Paul Robert Morley was born in Farnham, Surrey, in 1957 and moved with his family to Reddish, Stockport prior to starting school. He attended Stockport Grammar School, Stockport College of Technology and later, for the BBC 2 programme How to be a Composer, the Royal Academy of Music.

He began his writing career in the late 1970s on music fanzines, including the Manchester fanzines City Fun, Penetration, Out There and Girl Trouble. He joined the New Musical Express (NME) as a writer in 1977, working there until 1983. With his NME colleagues, Morley established an innovative style of music criticism that drew on critical theory and other non-musical writing styles. From 1984 to 1987, he wrote for BLITZ magazine, including a monthly television column. He also worked as a TV critic for New Statesman from 1987 to 1989. He has contributed work to Esquire Magazine, The Guardian and GQ Magazine.

Morley has been a band manager, including a period managing Manchester punk band The Drones, music promoter and television presenter.

In 1983, he co-founded the record label Zang Tuum Tum (ZTT) Records, with Trevor Horn and Jill Sinclair. Morley was responsible for the marketing and promotion of ZTT’s biggest act, Frankie Goes to Hollywood.

During the 1980s, he was a member of the synthpop group Art of Noise. In 2005, he released an album as part of the band Infantjoy with James Banbury of the Auteurs.

From 1985 to around 1996, Morley was married to the German singer Claudia Brücken, with whom he has two children.

Between 1990 and 1992, he worked with Island Records as a consultant.

Morley was the first presenter of BBC Two's The Late Show, from 1989 to 1991, and has appeared as a panellist on a number of other programmes, including Without Walls for Channel 4 and Newsnight Review and the Review Show for the BBC. Between 1989 and 1992, he was writer and presenter of Channel 4’s The Thing Is... He has directed arts documentaries for the BBC, including an episode of Omnibus on Reeves and Mortimer, and for ITV and Channel 4.

Morley is the author of ten books, mostly focused on music, including collections of his music journalism.