"No other youth culture or subculture centred on fashion or music, or both, has ever had as many fanzines dedicated to it as the mod revival." So wrote Eddie Piller at the start of his 2918 book Mod Zines (with Steve Rowland) and he should know: as editor and publisher of Extraordinary Sensations, Piller saw his 'zine sell a phenomenal 15,000 copies at its peak in the mid-80s, as many as legendary punk zine Sniffin' Glue had managed a decade earlier.Over the course of an hour-long conversation with The Fanzine Podcast's host, Tony Fletcher, former editor/publisher of Jamming!, Ed talks about some of those zines, about the success of his own zine once he brought in Terry Rawlings as partner, about the lasting allure of mod culture for him and thousands of others all over the planet, and especially, about his new memoir Clean Living Under Difficult Circumstances: A Life In Mod from the Revival to Acid Jazz. Published in 2023 by Monoray Books, Clean Living follows Ed's adventures through his East End upbringing to his West End clubbing, through trips to Australia and journeys round Europe, covers the violence of the era in gory details, ands with him founding the legendary Acid Jazz label, which is still going strong today.Additionally, as well as being a DJ, a podcast host himself over the years and an inveterate party promoter, Piller is the founder of Totally Wired Radio which since 2019 has broadcast DJs "who specialise in Jazz, Soul, Hip Hop, Ska & 2Tone, Country, Soundtracks and Library Music, Reggae, Film, Folk, Funk, EDM, World Music, Afrobeat, Latin, Gospel, Rare R&B, Poetry, Punk, Psyche and Garage, Disco along with Podcast Interviews." Oh, and he also co-wrote the book Punkzines, also published by Omnibus Press.Modzines referenced in this issue include Maximum Speed, Get Up And Go, Shake, Direction Reaction Creation, South Circular, XL5, Go Go, Shadows and Reflections and more.The Best Of Jamming!: Selections & Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up, 1977-86 can be found here and signed copies are available in the USA direct from https://tonyfletcherauthor.bandcamp.com/merch/ SIgn up for Tony Fletcher’s weekly newsletter, long weekend read, and for exclusive access to archived interviews, including those from his Keith Moon biography, at tonyfletcher.substack.com. Theme music by Noel Fletcher. Logo by Greg Morton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ten years after she ceased publishing her 2000s rock’n’roll fanzine Bubblegum Slut due to the lifestyle it induced (i.e. drug addiction), Alison B. found herself producing a new zine about her old zine, the lifestyle it induced and the year she spent in limbo before getting clean. That zine is entitled Confessions of an Ex-Zine Editor and it is astonishingly original and entertaining. Partly a “trainwreck memoir” in zine format, it has the benefit of additionally being side-splittingly funny, what with its reviews of old clubs that are now train stations and of snail mail that no longer brings free CDs. With Confessions now up to Issue 3, Alison is also the first ongoing fanzine editor to be featured on this podcast.Alison is joined by Jane Appleby, who produced multiple different zines in the 1990s and early 2000s, including Jezebel, Bambi, This Is Our Truth, Pretty But Schizo, Pussy Rock, Jezebel, and Trophy F*ck. In conversation with Tony, Jane and Alison talk about their zines and the scenes from which they sprang, about sex and sexual stereotypes, about publishing and printing, about how the Manic Street Preachers inspired more zines than any other band of the era, about recovery Bingo and receiving explicit fetishist letters in the mail.Bands mentioned in this episode include Hanoi Rocks, Guns ‘n’ Roses, the Manic Street Preachers, the Glitter Band, Sheila E, Shampoo, and We’ve Got A Fuzzbox and We're Gonna Use it.Franchises mentioned in this issue include Taco Bell and Trust House Forte.Plus, Tony learns a new word: Edgelord.Alison’s current Confessions of an Ex-Zine Editor and Bubblegum Slut can be found at https://www.instagram.com/bubblegumzinearchive/And copies can be ordered via:https://linktr.ee/bubblegumzinearchiveJane Appleby’s fanzine archives can be found at: http://pussyrockfanzine.blogspot.com/She is active on http://tumblr.com/jaynedolluk The Best Of Jamming! can be found here and signed copies are available in the USA direct from https://tonyfletcherauthor.bandcamp.com/merch/ For Tony Fletcher’s weekly newsletter, long weekend read, and for exclusive access to archived interviews, just visit tonyfletcher.substack.com. Theme music by Noel Fletcher. Logo by Greg Morton.      Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

(Sign up at tonyfletcher.substack.com to receive this podcast interview in unedited form.)James Brown and Mark Hodkinson both hail from the Pennine District in Northern England. Both ran fanzines in the 1980s (Attack on Bzag and Untermensch). Both stayed in publishing. Both now have successful memoirs out about their lives in the world of words.Beyond that, their paths have been different. James left Leeds for London, and after 10 successful issues of his fanzine, joined the NME. He then founded Loaded, which was selling 350,000 copies by the time he went to edit GQ after 36 issues. He's written about this - plus his addictions to alcohol and drugs and his subsequent recovery - in his memoir Animal House. Mark stayed in Rochdale, and started a small imprint called Pomona, which published books by people such as Bill Nelson, Barry Hines and Bob Stanley; in his memoir No One Round Here Reads Tolstoy, he explains how a boy who grew up in a house with one book ended up with 3500. Both memoirs are now out in paperback.In this conversation with host Tony Fletcher, the three of them discuss:Leaving home vs. staying putWhy Untermensch was a revolt against RochdaleThe joys of selling fanzines at gigs - or not.1980s fanzine culture with references to The End, Cool Notes, Idiot Stregth, Furious Apache, Raygun, New Youth, KvatchHow James could even sell a fanzine to a working policemanThe night that James, along with former podcast guest Richard Edwards, raided Tony's Filofax for famous people's numbersHow Loaded was James' ultimate fanzineWhy Pomona was a critical success but rarely a commercial oneHow Attack on Bzag got it wrong about The SmithsJames Brown is on Instagram and Facebook.Mark Hodkinson is on Facebook. The Pomona Books catalogue here Also discussed in this episode:'The Politics of Fanzines' episode with Richard Edwards can be found here'One Step Beyond Ep. 27' with Mike Peters of Love, Hope, Strength is here:'Tacky Tiger,' Sparks zine on a Gestertner, is here.The Dear Boys single 'Blink Of An I' can be viewed, streamed, or purchased on Bandcamp from https://linktr.ee/thedearboys.The Best Of Jamming! can be found hereFor weekly articles by Tony Fletcher, news of upcoming writings, books, events, podcasts, and for exclusive access to archived interviews, sign up for his newsletter at tonyfletcher.substack.com.Theme music by Noel Fletcher. Logo by Greg Morton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the mid-1980s, before she became known for fronting the band Lush, Miki Berenyi put out five issues of Alphabet Soup fanzine (“It may be crap but it’s only 5p”) alongside her then-bestie and future band-mate, Emma Anderson. Meantime, before she started Sarah Records, Clare Wadd put out multiple issues of Kvatch fanzine. This podcast, hosted by former Jamming! editor Tony Fletcher, marks the first time ANY of the three have ever had a conversation with each other. Over the course of an hour-plus chat the three of them discuss:Why Miki had a photo of Tony on hand should he randomly e-mail her introducing himself.Clare’s upbringing in Harrogate, Yorkshire, and starting a fanzine as a way in to the “independent” music world.Miki’s school years in Central London, following Culture Club and Haircut 100, and starting a fanzine as a way to combat shyness.The lack of girls producing fanzines in the early-mid-1980s.Miki’s “nuts” upbringing, how it created a “seize the day” element in her, and how that resulted in her and Emma doing Alphabet Soup.Being sexually harassed as a teenage girl selling fanzines.Alphabet Soup being “silly & smutty” vs Kvatch being “worthy.”The lack of competitiveness among fanzines. The network the editors created instead.Interviewing 1980s indie icons like Half Man Half Biscuit, The Housemartins, Xmal Deutschland, and asking The Wedding Present about apartheid because it feels like the right thing to do.Neglecting to press record on an interview and making it up instead.Sarah Records’ dedicated fanzine “releases” and how Clare’s contributions were more like the modern “perzine.”The sexism Clare encountered running SarahThe gender expectations/tokenism/sexism Miki encountered in a band and that Clare encountered running Sarah… and whether that has changed.Defending The Alarm.Other important ‘zines of the era: Attack On Bzag, Moving, Rouska, Jamming!, Viz Comics, Vague, Scared To Get Happy,             Alphabet Soup’s fake Diary of a Fanzine Writer (the Bride Assistants). Miki Berenyi is @berenyi_miki on Twitter and IG, and is also at https://linktr.ee/mikiberenyi Her memoir is Fingers Crossed: How Music Saved Me From Success.Various Alphabet Soup bits are at https://standupandspit.wordpress.com/2014/07/12/alphabet-soup/Clare Wadd is @Sarah_Records on Twitter and sarahrecords.org.uk. The Sarah Records special zine releases are at http://sarahrecords.org.uk/texts/fanzines/Kvatch 5 is at https://stillunusual.tumblr.com/post/43093052386/kvatch-fanzineSupport this show via the One Step Beyond supporter page:https://supporter.acast.com/onestepbeyondTony Fletcher is https://tonyfletcher.net/and https://linktr.ee/TonyFletcher    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mike Diboll founded, produced and published the leading anarcho-punk fanzine TOXIC GRAFITY, producing six issues between 1978-82 "with various spin-offs." Never your typical band-interview-record-review zine, Toxic Grafity set about "to capture and express the ethos, attitude, aesthetics and politics of anarcho-punk using found images, collages, logos, slogans, ‘rant’, prose, prose-poetry, free verse, and essays." Issue 5 carried with it a flexidisc by Crass, featuring the especially recorded song 'Tribal Ribal Revels' which made that issue one of the best-selling zines of the entire period.After growing disenchantment with the direction of anarcho-punk, Mike withdrew from his close association with Crass and the other residents of Dial House. Following a period of addiction, near homelessness, and a surprise temporary conversion to religion (Islam), he finally embarked on Higher Education, taking a double first in Modern Languages (majoring in Arabic) and Comparative Literature, and graduating with a PhD in the comparative literatures of the British occupation of Egypt 1882-1956.This specialisation found him working and teaching in Higher Education in Bahrain in 2011, when the "Arab Spring" reached the small island nation, leading to a peaceful, carnivalesque uprising and then a brutal and bloody counter-revolution by State forces. Mike witnessed this deadly repression in person, and on this episode discusses the reality of a Bloody Revolution versus the ones we may all have fantasized about and idealised in our fanzine days. The horror also revived the memory of a life-changing incident riding a motorbike to school with friends at the age of 16. Please be warned: this episode contains graphic descriptions of death.In recent years, despite an ongoing battle against PTSD and Major Depressive Disorder, Mike has revamped Toxic Grafity online, both as a depository for his zine writings and as a public space for new ones. He contributed a chapter on 'Mental Liberation' to the 2018 book Ripped, Torn and Cut: Pop, Politics and Punk Fanzines From 1976, published by Manchester University Press.Toxic Grafity can be found athttps://toxicgrafity134567235.wordpress.com/Mike Diboll can be found directly at https://www.facebook.com/mikedibollThe Best of Jamming!: Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up 1977-86 is published by Omnibus PressOmnibusPress.com Tony Fletcher can be found at https://tonyfletcher.net/Tony's latest music, writing and social media can be accessed from https://linktr.ee/TonyFletcherHis One Step Beyond podcast is at https://shows.acast.com/onestepbeyond'The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast Theme' is by Noel Fletcher. Logo by Greg Morton Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tony D. – Tony Drayton to his parents - was founder, publisher and editor of the archetypal, seminal, influential punk fanzine, Ripped & Torn, which ran from 1976-79. Tony F. – who prefers to go by his full name, Tony Fletcher – was founder, publisher and editor of Jamming, which ran from 1977-86. Remarkably, and despite both being so prominent in the London fanzine scene, the pair had never spoken before setting up this podcast interview. That will explain why this episode runs over an hour long, because there was so much to talk about. Included in the conversation, from Tony D.’s perspective:·      Taking the Central Line out to Essex to interview Crass·      Playing “Mods and Rockers” in the primary school playground·      How Tony D. was perceived as Glaswegian but has an English accent·      Growing up in a tiny fishing village·      The mid-70s Scottish music scene·      Tony D’s seminal trip to London to witness the punk scene·      Mark P. of Sniffin’ Glue convincing him to start his own zine·      Ripped & Torn graphics·      Contributors Sandy Robertson and Slip Kid·      The importance of Compendium Books and the Rough Trade record shop·      “Can Rich Stars Rock?”·      A night at the Roxy, circa height of punk rock·      The Ripped & Torn v. Jamming! feud·      Why Adam & The Ants were once the greatest thing ever, and whether we were fooled again by Adam’s ultimate sell-out·      The Public Image cover: “John Lydon… you pathetic little puppet”·      The perils of printing and distribution·      And why Tony D. stopped publishing Tony went on to start Kill Your Pet Puppy and will be back on the Podcast in the future to talk about that zine and running away with the circus. In the meantime, the book Ripped & Torn 1976-79: The Loudest Punk Fanzine in the UK is available through Omnibus Press at https://omnibuspress.com/products/ripped-tornAnd you can find Tony D. on FB if you look for him under his real name.The Best of Jamming!: Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up 1977-86 is published by Omnibus PressOmnibusPress.com Tony Fletcher can be found at https://tonyfletcher.net/Tony's latest music, writing and social media can be accessed from https://linktr.ee/TonyFletcherOne Step Beyond podcast is at https://shows.acast.com/onestepbeyond'The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast Theme' is by Noel Fletcher. Logo by Greg Morton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in 1980, Alan Rider started a fanzine in Coventry called Adventures in Reality. Over in Southend-on-Sea, Graham Burnett started his own fanzine called New Crimes. Forty years later, independently, without knowing each other, Alan and Graham both felt compelled to document their home city's thriving scene zine - Alan, with Tales from the Ghost Town: The Coventry Punk Fanzine Revolution 1979-1985 - and Graham, with Southend-on-Zine: FIfty Years of Voices and Stories from Southend's Underground and Alternative Press. Tony Fletcher, who started his Jamming! fanzine back in 1977, brought them together for the first time on this Zoom call to talk about their adventures in self-publishing, the thriving scenes they were part of. the ups and downs of running a 'zine back in the supposed heyday, why they took on the giant task of putting these compendiums together, and how the lessons they learned back then have remained applicable to this day. Artists referenced include The Specials, Crass, Dr. Feelgood, Attrition, Speedball, God's Toys, Eyeless In Gaza, Stress, the Sinyx and many more. Fanzines referenced include Hard As Nails, Alternative Sounds, Cobalt Hate, Anti-Social, Sniffin' Glue, Kill Your Pet Puppy, Toxic Graffiti and more.Tales from the Ghost Town and Alan's compendium of his own zine Adventures In Reality: The Complete Collection are both available from https://adventuresinreality.bigcartel.com/Southend-on-Zine is available from https://spiralseed.co.uk/product/southend-on-zine/, as is the Vegan Book of Permaculture and more. A short video about Southend-on-Zine is on YouTube here.Tony Fletcher can be found at https://tonyfletcher.net/Tony's latest music, writing and social media can be accessed from https://linktr.ee/TonyFletcherOne Step Beyond podcast is at https://shows.acast.com/onestepbeyondThe Best of Jamming!: Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up 1977-86 is published by Omnibus PressOmnibusPress.com 'The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast Theme' is by Noel Fletcher. Logo by Greg Morton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

THE JAMMING! FANZINE PODCAST is back after a year in exile, now as a Podcast for and about all Fanzines, though still hosted by former Jamming! editor/publisher Tony Fletcher. For this first episode of a new series/season, Tony interviews the authors of the excellent new hardbook book, WE PEAKED AT PAPER: AN ORAL HISTORY OF BRITISH ZINES, namely Gavin Hogg and Hamish Ironside. Before, after and when they could, even during the pandemic, they traveled the length and breadth of the British Isles to track down editors of fanzines dating back to the science fiction era that launched the culture, through the punk, post-punk, new wave, indie and Brit-pop eras of the music fanzines, stopping off to discuss a couple of football fanzines along the way, and ending up in the thriving 2020s world of perzines, compzines, and idiosyncratic little one-off publications in a variety of sizes and some with print runs in the single digits.It's a fascinating, lovingly compiled, and highly professional book - and the interview covers a similarly wide range of subject matter. Tony, Gavin and Hamish date the first ever British 'fanzine' back to 1936 (Novae Terrae), they debate what defines a fanzine, the commonalities among the various editors they interviewed, the shift from the music press culture (including those of fanzines) as a 'men's club' to the current 'zine fairs predominantly frequented by female editors, the financial struggles experienced by most zine editors, those moments of recognition that make it all worthwhile. And David Icke.Among the editors and zines referenced in this podcast that were also featured in WE PEAKED AT PAPER:Rob Hansen (Epsillon)Mark Perry (Sniffin' Glue)Mick Middles (Ghast Up)Mark Hodkinson (Untermensch)Pete Paphides (Perturbed)Karen Ablaze (Ablaze!)Siaân Pattendon (How to Win Friends and Influence People)Saskia Holling (Heavy FLow)Saleena Laverne Daye (Without You, I'm Nothing)Elias Nebula (The Hegelian)and of courseHamish Ironside (Soudade) andGavin Hogg (Bag of Tricks and Candy Sticks)WE PEAKED AT PAPER can be purchased from Boatwhistle books at https://www.boatwhistle.com/we-peaked-at-paper.Gavin Hogg's podcast, The Giddy Carousel of Pop, is at https://giddypoppod.home.blog/Tony Fletcher can be found at https://tonyfletcher.net/Tony's latest music, writing and social media can be accessed from https://linktr.ee/TonyFletcherOne Step Beyond podcast is at https://shows.acast.com/onestepbeyondThe Best of Jamming!: Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up 1977-86 is published by Omnibus PressOmnibusPress.com 'The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast Theme' is by Noel Fletcher. Logo by Greg Morton. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We close out the first Series/Season of the Jamming! Fanzine Podcast with an interview conducted by James Endeacott, for Soho Radio's Morning Glory show, with Jamming! founder Tony Fletcher. The conversation traces the full story of the fanzine that grew up, from schoolboy beginnings to corporate break up. Between them, they discuss The Clash, The Jam, the DIY Records Scene, fanzines, regionalism, Crass, reggae, Smiley Culture, the Rezillos, the Undertones, Billy Bragg, the Dead Kennedys, R.E.M., Robert Wyatt, The Smiths, The Fall, politics, poetry, synth pop, and much much more. James is a former member of Loop, a former A&R Director with Rough Trade, and author of his own memoir The Tall Short Stories of James Endeacott, published by Rough Trade Books.Tony Fletcher will be appearing at the following cities to discuss THE BEST OF JAMMING! SELECTIONS & STORIES FROM THE FANZINE THAT GREW UP 1977-1986.Weds Feb 23rd, LONDON, CAMDEN TOWN ROCK n' 'ROLL BOOK CLUB, in conversation with Tony GleedThurs Feb 24th, BRIGHTON, RIALTO THEATRE, in conversation with Guy PrattFri FEB 25th, HASTINGS ELECTRIC PALACE CINEMA, in conversation with DJ Wendy May following a screening of the movie ROUGH CUT & READY DUBBED.Tues Mar 29th, NEW YORK CITY, BOWERY ELECTRIC, in conversation with John Schaefer.For more information on all of these events, including times and ticket prices, visit https://www.facebook.com/theTonyFletcher/eventsJames Endeacott can be found at https://twitter.com/jamesendeacottTony Fletcher can be found at https://tonyfletcher.net/The Best of Jamming!: Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up 1977-86 is published by Omnibus PressOmnibusPress.com 'The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast Theme' is by Noel Fletcher. Editing assistance and art by Greg Morton.https://shows.acast.com/the-jamming-fanzine-podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the middle of 1981, Jamming! expanded from fanzine to record label. Between that summer and the end of 1982, Jamming! Records released five singles, all of them independent chart hits: two from the band Rudi, three from Zeitgeist, and one by Apocalypse. For this episode of the Jamming! Fanzine Podcast, we have one member from each of those groups: Brian Young from Rudi, Peter “Jaffo” Jervis from Zeitgeist, and Tony Fletcher from Apocalypse (and yes, from Jamming! Records too). The conversation revolves primarily around Rudi and Zeitgeist, about how the groups dealt with being based in the far corners of the British Isles, about the attractions – or not - of moving to London, and about what their experience was like releasing records on an independent label run by a 17-18 year old kid, but financed by a major pop-rock star, that being Paul Weller. Rudi were the first group on Good Vibrations Records out of Belfast, and Brian talks about that label, fellow Northern Irish groups like The Outcasts, The Undertones and Stiff Little Fingers, and of touring with The Jam and appearing on the TV show Something Else.Zeitgeist hailed from Cornwall, and came to Jamming! after a couple of singles on Human Records. Jaffo talks about their cover version of The Temptations' Motown classic 'Ball of Confusion', of working with Dale 'Buffin' Griffin and Overend Watts from Mott the Hoople, and how their last single, 'Over Again', ended up being a collector's item. Apocalypse were from London, and released the single 'Teddy' in two versions, one producer by Paul Weller, the other by Griffin and Watts. You will hear snippets from all five Jamming! releases across the course of this show.Brian Young is at https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100023024891685. His group The Sabrejets are at https://www.facebook.com/thesabrejetsPeter Jervis can be found at https://www.instagram.com/therealjaffo/ and his radio show can be heard at www.mixcloud.com/bluesandgroovesTony Fletcher can be found at www.tonyfletcher.net and https://www.instagram.com/leaglealien/The Best of Jamming!: Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up 1977-86 is published by Omnibus PressOmnibusPress.com For details about the book events mentioned on this episode visithttps://www.facebook.com/theTonyFletcher/events'The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast Theme' is by Noel Fletcher. Editing assistance and art by Greg Morton.https://shows.acast.com/the-jamming-fanzine-podcast   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tony Fletcher reunites with Bruce Dessau, Ross Fortune and Paul Davies, each of whom wrote extensively for Jamming! during its commercial heyday, 1984-85, and each of whom went on to further careers in journalism. As much as this is a talk specific to Jamming! magazine, it is very much a conversation about the music and media culture of the time - about how easy it once was to access the artists, about a time when publicists were friends with journalists, a time when alcoholic lubrication was considered par for the course, and about the blurred line between the interviewer and interviewee that resulted, to the point that Bruce Dessau recalls filling in for The Jesus & Mary Chain onstage while ostensibly covering them for Jamming! Other tales from the trenches involve interviews with:Joe StrummerPauline BlackMick JonesTony ParsonsRobert SmithMike PetersRoddy Frame…Plus recollections about editorial meetings by payphone, editorial commissions by snail mail, editorial copy delivered via British Rail, and the time the postman folded a Lloyd Cole LP in half so it would fit through Ross’s letterbox. There is also the time that the Virgin Press Office brought The Pale Fountains to his hospital bed rather than pass up the opportunity of a feature in Jamming!The three also discuss their subsequent careers at Time Out, City Limits, and Q magazines, Bruce Dessau’s migration into the world of comedy journalism, and Ross Fortune’s migration to Texas, where he now runs a saloon and is hard at work on three separate books.Bruce Dessau is editor of www.beyondthejoke.co.uk Ross Fortune can be found running www.thephoenixsaloon.comhttps://www.facebook.com/thephoenixsaloonPaul Davies is at twitter.com/longtimelurkerUp Yours is at https://bit.ly/3K4GOwilMike Peters interview on One Step Beyond podcast is at:https://shows.acast.com/onestepbeyond/episodes/ep-27-love-hope-strength-with-mike-petersFor details about the book events mentioned on this episode visithttps://www.facebook.com/theTonyFletcher/eventsThe Best of Jamming!: Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up 1977-86 is published by Omnibus PressTonyFletcher.netOmnibusPress.com 'The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast Theme' is by Noel Fletcher. Editing assistance and art by Greg Morton.https://shows.acast.com/the-jamming-fanzine-podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tony Fletcher reunites with musician/composer Jim ‘JG’ Thirlwell, DJ Wendy May, and Dimple Records boss Brian O’Neill, all of whom he first met in the late 1970s when they bought copies of Jamming! off him while they were working behind the counter at the Virgin shops in Oxford Walk, Notting Hill Gate, and Marble Arch respectively. During that thriving post-punk period the entire Virgin chain served as a needed middle ground between the pioneering independents like Rough Trade, Probe and Revolver, and mainstream high street shops WH Smiths and Woolworths. Without the autonomy Virgin granted its record buyers, a lot of independent labels, emerging bands and street fanzines would not have enjoyed such a wide profile. In this conversation, the four discuss the role of the record shop during that period, the freedom the staff enjoyed at Virgin, and offer specific anecdotes and reminiscences about serving the likes of Elvis Costello, Boy George, Paul Simonon, David Coverdale and more. Additionally, Jim recalls how an encounter with a customer helped point him on a different creative musical path, Wendy talks of how she ultimately received the classic ultimatum - "it's your job or your band" - and Brian talks of how his love of selling records has inspired him to start a new independent label in his retirement years.JG Thirlwell is at Website http://www.foetus.org https://jgthirlwell.bandcamp.com/ https://www.instagram.com/jgthirlwell/ and https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100045377091477Wendy May can be found on Instagram and Facebook.Brian O'Neill's label Dimple Discs is at https://dimplediscs.bandcamp.com/ His Microdisney documentary project is https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/microdisney-filmFor details about the book events mentioned on this episode visithttps://www.facebook.com/theTonyFletcher/eventsThe Best of Jamming!: Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up 1977-86 is published by Omnibus PressTonyFletcher.netOmnibusPress.com 'The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast Theme' is by Noel Fletcher. Editing assistance and art by Greg Morton.https://shows.acast.com/the-jamming-fanzine-podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chris Heath is a writer for The Atlantic, GQ and Vanity Fair, and author of several books. Russell Young is a visual artist with a background in music photography, sleeve design and video directing. Both got their professional start with Jamming! in the early 1980s.Thirty-five years after its demise, Russell and Chris joined Jamming!’s former publisher/editor Tony Fletcher in New York City, where all three have lived at one time or another, for a long-overdue reunion. The trio sat down with the new book, The Best of Jamming!, and various back issues, to discuss their favorite articles and photo sessions, exchange anecdotes, and consider what they learned in the scrappy fanzine days of Jamming! that helped them hone their craft as professionals.Topics covered include:Photographing the Genius That Is MorrisseyChris on the infamous Frankie Goes To Hollywood incidentGeorge Best the BullfighterNatalie Merchant's all-in personalityBronski Beat's pioneering sexual personaThe camaraderie at Jamming!How shooting covers for Lloyd Cole & Cocteau Twins led Russell Young to George Michael & the Faith album coverChris on the 'normality' of visiting George Michael's house for teaInterviewing/photographing Virginia Astley, Inca Babies, Andy White, UB40, Everything But The Girl and more.Why Russell, Tony & Chris all moved to the USA.EVENTSTony Fletcher will be appearing to discuss The Best of Jamming!: Selections & Stories From the Fanzine that Grew Up 1977-86 at the following events: Saturday Dec 11th, 2pm, The Golden Notebook presents at Maria’s in Bearsville/Woodstock NYIn conversation with author and Chronogram Arts Editor, Peter Aaron. Tuesday January 18th, 6pm, Bowery Electric, Manhattan.In conversation with WNYC Soundcheck’s John Schaefer. Wednesday February 23rd, 7:30pm, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Book Club at the Dublin Castle, London.In conversation with RNR Book Club’s Tony Gleed. Friday February 25th, 7.30pm, the Electric Palace, Hastings.Featuring a screening of Rough Cut and Ready Dubbed and a conversation with Wendy May.For more on these events visithttps://tonyfletcher.net/book/the-best-of-jamming/https://www.facebook.com/theTonyFletcher/eventsThe Best of Jamming!: Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up 1977-86 is published by Omnibus PressTonyFletcher.netOmnibusPress.com  'The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast Theme' is by Noel Fletcher. Editing assistance and art by Greg Morton.https://shows.acast.com/the-jamming-fanzine-podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is a co-production with the Fifty Years of Fun podcast.In Jamming! 13, published in the spring of 1982, a 17-yr old Tony Fletcher wrote an editorial called ‘A Statement.’ Among those to read it was Alan McGee, new to London from Glasgow at the time, who was inspired to start a fanzine and a club night and a label all of his own. That label was Creation Records, home to The Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream and Oasis, to name but four. Along the way Alan would become a figurehead of the 1990s British music scene, and was recently the subject matter of a movie named for his autobiography, Creation Stories, produced by Danny Boyle, directed by Nick Moran, and co-written by Irvine Welsh.Tony Fletcher interviewed Alan McGee for The Best of Jamming!, and you will hear their conversation in this episode.Before that, courtesy of the podcast Fifty Years of Fun, which is producing an episode for each of the first 50 singles released on Creation, you will hear 'A Statement' read by Californian singer-songwriter Rose Melberg. Rose is a former member of the bands Tiger Trap, The Softies and Go Sailor and an established artist in her own right.And, following the interview with McGee, you will hear Matt Roberts and Scott Miller, from Fifty Years of Fun, interview Tony Fletcher about 'A Statement', its influence on McGee, and about the story of Jamming! and the culture of those times.Thanks to Fifty Years Of Fun for permission to use their material. You can find the full interview with Tony Fletcher on Episode 1 and all other episodes at https://anchor.fm/fiftyyearsoffun. Their Instagram feed is https://www.instagram.com/fiftyyearsoffun/Alan McGee is at https://www.instagram.com/alanmcgee93/The Best of Jamming!: Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up 1977-86 is published by Omnibus Press and available from Sep 23 '21 in the UK/EU; Dec 2 in the rest of the world.TonyFletcher.netOmnibusPress.com  'The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast Theme' is by Noel Fletcher. Editing assistance and art by Greg Morton.https://shows.acast.com/the-jamming-fanzine-podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tony Fletcher hosts a conversation with three fellow former fanzine editors and Jamming! contributors, Tim Kelly (Revolutionary Suicide/Fanzine of Noise), Janine Booth (Blaze) and Richard Edwards (Cool Notes). Janine and Richard were also active in the 'Ranting Poetry' scene of the 1980s, while Tim toured with D.I.R.T., and played in Flux of Pink Indians and was part of the One Little Indian label that emerged from that band.Their discussion about 1980s alternative culture, conducted across three continents, covers:politics and poetry,fanzines and football,soul music and sexism,animal rights and anarchy,rock, racism, reggae and Red Wedge. In other words, very much like the contents of a mid-80s issue of Jamming!Some specific highlights:Tim Kelly talks about touring Northern Ireland at the height of the 'Troubles' with Crass and D.I.R.T.,Janine talks about being one of the few female fanzine editors of the era, the dark side of which she recounts in the poem 'Lighting Rigged',Richard Edwards talks about confronting Steel Pulse's anti-gay sentiments in an interview for Jamming!, noting that diversity does not always come with equality.And, all four discuss how the values they acquired in the 1980s have stayed throughout their adulthood - and how, despite occasional major setbacks, we have witnessed considerable social progress in our time.Janine Booth is at:www.janinebooth.comwww.youtube.com/janineboothRichard Edwards contributes regularly to:https://www.soul-source.co.uk/Tim Kelly is at https://www.facebook.com/tim.kelly.7330Tony Fletcher's One Step Beyond podcast on Equal Playing Field:https://shows.acast.com/onestepbeyond/episodes/ep-28-equal-playing-field-first-halfhttps://shows.acast.com/onestepbeyond/episodes/ep-29-equal-playing-field-second-halfThe Best of Jamming!: Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up 1977-86 is published by Omnibus Press and available as of Sep 23 '21 in the UK/EU; Dec 2 in the rest of the world.TonyFletcher.netOmnibusPress.com  'The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast Theme' is by Noel Fletcher. Editing assistance and art by Greg Morton.https://shows.acast.com/the-jamming-fanzine-podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Between 1976-82, Joly MacFie printed some 40,000,000 badges (pins, in the USA) related to music culture. Along the way his company Better Badges grew from one-man garage operation to a sizeable small business that also printed and distributed dozens of fanzines. That connection started in spring of 1979 when Tony Fletcher stopped hoping for an ad for the 7th issue of Jamming. Joly, having just acquired a brand new table-top litho machine, offered to print Jamming at cost as 'guinea pig'. Joly and Tony's relationship flourished almost all the way to when Better Badges imploded, due to the usual cash flow problems brought on by a rapidly expanding business. Since the late 1980s, Joly and Tony have both lived in New York State, and in September 2021, they reconnected in the Catskill mountains. Tony brought Joly a copy of The Best of Jamming! book and the two sat down to relive the story of Better Badges. The edited conversation includes:the role of hippies like Joly in the punk movementthe free festival scene and influence of the Pink Faeries and HawkwindJoly's conversion to punk alongside Joe Strummerthe appeal of the button badge and Joly's slogan: Image as VirusWhy 2-Tone pushed Better Badges towards fanzinesHow Joly Division manager Rob Gretton convinced Better Badges to not pay royaltiesthe six issues of Jamming printed at BB's Portobello Road headquartersthe end of Jamming! and the demise of Better BadgesJoly’s exploits in the States as concert promoter with Golden Voice, TV producer with Snub TV, PunkCast video documentarian, and, again, pin printer.Joly MacFie can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/joly.macfieHis work can be found at http://punkcast.com/The Old Punk Rock Badges Fanatics Facebook group is https://www.facebook.com/groups/37808373885An article by Joly MacFie about Better Badges is at https://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/view/521/429 The Best of Jamming!: Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up 1977-86 is published by Omnibus Press and available from all good book shops in the UK/EU; Dec 2 in the rest of the world.More info and online purchasing options at:TonyFletcher.netOmnibusPress.com  'The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast Theme' is by Noel Fletcher. Copyright reserved.Editing assistance and logo by Greg Morton.The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast website can be found athttps://shows.acast.com/the-jamming-fanzine-podcastSocial media atInstagram.com/LeagleAlientwitter.com/TonyFletcher Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode, we spin back to 1979, for a lively and laughter-filled conversation with two famous bass players and a drummer: Mark ‘Bedders’ Bedford of Madness, Guy Pratt (then of Speedball) and Brett ‘Buddy’ Ascott (then of The Chords). Together they discuss:the fashion forces that inspired that year’s mod and skinhead revivals;why the former musical movement fizzled out but the latter one gave us the lasting music of 2-Tone Recordsthe influence of punk and the freedom it inspiredwhy the music you listened to in that era defined the clothes that you wore and why gig-going was so dangerousgetting into and playing in pub venues under agethe role of fanzines in that tribal eraMark Bedford becoming a pop star at 17 and the Madness biographical movie Take It Or Leave Itmemories of meeting what was then a 15-year old fanzine scribe and why it mattered to get coverage in Jamming! Guy Pratt's memoir 'My Bass And Other Animals' and Tony Fletcher's memoir 'Boy About Town'Mark Bedford's The Near Jazz Experience can be found at https://thenje.bandcamp.com/His social is https://twitter.com/I_be_MarkBGuy Pratt will be touring soon with Saucerful of Secrets https://www.thesaucerfulofsecrets.com/Guy Pratt co-hosts the Rockonteurs podcast with Gary Kemp which can be found at https://www.rockonteurs.com/His official Facebook page is https://www.facebook.com/guy.pratt.officialBuddy Ascott is currently on tour with The 1979ers and can be found at  https://www.facebook.com/brett.b.ascott. The Best of Jamming!: Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up 1977-86 is published by Omnibus Press and available now from all good book shops in the UK/EU, and Dec 2 in the rest of the world.More information and online purchasing options at:TonyFletcher.netOmnibusPress.com 'The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast Theme' is by Noel Fletcher. Copyright reserved.The logo is by Greg Morton, who also assisted with editing.The Best of Jamming! book cover was designed by Martin Stiff.The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast website can be found athttps://shows.acast.com/the-jamming-fanzine-podcastSocial media updates atInstagram.com/LeagleAlientwitter.com/TonyFletcher Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this debut episode of The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast, Tony Fletcher connects with three old friends who all played an important part in the Jamming! school days, and each of whom wrote an introductory piece for The Best of Jamming! book. They are Richard Heard, Jeni de Haart and John Matthews, and over the course of a lively group call, they discussthe onset of punk,the birth of Jamming and why John Matthews declined a rolefirst gigs at The Marquee on Wardour Streeta shared love of The JamJamming's eclectic tastes - including The Fall, Scritti Politti, Killing Joke and moreattending the Setting Sons recording sessionsApocalypseselling fanzines at gigsbeing taught 'Teenage Kicks' on guitar by The Undertonesthe violence surrounding the tribalism of the late 1970sthe influence of John Peelfave gig memoriesand why those years mattered so much and why they are all still friendsThe Best of Jamming!: Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up 1977-86 is published by Omnibus Press and available from all good book shops.on Sep 23 in the UK/EU, and Dec 2 in the rest of the world.More information and online purchasing options available at:TonyFletcher.netOmnibusPress.com 'The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast Theme' is by Noel Fletcher. Copyright reserved.The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast logo was designed by Greg Morton, who also assisted with editing.The Best of Jamming! book cover was designed by Martin Stiff.The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast website can be found athttps://shows.acast.com/the-jamming-fanzine-podcastInstagram.com/LeagleAlientwitter.com/TonyFletcherJohn Matthews maintains a regularly updated Spotify playlist entitled Latest ShitHis Instagram is @john_matthewsJeni de Haart can be found on social media as @jenifusion  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to the Jamming! Fanzine podcast hosted by Tony Fletcher. In late 1977, as a schoolkid in South London inspired by the DIY culture of punk, I started a music ‘zine. I had no long-term plan, and certainly no idea that over the next decade, Jamming! would grow to become a national, even international, monthly magazine. And I certainly couldn’t have imagined that in 2021, there would be a full-colour book collecting together what we have called The Best of Jamming!: Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up 1977-86. Its packed with reproduced interveiws, articles, photographs and cartoons, includes fresh recollections from those who were part of the Jamming! story, and comes complete with a foreword by Billy Bragg.For the Jamming! Fanzine podcast, I am hosting conversations with some of these former contributors, photographers, musicians, scenesters and schoolfriends, and seeing if we can’t, through the rose-tinted glasses of history, offer some sort of perspective on the heady days of that heavyweight decade. The Jamming ! Fanzine Podcast will drop every other Thursday from September 23, the book’s UK publication date, unless we are late to the proverbial printers or otherwise distracted. Hit subscribe now and we’ll see you on the podcast stand.The Best of Jamming!: Selections and Stories from the Fanzine That Grew Up 1977-86 is published by Omnibus Press and available from all good book shops.on Sep 23 in the UK/EU, and Dec 2 in the rest of the world.More information and online purchasing options available at:https://tonyfletcher.net/book/the-best-of-jamming/https://omnibuspress.com/products/the-best-of-jamming-published-on-23rd-september-2021'The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast Theme' is by Noel Fletcher. Copyright reserved.The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast logo was designed by Greg Morton, who also assisted with editing.The Best of Jamming! book cover was designed by Martin Stiff.The Jamming! Fanzine Podcast website can be found athttps://shows.acast.com/the-jamming-fanzine-podcast/aboutInstagram.com/LeagleAlientwitter.com/TonyFletcher    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.