Africa based BBC correspondent and international news reporter Richard Hamilton has published Tangier: From the Romans to the Rolling Stones. This book is one of the first guides to Tangier’s extraordinary cultural history. The former Africa Editor for BBC World Service radio lived in Morocco from 2006 to 2007. During this timeframe, he co-authored the Time Out Guide to Marrakech.
Tangier: From the Romans to the Rolling Stones is Hamilton’s second published book and an intimate portrait of the city through the eyes of writers, artists, and musicians who lived in Tangier during the prior several decades. Over the course of 320 pages, Hamilton delves into the multifaceted historical layers of Tangier and paints an image of the North African port city’s hotels, cafes, alleys, and darkest secrets.
Hamilton researched contrasts between present-day Tangier and the city when it was referred to the International Free Zone from the 1920s-1960s. A prior article he wrote called How Morocco Became A Haven For Gay Westerners in the 1950s was published by BBC news in October 2014. In this piece, he reported how in the autumn of 2014, a British man was jailed for homosexual acts. The author compares the event to a time when William Burroughs and fellow Beat writers Allen Ginsberg, Paul Bowles, and Jack Kerouac partied with drugs and broke all cultural taboos. In those days, the differences in wealth between foreigners and Moroccans created a thriving market in prostitution. Intellectuals stimulated each other’s minds and rebellious souls.
Moroccan novelist Mohamed Choukri wrote, “In Tangier, everything is surreal and everything is possible.”
Tangier’s liberal lifestyle inspired many writers to create some of the 20th Century’s greatest novels. Using his storytelling and reporting skills, Hamilton penned this book around the stories of legendary writers like Paul Bowles and William Burroughs, authors of the bestsellers The Sheltering Sky and Naked Lunch. Other artists and writers who were inspired by “the crucible of creativity” are also included in the book. Hamilton sites Henri Matisse’s artistic journey and the experiences of Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones. His writing skillfully weaves the Tangier local expression “you cry when you leave Tangier and you cry when you arrive.”
About: Hamilton has worked for BBC since 1995. He holds a BA degree in Philosophy and Greek studies from Bristol University, a law qualification from the College of Law, a postgraduate diploma in radio journalism from London College of Printing and an MA in African Studies from the School of Oriental and African Studies. Hamilton’s first book was The Last Storytellers: Tales from the Heart of Morocco was published by IB Tauris in 2011. It received high accolades and reviews respectively from The Observer, The Times Literary Supplement, The New York Journal of Books, The National and Lonely Planet Guide Books. The book was also recommended by Moroccan King Mohammed VI.