Dr Tom Astley

Research Fellow

School: Communities and Education

I am a teacher and research with an interest in ethnographic research methods; popular music genres and audiences in Latin America and the Caribbean; technologies of musical dissemination; lived experiences of the cost of living crisis.

My doctoral thesis conducted ethnographic research with punk musicians in Cuba, discussing aspects of national identity and political opposition. I also published a book, 'Outside the Revolution; Everything' on hip hop, folk music, punk and political opposition in Cuba.

I have previously worked at Newcastle University in the Combined Honours Centre and Music Department. I have also worked as a secondary school teacher and as a community engagement worker for Sunderland City Council.

I am currently working as a research associate on the See Me North project, working with Experts by Experience to develop more inclusive trauma-informed approaches to homelessness services.

I also make music in several bands, playing gigs across the UK and Europe. I am a fan of Newcastle United Football Club.

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Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
As [Side A]bove, So [Side B]elow: Future Palimpsests, Cassette Aesthetics and Improvisation for Tambourine and Vibrator, Astley, T. 1 Feb 2026, In: Riffs
'Do You Know What I Mean?’: Rhizomatic Biographies and Unbelievable Stories in Trauma Narratives, Astley, T., Lhussier, M., Bilby, C., Cooper, C., Kirton, A., Riley, F. 4 Jun 2026, In: International Review of Qualitative Research
The health and wellbeing impacts of creative activity for people who have experienced homelessness: a rapid scoping review, Riley, F., Cooper, C., Lhussier, M., Bilby, C., Astley, T. 16 Oct 2026, In: Perspectives in Public Health
Ghosts in the Coalfields: The spectral geographies of post-industrial spaces in Sunderland, Astley, T. 1 Jul 2025, In: Cultural Geographies
Ours is a Strange Pornography’: Reflections on Performing Punk in Academia, Astley, T. 1 Mar 2017, In: Punk and Post-Punk
Three Moments of (Mis)Placed Identity Performance, Astley, T. 1 May 2017, In: Popular Music
Laughter is a Harlequin: Laughter and Identity in a Close Reading of Cuban Punk, Astley, T. 1 Mar 2016, In: Punk and Post-Punk
Mapping Synecdoche: The Place of Place in Cuban Popular Music, Astley, T. 1 Jun 2016, In: Latin American Music Review
The People’s Mixtape’: Peer-to-Peer File Sharing Without the Internet in Contemporary Cuba, Astley, T. 27 Sep 2016, Networked Music Cultures: Contemporary Approaches, Emerging Issues , London, Palgrave Macmillan
Making Sense of Punk in Cuba/ Making Sense of Cuba Through Punk, Astley, T. 1 Oct 2014, In: Punk and Post-Punk