Tony Cummings

Tony Cummings is the founding editor of the magazine Cross Rhythms.

His journalistic career started in 1963 when he started a black music fanzine originally called Soul, then Soul Music Monthly and finally Shout. By 1971 he was writing occasionally for Record Mirror and then in 1973 joined Black Music magazine as Staff Writer, eventually becoming Editor. Over the next few years he interviewed such artists as Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, Michael Jackson and hundreds more. He stopped writing for the magazine in 1976 and converted to Christianity in 1980. Within a year he was married and began to write for the Christian magazine Buzz who soon offered him the position of assistant editorship, where he interviewed people such as Rev Ian Paisley and Cliff Richard.

During his years with Cross Rhythms, Cummings has interviewed multiple artists. He also mentored both Daniel Bedingfield and Natasha Bedingfield during their formative musical careers. He has produced albums for Word Records as well as a number of charity records. Among these, was the Agents of Grace compilation, in aid of the suffering in Sudan. He has given seminars at various Christian festivals such as Spring Harvest and Greenbelt festival.

After Buzz magazine quit in 1986, Cummings began working with Cross Rhythms magazine in 1990. In 1991, publication of the magazine was taken over by Cornerstone House, owned by Chris Cole who was also CEO of the radio ministry that later also became named Cross Rhythms. By 1995 the publication had a readership of about 15,000. In December 1993, the magazine began giving away a regular free cassette on the cover, featuring tracks from the latest Christian artists. The format changed to a free CD, in February 1999. Around 2000 an online version of the magazine started and by 2005 it became online only, after the paper version started to run up debts. The website, of which the music news, articles and interviews play a huge part, is currently the UK's most visited Christian website.

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