’d always thought were important, which is your friends and your family, and wanting to get on with every minute to try to make things as better as you can.
What did you want to change about the world in 1991?
The criminal justice system. I wrote to people in prison when I was at school and one of the people I wrote to killed themselves. I went to their funeral – it was one of the most surreal things I’ve ever done.
What do you want to change about the world now?
A fairer and better society because of more imaginative uses of the internet.
Define Generation X:
Lucky.
Ben Elliot
Ben went to Eton and Bristol University but his greatest influence was his uncle Mark Shand (brother of Camilla Parker Bowles), an environmentalist and traveller who inspired him to do good and be brave. He is CEO of the luxury concierge company Quintessentially, and has also produced films, run political campaigns and lobbied for social change. He puts most of his energy into the Quintessentially Foundation, a philanthropic venture. He is married with two young sons.
What did you want to change the most about the world in 1991?
Social injustice.
And now?
Social injustice.
How do you define us as a generation?
We’re quite serious. Responsible. Even though we might enjoy partying, we wanted to do stuff. I think that we will be a thoughtful, caring, educated generation.
What are your favourite brands?
Adidas. Have loved them since I was a child and they seem to have grown as I’ve grown. The BBC. It educates me and indulges me in my great passion, cricket. And Badger Beer – it’s the brewery from where I’m from.
What three objects are you never without?
The watch that was my grandfather’s and the necklace that was my uncle’s. And my iPhone.
What was fun for you in 1991?
I was 16, listening to late Chicago house, getting pissed with my mates.
Now?
My children would have to be involved. Family and friends, by the seaside or on a cricket pitch.
Who did you admire back in 1991?
Nelson Mandela. Ronald Reagan for being a marvellous leader.
Now?
The Prince of Wales, because he espouses so many things our generation cares about and talked about them way before anybody else did. What he says now is no different from what he was saying 30 years ago, but now people listen.
Are you still cool?
I’m married to a woman 13 years younger than I am and she occasionally hints I’ve still got it. I think I’ve still got some moves.
Thomasina Miers
Thomasina says she ‘screwed up’ her education and spent years drifting between modelling, running a market stall, financial PR and accountancy. She eventually met the chef Clarissa Dickson Wright, who told her that if she loved food then that is what she should do, and sent her off to Ireland on a cooking course. In 2005 she won Masterchef, shortly after she opened her first Mexican restaurant, Wahaca.
What music were you listening to in 1991?
Snoop Dogg, MC Solaar, hip hop, acid jazz – anything at Brixton Academy or Subterranea.
What music are you listening to now?
Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, Vangelis – my parents’ classics. My Spotify list also has Sufjan Stevens and Nick Mulvey.
What were you wearing in 1991?
Vintage. My grandmother was a model and I inherited all her wardrobe. I got really cross when vintage became cool as all the prices went up.
What do you like wearing now?
Matches is my weakness.
What was fun for you then?
I danced all the time, and cooked. I had a tiny flat – my flatmate was the head chef at the River Cafe – so we filled it with friends who sat around on boxes eating. And yoga; I did a lot of yoga.
And now?
I don’t dance as much as I’d like to – I’ll change that.
What is your favourite brand?
The Soil Association, because it really matters.
Who do you admire?
Alexander McQueen because he was an outsider, a rebel. And Amy Winehouse. Both of them were individuals who refused to be beaten down into the mass. The ones that won’t fit in – they are the true heroes.
Your favourite objects?
My grandmother’s Nina Ricci Fifties bikini. I have worn it so much the elastic is completely knackered. She’s also got an amazing bowler hat I put flowers on. My pestle and mortar.
Who do you admire?
Women who did stuff and brought change – Prue Leith, she set up prison and school food revolutions. Rosie Boycott, a woman who goes out there and shouts for the things that matter. Deborah Curtis – her charity is entirely about creative learning for children.
Are you still cool?
When I go out with a six-month bump I still wear hot pants and mini-skirts. If I go out shopping for maternity clothes I invariably come out with sparkly pants, I can’t help it.
Define Generation X:
Defiant, reckless and somewhat blind.
Kris Thykier
Kris started out in the film industry running for his hero, the director Jeremy Thomas. He was diverted during the Nineties by Matthew Freud when he worked for his PR business, representing everyone from Bono to Geri Halliwell. He eventually left and set up a film production company where he has produced such hits as Kick-Ass and Harry Brown. He is married to the TV presenter Claudia Winkleman, has three kids and is currently working on a TV series with Neil Jordan.
Three favourite brands?
Apple, for the relationship they have with their customers – I wouldn’t know how to use a PC now. Disney, because it has bought all the great movie brands: Pixar, Star Wars, Marvel.
What was fun for you in 1991?
I like lunching. I’ve lunched professionally my whole career and I missed by a week the point where it was okay to drink at lunch. We may have partied hard as a generation – but I don’t remember people drinking at lunchtime.
And fun now?
I’ve just discovered dancing. I was filming in Azerbaijan where it’s customary to have big dinners and dance. As I was the film producer I would have to get up and start the dancing, otherwise it would be rude. It takes a lot to get me dancing – I have spent my entire life avoiding it. At 43 years old I’ve just discovered I enjoy dancing.
What did you wear in 1991?
I’ve always liked wearing suits. You can get dressed in three seconds. Easy.
Are you still cool?
It was my cool that stopped me from dancing. I suppose my cool is I really like people. I still get excited by meeting new people and hearing what they have to say. That’s the bit I would hate to lose: a sense of wonder about the new.
Define Generation X:
Emotionally engaged and worryingly directionless.
Emma Gannon
Emma is my token Millennial: she aced her career by being the person at Unilever who built the Dove Facebook following up to 12 million. It was her first job out of uni, she was 21. She has been pretty much able to pick and choose since then, but reserves her passion for her blog girllostinthecity. She recently wrote a memoir, Ctrl Alt Delete, about a girl growing up online. She is always online, and says things like ‘Work is life and life is work.’
Three favourite brands?
What did you do for fun in 1991?
Poo in my nappy, probably.
What do you do for fun now?
Go on a city break.
What did you wear in 1991?
I seem to remember some brown cord dungarees.
What do you wear now?
Brown cord dungarees. Vintage.
What music did you listen to then?
Nursery rhymes.
What music do you listen to now?
Eighties – Toto, Fleetwood Mac, Phil Collins.
Who did you admire in 1991?
My little sister who had just been born.
And now?
Oprah. She’s got money, she’s spiritually happy, she’s got a good squad around her and she has a family.
What did you want to change about the world in 1991?
More chocolate-flavoured baby food.
And now?
People to be more in control of their lives, and that goes across the board, from women facing oppression in third world countries to feeling good about yourself on a stressful day.