OK so I’m more often a lurker to this site, and I’m sure that there has been numerous links to the History of Rock magazine before, and I’ve only read a few of them (almost 10 quid for a magazine!!!! – I may be 57 but I tend to read most of my stuff on my lovely IPad and magazines, although I used to live for them, now are something that tend to only be bought for holidays) but when I saw the most recent issue was 1976, what I consider to be one of the most influential years of my life (I was 17, at VIth form, what did I know?) it had to be purchased (unlike the infrequent Mojo purchases at the local (Bury St Edmunds) market for £1 a copy (and only one month out of date!).
So what have I learned?
– that I now realise why I brought the NME every week and not the Melody Maker – for those not in the know about this magazine it tends to spread between NME & MM articles/reviews. God the MM was so pompous and self-important (the 1976 HOR includes an album review of Slik for Christs sake trying to say it includes some works of music merit!). The mag includes a kind-of interview with Keef with Charles Shaar Murray which is funny although far more about him than his interviewee and his review of Black & Blue after all this time is pretty spot-on. The MM stuff though is so dull and predictable!
– it’s made me listen again to Thin Lizzy which is currently ‘entertaining’ the whole of the Swiss mountain village I’m in.
– I listened again to Zepps ‘Presence’ which I probably hadn’t since the time so enthused was I with Punk that I got rid of so many albums that I wished I hadn’t at the time – I’m now more likely to have Yes, Floydetc on the Spotify playlist (see how modern I am!) than Clash, Buzzcocks who ruled my world during those Friday night sessions when us Sixth formers crashed the Friday Night disco at North Staffs Poly to harangue the DJ to play those early punk singles – BTW does anyone else remember the amazing ‘Do the Standing Still’ by The Table – never forget one of our crowd turning up wearing a cardboard box to ‘dance’ to this tune. But while I agree ‘Achilles Last Stand’ is magnificent, the rest is a bit ‘Mhew’, and the review (surprise surprise form MM Chris Welch) is ‘I’m so superior in my knowledge than you oils’
– I realise that it was another 2 years before I’d get to see Bob Marley at Bingley Hall, Stafford but the mag has articles about his first influence in the UK that I was well into
– David Bowie really was a hero wasn’t he?
I’m only half way through (page 73) and sure there’s lots more to come but I’m a bit drunk and couldn’t wait to post!!!
Anyway, anyone else interested or should I just keep my remarks to myself?
17 in 1976? This site needs more youngsters, keep it up!
Wish I felt that way! Sad that music isn’t as important as it was…but what’s taken its place? Dunnow!! Certainly isn’t PokomenGo!!
In 1976 I thought Sounds was better than the NME because their coverage of this exciting sounding punk rock thing was better than NME’s. By mid 77 the NME was the better of the two. I saw the Clash supported by the Specials at Bury St Edmunds in 1978, which today, two bands of their stature playing a small town in Suffolk sounds bizarre (almost as bizarre as West Runton).
Wow, where in Bury was that?
I had to google, it was the Corn Exchange, July 1978.
https://www.theapex.co.uk/news/2014/jun/19/take-a-trip-back-to-1978
As I remember it the Specials were called the Special AKA, I guess they were also managed by Bernie Rhodes at the time (hence the “Bernie Rhodes knows don’t argue” into to Gangsters).
Sadly the Corn Exchange is now a Wetherspoons – progress eh?
I have purchased everyone since 1965, but as you state, at a tenner a pop, I’m probably going to stop at 1979.
I was a regular NME buyer from about 1972 until 1977.
The album reviews reproduced here are amusing, especially on the ones they pan, whereas now in 2016, we can witness their longevity.
As far as I’m concerned, all my favourite sounds were produced in that period anyway, with the odd exception, every now and then..
Interesting that you stopped reading NME in ’77 – why was that? Birchill? Parsons? They did get a bit up themselves…but until the Morley years did it really get too much!
I seem to remember, it was the music and artists covered.
In the early seventies, they were articles a plenty on the stuff, I was buying
(Prog/Rock/West Coast etc) and then later on, it just dried up and it was all Punk, and that just wasn’t for me.
I don’t recall buying anything much after that until Q appeared in 1986..
I’ve been following these too and it’s also reached the era I’m most interested in. But instead of the tenner a go, which I have to admit I didn’t even know. I have been using Readly for the past year, pretty much every magazine is available instantly, including many back issues, unlimited access , read online or download and read offline, UK, US and many other language publications are available. All at 7.99 /month. Up to 4 people can use the same access separately too. I’ve been meaning to post on here to ask if anyone else is using it, what the view is on the ‘morality’ of such a thing – effectively the Spotify of magazines – and if anyone has any idea of the economic model for such an enterprise. I am amazed David Hepworh hasn’t dissected it on his blog, but maybe he doesn’t want to draw attention to it. And I even saw I advertised on tv for the first time as week so it can’t be illegal , can it?
Another big up for Readly here…I have no idea how the finances work, but given that I already had hard copy subs to What Hi-fi and Acoustic Guitar, the $10/month was a no-brainer. The spiffy website looks kosher enough. Based in Sweden, I see…
I now regularly read the aforementioned, plus: Guitarist, Total Guitar, The Week, The Oldie, The Spectator, 3 Mac mags, Country Life (for the property porn, obvs), BBC mags including Music, History and Good Food, FourFourTwo, T3, Stuff, History of Rock, Rolling Stone, Total Film, Empire, Mojo, Uncut, Q, Crime Scene, various food mags (including Louisiana Cookin’). Oh, and the Beano.
I also dip into things I wouldn’t ever dream of spending money on in the real world, like model railway mags, and, if I want to see what’s going on in asshole world, more gun mags than you could shake an AK-47 at, including the no doubt seminal Recoil: Gun Lifestyle (“Ruger American Pistol – Anything Else Would Be Un-American”).
Well I never! This is a new website for me and must say it looks fab! Lots of different titles – Mrs H already enjoying lots of stuff too! – will definitely be joining this – and I see that History of Rock 1977 already on there! Happy days, thanks Lordted & Miketherep!
It was actually someone on here who put me on to Readly in the first place, can’t remember who. Was it you, @lordted?
It’s possible, I was an early adopter and also an early advocate. However, I can’t be sure so I won’t take the credit. It’s bloody good though, isn’t it ? On a previous post I may well have posed the same question as I did yesterday – how the hell do the economics work for the magazine publishers? Do they get paid a ‘royalty’ per read a la Spotify?
New Mojo, Uncut and MacLife this morning, I see!
I really have no idea how it works. Clearly the magazines wouldn’t be on Readly if their publishers didn’t want them to be, so they must think it’s worth it. I have ‘favourited’ 42 mags, though they get dropped if I don’t get round to reading them, so they can’t rely on that figure. Either way, whether it’s simply a pro rata slice of my $10 or a payment per read, the % is vanishingly small. What makes it even more difficult to understand, is that a lot of mags these days have their own perfectly functional tablet apps, eg Mojo, Total Film, Macformat. Why would they cut into that income stream?
Anyhoo, must go, got an interesting-looking article on Tom Waits in Uncut to read. And it all makes my brain hurt. To get back to the OP, I’ve been a happy reader of History of Rock since issue 1. Admittedly, I can’t sell my copies on eBay, but they didn’t cost me £10 a pop, either.
I reckon you’ll definitely be stopping at 1979, because that’s the final issue!
And £10 for the 1967 issue was a fine investment. Check out the prices they have been going for on eBay. One went for £100 recently and a few more have fetched over £50. Several of the early issues are going for over double the original cost, but 1967 seems to have a better investment than gold!
That is truly bizarre.
These magazines have had a shelf life of at least 4 months.
What do people do?
Go in W.H. Smiths every single day from January to May, until it gets taken from the shelf and then, the next day, buy a copy for 5 times the cover price on eBay?
Even for 2016, that’s nuts.
Who are these people?
You can still order the back issues through the Uncut store (at regular price). Amazon Germany currently lists the 1965 issue for 7 euros.
Why are they stopping then? Did rock music and rock journalism end in 1979?
Why are they stopping then? Did rock music and rock journalism end in 1979?
Yes, I realise that they actually ended in 1971…
oh, that’s disappointing that they’re stopping at 79, i was planning on getting them right up to the late ’80s, kind of relieved also, bit expensive and hard to justify
Just bought 1979 and it clearly states 1980 issue is coming early October.
Cannot see myself purchasing any further though.
I’ll give next months a good thumbing in Sainsbury’s before committing..
I was 6 in 1976, so remember Bobby Stokes scoring for Southampton and Mike Reid singing The Ugly Duckling.
None of this is likely to bother the pages of The History Of Rock.
But moving forward in time slightly (1982/83) I chose Sounds over NME and MM, and then gravitated to the NME for much the same reasons mentioned above. MM, to the uninitiated 13 year old brain, never felt “inclusive” – it is also the latter day difficulty I have with Uncut (maybe coincidence? maybe I think about these things too deeply?)
Note to self: keep a look out for The History Of Rock 1979 – that really was the best year (despite what Mr Hepworth tells us)
Bobby Stokes singing The Ugly Duckling and Mike Reid scoring in the Cup Final would’ve been interesting
Yes, I remember Do The Standing Still by The Table. I have it on the Virgin 10″ Guillotine sampler.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJFWNqo6Ly4
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Guillotine/release/804459
I’ve got the 7″ single but never heard of Guillotine Sampler – what else was on that?
Full details here:
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Guillotine/release/804459
“The Table” was a side-project of Welsh hairstylists The Alarm. Mike Peters said at the time “we never expected it to be so popular. It was done as kind of a joke, see.” [laughs]
Thanks for that HP, never knew the Alarm were involved – should have kept going as Table and dropped other stuff IMHO
I’m sorry, they’re not. They were Welsh, though, and it seems odd they did nothing else (that I’m aware of). So I reckon it was a side project of sorts, but hardly the Alarm. How would they hide their hair?
Wigs?
Good man, Hubes.
Do You Want This Table?
http://www.link2wales.co.uk/South/table.htm
If you’ve never heard it try https://youtu.be/MdnfhPkcNPI
I bought the “Guillotine” 10-inch album because it had an XTC song on it – which turned out to be extremely short.
It was also probably the first time I heard Linton Kwesi Johnson (i.e. Poet and the Roots), sparking a love of dub poetry which has lasted to this day.
Write more, Mr H, I am feeling I could have been spending a tenner a month to re-read articles I read then: I diligently bought each until about 1981 or 2, when, in an epiphany, I transferred to Folk Roots. Then, when Q, Select and the rest began, I slowly transferred back. Now I have to buy a combo of Mojo/Uncut/Rock’n’Reel, Songlines and FRoots, and it costs, it costs……
Go for it Mr H! Always a good idea to expose your ruminations here on the AW.
Liked what you said about MM being pompous. They were really caught with their pants when punk rock came along.
Never good to be caught with your pants, K.
Better that than with someone else’s.
Or so I’ve heard.
I bought the 1974 issue and couldn’t recommend it highly enough. Superb use of hindsight – The Rolling Stones having made “It’s Only Rock N’ Roll” wonder how they’re going to replace Mick Taylor, while Ronnie Wood puts out his solo album and ponders The Faces’ future. Clapton’s off the H but on the sauce, Bowie goes soul, Peter Gabriel talks enthusiastically about the new Genesis double concept album, Floyd dither over WYWH, and Robert Fripp lays out exactly what he’s going to do for the next five years now he’s split King Crimson. Meanwhile, over in Texas, a young shaver called Bruce Springsteen invites someone to just shoot him if he’s ever caught playing enormodomes. Thing is, I’d only bought it to while away the train journey to see him at The Ricoh.
I subscribed after the first issue when they offering them at about £5.79 an issue which is a brilliant bargain. I’ve enjoyed all the issues and if it is ending at 1979 that will be a shame.
There was something undefinably annoying about the Melody Maker. The NME had those wonderful writers but they didn’t identify themselves as an influential gang as far as I recall. Part of the charm of the NME was that they were winging it.
Whereas MM often made out that their main writers should be sitting at the Algonquin round table, trading quips with Dorothy Parker. A savage and uncomplimentary piece about a record would be perceived (by them) as career-ending. It wasn’t. It literally didn’t matter.
It’s Chris Welch I could never stand, drawn in initially to MM, I admit, by his championing of ELP, but he became a sour faced waspish old maid, chuntering his prejudices about the end of music as he knew it when punk shook his foundations to the core, albeit briefly, but he was as credible as old school R1 DJs by the end of the 70s. He was then reincarnated as that Allan Jones, the grinning buffoon who ran Uncut for a longtime, another MM stalwart.
Chris Welch is a strange one. At one time he was the go-to guy for all the big interviews and he had the ear of many of the cool 60s bands. It was Welch who broke the news of Cream’s formation in 1966 for example, much to John Mayall’s annoyance. He also wrote several good books on Cream and others of the era.
These days though Chris seems like the forgotten man. Not revered like Nick Kent, CSM or some of the others and reduced to a talking head on the rock documentary treadmill.
Chris Welch routinely gave duff reviews to Hendrix and Pink Floyd. Way to be remembered, Chris.
“Chris Welch Big in Germany” shock! For years he’s been the in-house liner notes writer for German reissue label Repertoire, re-using his old articles and writing “expertly” (it says here) about everyone from The Art Of Noise to Wishbone Ash.
I was a MM fan. I still have my copy of the pre-Ziggy issue with Bowie on the cover. I went to see him play a fairly empty Free Trade Hall out of curiosity and it changed my life. Well, until Aladdin Sane came along. By then it were all hairy Prog bands around here.
I still remember the Roy Hollingsworth interview with Bette Midler. Thanks to Rock’s Back Pages I see it was headlined as:
Bette Midler: The Shape (40-22-36) Of Things To Come.
17 February 1973
Mr H you are the same age as me and much of what you say resonates with me.
The NME was a constant companion from say 1973 to 1983. It informed my taste throughout my discoveries as I ranged from Zep and Who through Joni Mitchell and Steely Dan, The Beach Boys, Reggae, Punk, Post Punk, Electro and House.
A political and cultural guide as much as a musical one as I grew older, grew up and moved on in the world. By 1983, it was irrelevant to me, music mattered less and life mattered more.
My NMEnvelope was earlier – 68 – 78, maybe – but it was as exciting to grab new and scented-fresh from the papershop rack as The Beano had been. I can think of no higher praise. On holidays, the first task was to locate a shop that sold it.
I was never a big reader of the music weeklies. Maybe purchasing a copy if I saw mention of Billy Cobham or Soft Machine. Or Sonja Kristina 🙂
I listen to Bily Cobham’s solo albums more than I do Mahavishnus Orchestra albums. Because I enjoy them more, I’m guessing. Spectrum is an astonishing album, Crosswinds perfect, Eclipse patchy, the rest patchier. But those first two are sublime. But yes – Sonja Kristina – got any copyright-free pictures?
Remember those photos of Hawkind’s “dancer” Stacia too!
http://www.angel.dk/hawkwind/HAWKovers2.html
Must we have this kind of filth on the website.
*imagine THAT photograph of Kate Bush in a leotard*
Now image Kevin Rowland in stockings and suspenders and get a cold shower you pervert. Let me go first if you please.
Received 1978 yesterday and nothing in the ‘coming next month blurb’ about 1979 being the last issue.
Had a quick look last night and it seems up to the usual high standard. Plus Ms Bush on the cover.