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I want a Word with you!

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The roots of this website are rooted in the Word Magazine blog/The Word Massive. Loads of that original online community have dropped away over the years and gone to Twitter or elswhere and I’m wondering how strong that connection with Word Magazine and The Afterword still is particularly given that David Hepworth and Mark Ellen have been very active during the past year with Word In Your Ear. In the early days of this website I got the distinct impression the ex-Word writers wanted nothing to do with it and apart from Mark joining in for a podcast there was very little interaction and when WIYE got going it certainly didn’t have any connection to this site as I can tell. I don’t post or follow this site much so I wonder if there are many from Word blog days left and indeed are any Afterworders on the WIYE Patreon? and have any of you paid to have Mark and Dave interview you on your Birthday?!!

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Comments

  1. Word veteran here – I’m probably due a Long Service and Good Conduct medal.

    But I’m not alone. It’s quite interesting to look at the list of members and order by Newest registered. The last few hundred are probably the original Word refugees, and a surprising number of them are still active and have posted recently. Your good self, paulwright, Lord Ted, Bargepole, Ainsley, policy bloke, Lando Cakes…the list goes on.

    If you look at the most recent signups there are a fair number of women, hurrah. Or indeed a number of fair women.

  2. That’s an interesting question to put before us. I bought and read the Word magazine when it was around and enjoyed it immensely. Subsequently the blog appeared and I enjoyed it immensely too. Then there was that period of radio silence when the magazine went tits up. Then somehow unbeknownst to a pleb like me a whole new thing appeared under the original guise then it got hacked but persistent passionate people put us all back together again. Thank goodness and thank you whoever you are. ❤️

  3. I remember when a friend, actually a music biz lawyer, recommended The Word Podcast; I’m guessing it was 2007/8? I’d seen the mag in the shops but hadn’t bought it; after hearing the podcast I then subscribed for a couple of years and joined up to the Blog. Been here pretty regularly ever since through its ups and downs and identity crises.

    I really like the WIYE podcast but don’t feel inclined to support them on Patreon just to get the podcast a few days early. And I have no wish to be interviewed by them on my birthday, if that is indeed what you get.

  4. Yes, I’ve been around since almost the start. I’ve been hot and cold on my involvement though, and changed my name a couple of times. When did the old site start? 2006? I registered about then.

  5. It was my Stockholm pal, @DuCo01, who recommended the Word magazine to me fairly early on its history. I became a keen reader and had a subscription for several years.

    For some reason I never visited the Word blog or this place, until the Duke told me there was something worth looking at. I think it was the Afterword 100 Best Albums of All Time Ever.

    I got interested, met some nice people and hung around. I liked the fact that it was both very UK and very international. The stuff I’ve learnt about dangerous Australian wildlife over the years!

    The WIYE events aren’t relevant to those of us abroad. However on one occasion, I went to a Daylight Music event at the Union Chapel and met Hannah and Mike_h. All too briefly, but it was great to have a face to put to the name.

    What I enjoy abut the AW is that, within reason, one can blog about anything related to popular culture that one finds interesting. Sometimes there’s a fair bit of interest in a thread. Sometimes ait just dies off.

    If one has a magazine, one has to have something on the cover that commands interest. A picture of a hot new artist who is creating waves. Like Van Morrison or Captain Beefheart. And then some captions about the content that will ensure a purchase.

    Here there is no editor or anyone encouraging contributors to cover artists, gigs, writers, movies or whatever which might tempt to stay. But I am delighted that new people do stick around. Especially if they know a lot about Aussie snakes and creepy crawlies!

  6. I suspect, rather like my status at work, that I have quietly and unnoticed become ‘an old hand’. If you want to carbon date my attendance, I arrived just in time to enjoy the epoch-defining ‘Pop Stars Breaking Wind’ thread.

  7. One of the first to register I think but for years I simply lurked. There was a long time when the cliqueiness, the in-jokes, the “I said to Mark” was very off-putting to a gentle soul like me.
    Twas only around seven years ago, with retirement and a name change or three, that I had the time and , more importantly, the inclination to join in.
    Whilst there are many contributors I miss (particularly them there women) I actually enjoy the site more today than those Hipper than Hep days.

  8. I bought Word issue 1 and fairly consistently thereafter, and was an early adopter of the blog too. Remember when you could only comment on blogs started by the Word office and had to email Mark if you wanted a topic started? In the later years the quality of the magazine dipped though I still valued it as a source of recommendations for books, music and so on which other sources didn’t cover. In truth though I started to see my subscription as a way of funding the Word blog which I had come to read more that the mag.

    I usually enjoyed the Word podcasts more when they were just David and Mark chatting, rather than being built around guests, so I was delighted when the audio lockdown podcasts followed that format (the visual Word in Your Attic ones have a guest talking about their first and favourite records as so on). They were greatly appreciated distraction in the early months of lockdown, but inevitably became repetitive and I have seen and listened to very few in 2021. I’m glad they have been there, though not to the extent of subscribing on Patreon

  9. I became aware before issue 1 – a music journo friend interviewed my pal Eileen Rose and was pitching it to Mark & Dave.

    I can remember seeing issue 1 in WH Smiths, but didn’t buy it until issue 2. Subscribed after a few months. Joined online towards the end (I was running a couple of music-related websites for years and they took up all my spare time).

    Joined the AW on day one. You’re not getting rid of me now…

    • I remember buying the first issue of Word – picture a middle-aged guy exiting WH Smug shouting “Yes!!”.
      No question though that it lost its way. I cancelled my subscription – two weeks later it folded. Nuff said.

  11. Old lag here, class of about 2006, I’m guessing: when did the blog start? @vulpes-vulpes was certainly ahead of me, but other regulars were oeufman, patrick humphreys and the lesser spotted @archie-valparaiso. Dipped out after a few years when a wife thought I was spending too much time here. When she toddled off I rejoined. Met the local to me contingent fairly early on, @steve-t and a couple of others and there was even a midlands mingle: @mike-h came up from Watford! Went to one London mingle, again meeting up with a few who I can now put a face to. Have also met with others by arrangement, for picture buying(!!) and at festivals and concerts, and think now of these folk as chums. Hell, I feel I know those I have never met or never will meet better than many colleagues, and, over the years, a fairly good idea of how people tick is built up. So, all in all, this site and its predecessor is much valued.
    Heppo and sidekick? Less so, bar a recognition that this was their baby, before we grew up and developed a healthy autonomy.

    • I remember people talking about the first mingle. In London, obviously. Fraser attended, didn’t he? I remember him talking about it on the podcast.

      The first Glasgow one was not long after, if I remember. But I couldn’t make it, which was a pity.

      • I was there, in fact I think I suggested it. It was me, Carl Parker, Hannah, Lunaman and Rosbif. There were more people from the magazine – Fraser, Mark, Hep, a few others.

        Mind you, it was “going for a beer”. Mingles happened later when Hannah started organising them.

        • Mike Johnson, Eamon Ford and Andrew Harrison were also there from the staff.
          @Rosbif, if you’re still lurking, PM me.
          David Hepworth didn’t make the first drink and I recall Mark Ellen predicted that he would never turn up for one. Which was pretty inaccurate especially as I think subsequently DH joined in more often than ME did.

      • I was at the initial meeting which looking at my calendar reminds me that it was 10/9/2010. I remember organising the venue. Twang refers to it as ‘going for a beer’ which is right as it soon morphed into ‘mingles’ which were a bit more organised and planned. I remember walking in with my copy of The Word mag in hand so as to recognise other members of the ‘massive’. If memory serves me correctly Twang and Carl were already there when I arrived. It was a great evening. I remember Mark Ellen seemed genuinely suprised that we had suggested meeting up for a pint and the way in which The Word website forum had taken off. We chewed the cud until closing time when Twang unfolded his bicycle and set off into the night. You should have touched base Joe!

        • My memory is that you were first, then I arrived, followed not long after by Twang. Andrew Harrison was walking round looking lost and we called him over. And so the aggregating group grew.
          However, given the way our memories morph, I will not claim that this is the definitive version of how things went, just my version.

  12. Another Word veteran here – I think I started on the magazine on about issue 3 or 4 and was there until the end. Agree with the comment above that the magazine dipped in the later years and I found my focus was more on the blog than the magazine. Still subscribed to the magazine though. Joined in here from the start and continue with my exemplary record of ignored threads.

    I dip in to the current WIYE podcasts but don’t hear / see every single one. I have no interest in the Patreon side.

    I still feel that regardless of the ever evolving posters on here, it still maintains the same vibe as the original Word blog – although probably a bit more diverse in topics these days. I still see it as that cliched “virtual discussion down the pub” which suits me fine. But then again. I’m listening to Sade / Diamond Life as a type this, so should you really trust my opinion…….

  13. I arrived sometime before The Beatles Are Overrated thread that SteveT started. Pre-Patrick Crowther. I remember Captain Pleasure and Oeufman among others. I’ve changed my name so many times now I don’t know what I am called.

    I’m not surprised The Word people don’t get involved here. We don’t really reference the magazine or podcast much. It’s another music forum of many and ther have been some less than flattering comments about Heppo herein.

    I believe one can pay to have one’s own Word In Your Attic. I can’t see myself paying for any podcast or related benefits. People generally do these things, like podcasts, for their own amusement but if others see fit to contribute well fair enough.

    It’s probably more agreeable here now that it was, less conflict, but a little less lively at the same time.

  14. Former Word reader from issue 1 and user of their website from early on until its demise. I wasn’t GCU Grey Area early doors, but have been that on The Afterword since its inception. I post under that name elsewhere, but not all Grey Areas are me.

    I was active on zuckerbook during the Great Drupal Unpleasantness, but rarely visit that now; I dislike facebook intensely.

    I’ve always been more of a lurker than poster, but i continue to enjoy coming here very much; its a great source for music I just wouldn’t hear during the day, and advice on almost anything.

  15. Is there any way to get to one’s earliest post other than scrolling to the bottom of one’s “Activity” screen and clicking ‘Load More’ about a billion times?

    I can’t remember when I was conceived here, and I thought I’d look it up by searching for my earliest posting, but as I am a mere IT professional, I’m stumped by my inability to access sufficient data to furnish that insight.

  16. Brought the magazine pretty much from the outset…it was just that little bit different and had interesting, funny, quirky articles. Was gutted when it folded but joined the online revolution. Pretty sure I’ve always been Freddy Steady since I’ve been here and for what it’s worth I do think the original spirit of the magazine and blog lives on here, no matter who comes and goes….if it’s me and yer granny on bongoes, it’s the Fall. Or something.

  18. Mark Ellen said The Word “will be fondly regarded as some sort of Nick Drake entity: Much loved by a smaller but utterly devoted number of people.”

    In truth, The Word Massive were perhaps more concerned about the loss of our community. Some of the most friendly and articulate people you could wish to meet in cyberspace. Such a level of familiarity with strangers, forged out of a shared appreciation of Song For Sharon.

    I’ll give you an example. I was in Rough Trade about five years ago and this guy came in, all chatty with the staff and mentions of Bob Harris, RT and living in Italy. I thought, I know that guy. It was the one and only Patrick Crowther, one of the undoubted stars of this place early on.

    No medals, but I have a badge marking me out as a Word Nerd! Given to me by Drakeygirl or one of the other Word Birds at one of them Mingles.

    View post on imgur.com

  19. There was a small booklet magaziney type thing just before the 1st issue when they were still in development hell. Still have it somewhere, though I can’t recall how I came to know about it.
    A first contributor to Pedants’ Corner in the magazine, in fact a founder of it.
    Despite now retiring I find I have less time for things so podcasts are way down on the agenda.
    Again I’ve ‘met’ some lovely people on here and even some in the real world.

  20. I killed The Word. I started contributing to the old blog in…. September 2011. The magazine went breasts-skyward six months later…

    As you know I go and later come back. I’ve done it, or had to do it, several times. As with the mag, the music is only incidental – I’m mainly here for the laffs. It’s an outlet, as Bri said. I’m very grateful for it because I get to offload the nonsense in my head without having to actually (shivers) speak to people, not that that’s been an option recently anyway.

    The Afterword: Toilet for Truth. You’re welcome. I love you all.

  21. Midperiod AWer, I would say.

    I bought the May 2005 issue mag (Pete Doherty on the cover) at Bonn railway station and bought it from the shops whenever I saw it after that. I dipped a two into the blog rarely, listened to the podcast (part of a trio with Wittertainment and Adam&Joe), then subscribed to the magazine when that was necessary to get the podcast. When the magazine closed in 2012, I joined the Afterword community and have been here ever since, noting that there was quite an existing legacy of culture and tropes and star bloggers and blogs from the Word days.

    I was interested in archiving interesting threads – which worked until the Drupal crash (I still have the redundant urls – such joys as Hendrix vs Cream, Roxy Music vs Talking Heads, Fairport vs, Steeleye Span vs. Pentangle).

    I don’t do mega threads any more, as the year-long painting threads went the way of the Drupal crash, and the A-Z cultural compilation was a bit controversial. I’ve used WordPress since then for those. But every now and then an idea occurs to me, and I try to give reasonably substantial content (e.g. TS Eliot) or to generate interesting feedback on a topic (thanks to all who do contribute to those).

    BTW, @VUlpes-Vulpes, this was your first post on this iteration of the site:

    Hallelujah!

  22. It’s definitely the people that I’ve got to “know” that keep me coming back.

    Charming, witty and elegant: and you know such amazing stuff.

    And let’s nor forget how, on those occasions when one of us has a problem in the real world, the folks are can be amazingly supportive and come with some excellent practical advice.

  23. Bought Word 8 or 9 and then a subscriber. Even had my memories of Cramps shows published as part of the Lux obit.

    As my work intersects with topics discussed here, always prefer to hide under my moniker here rather than venture into FB (which I have virtually ceased using more widely).

  24. I’ll admit to being more annoyed that I probably had any right to be when they killed off the old community so fast. Not so much that it was going but that it was kind of “this is no longer any use to us so it can just disappear, regardless of the people involved. It’s JUST business.”

    I realise everyone has to make a living, it just felt so mercenary. Added to that was the fact some posters clearly disappeared as soon as there was no Word involvement.

    Anyway, we got back (no thanks to me, I should add) and the site now grows slowly but organically. There’s no “hook” to get people here now but it’s still going and we get a steady stream of new members. Old members (ooh,err, missus) come and go at different intervals, but most post again eventually. Interestingly most new members register and then don’t post or comment for several weeks, sometimes months – no idea what that says, mid you.

    Long may she sail

    • Thanks for keeping the old ship afloat @Ainsley , I think the reason for the speedy demise of the old site was simply a financial one, they would have had to pay running costs (I’m sure some astronomical figure was quoted!). I remember a bunch of us kind of lobbying Fraser to see if the whole site could be handed over and it would have been a sort of community buyout rather than us having to start from scratch. I don’t think he was up for it at all, and I guess the site was someone else’s intellectual property and all that so it never happened. I was also surprised that nobody from the mag was interested in the huge Word mailing list they owned as a consequence. I’m sure that would have been useful in time for promoting Word In Your Ear but I know that the demise of the mag was pretty traumatic and exhausting for the editorial team and I think everyone concerned wanted to walk away, move on and take a long break.

  25. Hi.
    I became entangled in the old blog back in 2009 shortly after my Dad died. It was one of the first things I did online after finally becoming all modern and down with the yoof. I’d been a reader of the mag since the first issue so it was an obvious thing to do. Over the intervening years I’ve been fortunate to meet quite a number of you and I hope I am not being presumptuous when I write that I consider many of you to be friends and I hope you think of me similarly. I don’t post here anymore except to thank those that occasionally mention my work kindly but I am an avid lurker. It’s not you, it’s me. I just don’t feel comfortable here anymore. Then again I never have fitted in anywhere in my life so it is not exactly surprising to me.
    My blessings to you all.

  26. For a while the magazine was a must-buy as soon as it hit the newsstands, but I think they struggled to make it pay and had to adopt a more commercial editorial stance, and I drifted away. Always felt a bit guilty when happily attending mingles and haunting the blog that I hadn’t actually read the magazine for months and was therefore contributing to its demise.

    I went to some of the live WIYE and True Stories Told Live events and always enjoyed the Ellen/Hepworth old-farty bants, but haven’t kept up with their current podcasts. Dunno why. Too much other stuff on offer I guess.

    I’ve been around the blog under various names since 2008 I think, and have been leading the Not As Good As It Used To Be campaign ever since. So why do I still drop in? Not so much for the content these days (Is it One Hit Wonders time again?) but because I feel I know some of you pretty well, despite us never having met or spoken. Not that I’d want any of you turning up on my doorstep, you understand, but it’s a weirdly comforting sort of remote camaraderie.

    Here’s a favourite Mingle Moment

  27. Been part of this tomfoolery since 2007. I went under my real name for a while then realised that was a bit daft.

    I used to kick off blogs on jokes and items such as ‘What’s the longest book you’ve ever read?’ and other such pointless ephemera. I leave the politics and the football to others while I play with my plasticine. This place for me is very much a relaxation – an opportunity to read and listen to articulate points of view, new or old musics and diverting pieces. It’s a salve. Happy to chirrup from the cheap seats now and again.

    I loved The Mag and was willing to forgive any decline and was probably the only one taken aback when David H ‘suddenly’ announced its instant death. They printed a few of my puns for Christ sake! Just think! My own words. On paper! On a newsstand next to ‘Railway Modeller’.

    Ah, the glory.

  28. It’s funny this thread started, because I was going to post something about the magazine. I’ve just moved house and have been unpacking for about 4 weeks. I left my bedroom till last, cos it resembles a library with a bed in the middle. There’s 8 bookcases, soon to be 9 (to hold the rest of my Batman comics), as the nice IKEA man has just dropped off another one, and working out what should go where has been a lengthy task. I’m just into the second week of it. There were so many boxes in there it was frankly ridiculous, and very hard to work round them, or even get to the bookcases.

    Just like packing, a major problem is that I stop to sit and look through a book or magazine and lose half an hour. When I was packing my daughter had to take my Football Grounds/Cricket Grounds From The Air books off me, pack them and seal the box, as I could sit and look at something like that forever, particularly the Nottingham page, where the two football grounds and the cricket ground are so close together.

    Anyway, yesterday I was putting all my music magazines on the shelf and came across a Word magazine. I used to have them all, but got shut of them, only keeping the one that I’m in, in an article about the kind of berks who feel the need to own multiple versions of the same album (mine was The Lilac Time’s debut album). I had a flick through it and started to feel a bit sad. It was such a good magazine, the perfect magazine for me. I read loads of magazines each month on the Readly app, but none come close. I subscribe to Classic Pop though, and have kept all those because, particularly the first 20-30 issues, they had articles on 2-3 of my favourite artists each issue, so I will go back at some point and read them again. There aren’t many magazines where Stephen Duffy gets a multi page feature. I really enjoy reading it, although it is quite lightweight.

    I started buying the magazine right from the beginning I think. My brother-in-law told me about it. And I was on the old blog too, although I didn’t post much, as I found it a bit intimidating and cliquey.

  29. I was an intermittent reader of The Word rather than a subscriber, but always enjoyed it and was sorry when it went – I still have the final copy somewhere. I remember I signed up to the the blog at some point but I think it was quite late on and I was largely a lurker, just making the occasional vapid comment (no change there, then). I signed up to the Afterword early on (maybe a month or two after it got going) and have been here ever since. Still enjoy it enormously and check in every day.

    I listen occasionally to Word in Your Ear and Word in Your Attic, but, to be honest, whilst it’s always enjoyable enough, it is now a tad repetitive and I certainly don’t feel the need to listen to every one- must have a listen to that one with the Nothing is Real boys, though.

  30. Think I bought the first issue. Have lived in places where it was difficult to find, so had an electronic only subscription for a while. Have asked before, those issues must still be out there somewhere. I did post on the old website, remember discussing how to obtain old Bilko episodes with “Bodhisattva” who turned out to be Danny Baker.

    Strangely my former Italian barber in Toronto (Queen St E and Woodbine), used to have a number of Word magazines in his waiting area, wonder who donated them.

    Went to one “mingle” in London in the pub in 2011, I was going through some tough times and was pretty drunk. So I may have met some of you but I don’t recall too much of that evening, remember talking to Hannah, Fraser and eating cake. Was also on the boat trip on the Thames and had a fairly lengthy conversation with Mark Ellen which included both of us agreeing about the greatness of Dylan’s “Love and Theft”. That weekend turned into one of the most pivotal in my life, but I wasn’t really aware at the time.

    Still listen to the podcasts.

  31. Bought issue 1 of Word, then skipped a couple. Joined the old website around 2008/9? Stimpy was still around then, as were a lot of other, very regular posters such as Mojoworking. It was a much livelier place then but I don’t miss the rows. Currently, we seem to be a little quiet here but that’s probably just the effect of the pandemic and not being able to get out.
    Hannah’s Lemon Drizzle Cake is still a favourite here.

    • Oh, I did like old Stimps. I still have a couple of CDRs he did for me back in the day – he was the source for the first CD copy I managed to find of the mighty Counter Eurovision album from Misty In Roots – he was a really kind soul and an utter gent.

          • I have it on first-press vinyl and on CD as a twofer with Chronicles (best of the first three albums), and can offer ‘help’.

            There’s also another CD version coupled with Misty Over Sweden, which I don’t have.

            • Thanks chaps. I already have a downloaded copy, but it’s the CD I’m looking out for, only not at the eye watering prices I’ve seen it at previously. I’m probably amongst the last of a dying breed, wanting CDs of albums I already have downloaded copies of, but I like CDs, they sound better and I like having my favourite albums on the shelf.

              I finally received the 2 disc version of The Heart of the Congos this morning, along with The Soul of a Bell, Rich Kid Blues and Manifesto (Inspectah Deck, I already have the Roxy Music one). I would probably have received them last week, had I changed my post code on Discogs, and not just my street address, but good old Royal Mail got them all to me eventually!

              • The Counter Eurovision + Over Sweden CD regularly turns up on the dodger’s site for £32. I’d buy it if I didn’t have half of it already. Twice over. It’s on Corn-Fed, a Dutch semi-legit label, and a 15-year-old CDR.

                I also have The Heart of the Congos 2CD, as yet unplayed. My vinyl (of the original mix) sounds like it was recorded with a heavy blanket over the microphone.

                • Yes, it’s on there at £32 at the moment, but I’ve been reluctant to pay £32 for what looks like a Bootleg. Discogs have blocked anyone from selling that version on there. Does anyone have this version, and can give any comments regarding the sound quality?

                  • I have a stack of Corn-Fed discs and they are almost all perfectly fine audio restorations, mostly being needle-drops that have been cleaned up and tweaked by a chap who does that sort of thing professionally and knows what he is doing. If you buy the discs directly they do not cost the silly prices quoted above. I think I paid ten or eleven quid for mine. The twofer of the Misty In Roots material is splendid, and sonically it is pretty much indistinguishable from the CD-R copy of the original CD which Stimpy made for me all those years ago. Some of their titles are of a lesser audio quality, but this is usually admitted before you buy, and is due to having been taken from a Jamaican pressing – i.e. using vinyl derived from recycled tractor tyres or something. I’ve not been disappointed by any Corn-Fed discs I’ve bought, and I’ve acquired material from them that I could not have bought any other way without the help of a corrupt member of the government.

    • It’s what I like most about this place. People disagree, but it tends to be done in good spirit. There’s often going to be things taken the wrong way, when it’s written down, but we don’t seem to see big rows like we have in the past, although I do get a little tired of the sarcastic comments that you can set your clock by. But there was one guy on here a couple of years ago that got right on my nerves. He was just horrible and I had to delete one or two responses to him that I had written, because I’m not one for getting into arguments (we have even had an argument free home since the wife left, my daughter’s like a different girl and we haven’t had this close a relationship since she was a toddler). What was his name? South African chap I think. He could turn anything into an argument and regularly had mild mannered posters wanting to box him.

  32. Bought the magazine right from the off, but it gradually seemed to lose its way – whereas it was once read from cover to cover when it arrived, it eventually ended up still being only flicked through when the next one appeared. Agree with @Ainsley though that the site was killed off rather unfeelingly, but at least it got rid of the ‘please sir, me sir’ brigade whose only interest seemed to be getting a response to their posts from DH/ME/KM/FL. Didn’t join the site myself until maybe 2010/11ish and even then didn’t pluck up the courage to post for a while, but posters will always come and go as interests change and life intervenes. I dip in and out of the WIYE videos depending who the guest is, but wouldn’t pay for them.

  33. I’d done the Q / Mojo / Uncut roundabout, and found a copy of The Word in my dentist of all places – Issue 15 (July 2006, Neil Young cover (or so the interweb search tells me)) was the first one I bought.
    Found the website, got a subscription, and have been here ever since – you lucky lot.

    Been to a couple of London Mingles, and several Thames Valley ones (hopefully another Curry Night coming soon).

    Mark Ellen told me off once for using the word “spunk” in a review of Paul Weller’s Sonik Kicks – they still printed it though.

    And a Blog item I posted about the article/list Best and Worst Royals – my complaint was that neither list included any Reading FC players was published as a Readers Letter.
    (weird seeing your name in print – but at least I am now able to say I’m a published author)

  34. I subscribed to the Word mag and once I’d finished with it I left in my work lunch room to mingle (ha!) with the pile of shit celebrity gossip and shit lifestyle magazines. I did see people reading it sometimes and wondered what they made of it.

    As for the blog I didn’t contribute much early on but in around 2009 I tentatively started threads of my own. I often think of the line from Bowie’s Conversation Piece where he talks of essays lying on the floor that serve their purpose “just by being there”. This is what I tell myself on the occasions when engagement is sparse.

    As others have said, it’s an outlet. I honestly think that middle aged keyboard warriors who don’t have a friendly, easy-going place like this can find themselves a bit lost and can fall in with a bad cyber-lot.

  35. Interesting, thanks everyone. Good to see plenty of Word “lifers” here, sounds like I’m the only one who’s a WIYE subscriber and joins in the Friday quiz etc. I’m not on the top tier though (15 quid a month) which gets you your own interview by Hepworth and Ellen, I can’t see those two being impressed by some My Bloody Valentine records and Joy Division rarities.

  36. This was the first online space that felt welcoming – I’ve been around since the olden days, made quite a few friends here, and been for a pint with quite a few – Steve T and El Toro in Birmingham, Pencilsqueezer in Chester, Paddy Hoey in Liverpool, and various lovely London folk.

    I’m online less now than I was – but it’s still a friendly place. I still run up the flag for the monthly Blogger Takeover

    I was delighted to be mentioned as a “lifer” in Mark Ellen’s book, and met him when he was signing copies in Edinburgh. I made it to a couple of London mingles (when work travel had me down there anyway) and naturally to most of the Glasgow ones.

  37. This is a pretty decent place really, isn’t it? There have been the odd “disagreements” over the years, mainly political I’d say, a few flounces (and tail between legs returns) and some snarky comments. But it’s a place I keep coming back to . I love the variety of topics, a lot of bollox about music of course but so much more. Sport, food, drink, Fiios, politics. One of you out there somewhere will always know the answer to something. Apart from how Ian McNabb introduced the Icicle Works at the People’s Festival in Liverpool in’85 but we can’t have everything and I mustn’t grumble.

  38. For God’s sake, I can’t even think of a witty nom de blog.
    Read the mag from nearly the beginning, and on the old blog and this one from the start. Have neither the articulation nor wit to contribute much, though I have been known to Ask The Massive for help on quite a few occasions, and received valuable advice. I value the recommendations given here, and have found much of interest (don’t ask me for examples, though – I can’t remember).
    I like the idea of attending a mingle, but fear that I would end up on my own in a corner, as usually happens at social functions. I may risk it if there is ever one in Nottingham, especially as I’ll be getting my free bus pass just after all restrictions are (hopefully) lifted. Have I mentioned that I went to the same school as Heppy , though I don’t think he ever spoke to me?

  40. Stumbled across the blog when Uncle Wheaty posted about Del Amitri in about 2008. Thought it might be Smash Hits for the elderly. Didn’t understand most of the threads, started posting and made some huge mistakes not really understanding how these things worked. Despite those fuck ups, being an outsider musically and generally feeling I didn’t belong here I persevered. It’s the people, the tolerance, the laughs, the breadth of discussions and the engagement. I’m now content being the purveyor of 80s, bed wetting synth pop duos. Follow Hepworth and Ellen on Twitter and loved the Gary Crowley Word in the attic but as per most dont catch my attention. My life has been made better because this place and the old blog existed.

  41. Word subcriber and been around since those days but dont post here often. dip in a few times per week. Alas with the WIYE and podcasts i download to my ipod but with no commuting my podcast listening/watching isnt what it was. So i havent bothered with patreon. I mean Chart Music dropped a new podcast at the weekend (i am patreon for them) and i havent had a chance to listen to that yet. Too much to listen/watch/read/contribute to but alas too little time available.

  42. Another person I’ve met face to face was @Clive who happened to be in Stockholm a few years ago and rung me and suggested we have a drink. And what a vey pleasant evening we had.

    And today, over on Facebook, I’ve been enjoying the wonderful photos he’s been taking this week of foxes, owls and kingfishers.

    Oddly enough, the Great Crash, when we were forced to find other ways to connect with each other, did wonders for my commitment to the community we have here.

    I discovered that people had dogs, cats, children, jobs etc. Until then it had all been a lot of idiosyncratic noms de plumes.

  43. I adopted the magazine from Issue 1 (when it lacked the definitive article) and read it regularly (missing the odd one or two) before I subscribed from 2009. Joined the Word Blog around the same time), a witness and/contributor to some of the all-time classic threads and tiffs (middlerabbit, we hardly knew ye). Naturally joined the Afterword and it’s probably one of my three most-visited sites. Also frequent the Facebook page, which is great for visual humour and punning. I can’t think of a more generally good-natured cross-cultural space to hang out. I tend to contribute rather than initiate posts, as most of mine have historically been dead on arrival. Through the various incarnations, I have at times become frustrated and angry at certain contributors (most of whom have left the vessel), but am pleased to say I’ve never flounced off. We’ve all done very well!
    By the way, does anyone know what Fraser is doing now?

  44. I’m class of 2006 or 7 I think.

    I started listening to the podcast on the train in at 6 in the morning, and got into the magazine from there.

    I remember Fraser Lewry telling me off for wading into some discussion about the Old Firm and essentially calling both sides a set of wankers. I also ‘fondly’ remember the Fray Bentos thread, and Andrew Collins squirrels…episode.

  45. Got the second issue and was hooked from then on, became a subscriber a little later and still miss it today. I don’t post hardly at all but probably log on a daily basis and love the randomness of the subjects. Never really replaced word with anything else.

    Cheers

  47. Been here since Spring 2007 – I remember this because I did a short very well paid freelance assignment and the client caught me buried in the blog and was not pleased. Whoops. I too miss The Word though latterly it lost its way a bit – interviews with comedians and car reviews etc. But I have a random set of back issues which I still enjoy. I had all of them but in a fit of decluttering most went in the recycle bin.

  48. Another Word veteran here; going back even further I was on the Rocking Vicar mailing list (I even won a CD in a competition!), which I think was Hepworth & Ellen’s way of gauging the market for what eventually became The Word, including the proto-WIYE event “Yo Vicar!”, which I think might have also been the premiere of the “Lloyd Cole Knew My Father” show…
    Other commitments mean I can’t log in here as much as I’d like these days, but the old Word “brand values” (sorry) still seem to hold true, and make this place an oasis of (generally) sensible, knowledgeable, funny chats about culture (mostly music) and whatever crosses our collective transom, and I’m always happy I popped in.

    PS in the early-ish days of The Afterword, I seem to remember Hepworth commenting somewhere that he didn’t take part because it would be like going out for drinks with an old girlfriend and constantly being reminded of how badly things ended, which I don’t think is unreasonable, as I do think the demise of the mag was quite a personal blow to the team…

    • The difficultly I think some of the Massive have / had is that what was a personal passion for them was a business and a livelihood for Hepworth et al. Makes complete sense to me that they see no reason to get involved here. I thought they were fairly good natured with their time and attention attending mingles etc.

      • I think you’re right. Hepworth mentioned more than once how other magazines and branding agencies would approach him to ask how Word managed to create such an enthusiastic following as The Massive, and his only answer was “we honestly don’t know”. Word seemed to hit its core target reader 100% almost straight away, but then wasn’t able to expand any further, despite any amount of re-tooling over the years, which tended to annoy the faithful whilst apparently not attracting any more readers… and yes, the team always seemed very approachable. Fraser of course was always on the blog, and I’ve had a few quick friendly chats with Hepworth at various events over the years…

        • I talked to him briefly at one event. Face to face Word events were always a mix of people introducing themselves by their blog name and real name. He told me he didn’t understand why people didn’t use their own names, not seeming to see that what he wrote and put his name to was his work / his brand, whereas most of the rest of us were doing what we could to make sure our employers / spouses didn’t know it was us.

    • The Rocking Vicar! I’d forgotten all about that.

      I was at the Lloyd Cole Knew My Father premiere, at the Soho Theatre I think. Had a brief chat with Stuart Maconie in the bar afterwards, who seemed like a decent chap with no airs or graces.

      • I remember calling an old fashioned phone line to take out my Word subscription with a Rocking Vicar discount code, and the woman on the other end of the line laughing when I said, ‘That’s ‘R’ for Rocking, ‘V’ for Vicar …’

  49. I bought issue 1 of The Word and stayed with it pretty much all the way to the end, though I did get bored around the time the magazine replaced proper binding for staples, and missed a few editions.

    I’ve been on The Afterword almost from the start, although under a different alias, and signed up to the Afterworders on Facebook page when the site was hacked – but I hate Facebook and have now deleted that particular account. I don’t post much on here any more, and don’t visit as often as I used to. For a while one or two individuals had the ability to pick a fight in an empty room, and some of the virtue signallers became tiresome enough to put me off coming here. In the main though, this is still one of the best places to come on the internet. A lot of noise is created about the lack of new members or female members, but the core site users can sometimes be cliquey in a way that discourages contributions – and I say that as someone who’s been here from the start. I tend to stick to music threads and steer clear of ones that are likely to be controversial. I prefer light-hearted threads with a bit of banter too – thank God for Moose and HP – but there aren’t always that many of them these days.

  50. i am 57 years old. precocious 8 year old fan of bowie, child of punk rock and post punk and then the miserable git canon – cohen, young, mitchell. typical nme reader from 1977 until about 1981 -loved the me me me journo snarkiness – and still miss that kind of thing – and a disillusioned nme reader until 1991 when i quit the habit by movig abroad.. never really liked q with its sir clifford of richard schtick. would skim read mojo and uncut a bit in w h smiths of a lunch time. i was aware of word – i think i bought one issue – the 50th or 100th – keith richard on the cover, lemmy inside. i have subscribed to mojo since 2012 ish – don’t rate it much – but don’t want to see all the printed music press go out of business – and the cds are sometimes quite good .

    i think i became aware of the word podcast in like 2011 something like that and i used to enjoy it. stopped listening when it became subscriber only. have never listened to a wiye – jhave some inclination but don’t seem to have the time. have not really got on with audiobooks or spoken word radio – desert island discs is about it for me.

    i have no idea how or when i discovered the afterword blogsite (if that is what it is ) i’m more a lurker than a poster but come most days and enjoy it very much. i enjoy the wide-ish range of subjects – the good natured levity and the laughs and the fact that people can be caring, compassionate and wise when called for. i especially enjoy the reviews which i find of high standard – some of you guys can really write!

    thanks for doing what you do guys

  51. I was drawn to the blog more than the magazine, I think. Vague memories of posting on something after Tony Wilson’s death, which would have been the summer of 2007. So I guess I’ve been around, intermittently, at least since then. I remember when the old blog was shutting down, when the roll call of those who wanted to move onwards and upwards with a new blog drew a negative response from backwards7. It felt significant at the time, because his stream of consciousness threads were a big part of the personality of the old blog. But here we are.

    • Yeah I remember Backwards 7 telling us all we were all wrong and it would never work… the other one was Archie V. Big names on the Word Blog at the time, sticking a big boot in and telling us it would never work. I don’t bear grudges but I’ll never forget those interactions.

      • I don’t remember those chaps being vitriolic but I do think the kind of posts they contributed were very much out of fashion by then. There was a fair bit of grumbling that the more literate, considered posts were ‘taking it too seriously’ or ‘sucking up to teacher’. I remember being told a thing I’d done (the sort of thing that takes an hour or two to compose) was showing off. Maybe it was, but so is playing four chords on a guitar when three would do.

        The magazine, which was named The Word for a reason, had itself gone the same way, from ‘Intelligent Life on Planet Rock’ to “YOUR TOP 50 PROG ALBUMS,” and then into obscurity.

        I think B7 and Co (and I was one of them) felt that without the support of Hepworth and the Word crew that longer-form writing would not be welcome in the new world order. And we were right.

        • One of the first blogs I really enjoyed reading on the Word site was from Backwards 7, I think – some sort of long story about Van Morrison and Christmas. It was inventive and kept up the standard of humour through the whole piece.

          Quality long form writing about a range of cultural subjects was what attracted me to the magazine – sort of like a British New Yorker with references I could understand, so it was good to see it on the Blog as well.

          I don’t know if long form writing is or is not welcome by the majority on the Afterword. I think if it is well done, informative, interesting and entertaining, and particularly if it is personal, it gets a good audience and appreciative comments.

          But I think it takes a particular skill and knowledge and time to achieve that. I love the more philosophical and political threads, as it gives me an excuse to reflect on interesting ideas, but as often as not, my verbosity is politely skirted round as the conversation moves onto more typical Afterword commentary – short quips, clips and quotes. I think that’s telling me something.

          • Long form writing not welcome? Short-form answer: bollocks.

            People who have written longer pieces on here are usually thanked and praised fairly fulsomely. I certainly very much appreciate it and I have the attention span of OH LOOK BOOBIES

          • I think people do look for different things in a forum. I’d love to see some good long form writing on here – not particularly about music, because I tend to be on the “dancing about architecture” side and non-musicians often sound a bit silly to me when they try to write in depth about it (see: the NME, forever). I know that’s not necessarily a popular view but it’s mine 🤷‍♂️

            I do think there are some good writers here, though. I like funny, I like thoughtful. I don’t particularly go for the very personal or mawkish. I like provocative without trolling, but that’s v much an “eye of the beholder” thing. If someone is very different from me but expresses themselves intelligently and thoughtfully, I love that.

            I like a robust discussion once in a while, though people’s views of what constitutes a debate vs. a row seem to be wildly different. Many people get their backs up the second they’re contradicted, and doubly so if they’re contradicted effectively. Similarly, some people will complain about “kicking off” when all I’m seeing is a bit of spirited disagreement – but also vice versa. I’ve definitely seen (not here) threads which I thought were really nasty and everyone else thought were pure yuks. Just human nature I guess.

            I tend to think online politics *debates*, as opposed to long form pieces, often pretty futile beyond a certain point, despite my natural attraction to them. I came much too late to the realisation that a) persuasion isn’t generally a realistic goal in matters political and b) when you engage too enthusiastically in online opinion, you’re going to piss a lot of people off. But I do enjoy seeing a political view well-expressed as long as doesn’t turn into a repeated bludgeoning.

            I can’t say I click on the lists of YouTube clips: that stuff feels very Denis Norden with the thread starter acting as compere. But live and let live. Not for me to complain.

            I’d sure as hell read anything longform that @Chiz chose to post, though, if that’s not too crawly.

                • “I’d sure as hell read anything longform that Chiz chose to post, though, if that’s not too crawly.”

                  Have you heard Chiz’s play Waiting For Hamlet? If not, you really should. It’s seriously brilliant.

                    • Bless you Gary! Thank you both. That’s going on the posters: “Seriously brilliant” – Gary off The Afterword

                      Coming to a Fringe Festival near you this summer, if they don’t all get cancelled again. We lost 60 performances last year.

                  • I listened to it this afternoon. Very good script. Having studied Hamlet as an A level text, the original lines were drummed into me, so it was a joy to hear them echoed, and the many themes of the play brought out in light, but resonant lines from the two actors. I think it’s preferable to the Stoppard play, which I remember as being quite heavy handed and verbose. Impressive writing, @Chiz.

                    • Thank you @salwarpe! So pleased you enjoyed it. You sound like our exact target audience – someone who knows a bit of Shakespeare, Stoppard and Beckett, but likes a daft gag or two as well.

                      This radio version was put together to raise a few quid for the actors who had committed to touring the show last summer and ended up with no work. We start rehearsals next month for shows from June, starting with the Brighton Festival.

                      Really appreciate you taking the time to listen and give feedback mate

                • That was very much the case for dear old Bob Numbers, mentioned elsewhere. He started some quite interesting threads and seemed basically a good bloke but he COULD NOT handle being questioned or gently jibed. Perhaps if he’d hung around a bit longer he would have become more acclimatised to the temperature of the place, but he just legged it. It’s instructive to hear posters say how reluctant they have been to start threads or even that this site would not be open to certain things. (I remember a couple of years back noting, when compiling an AW end of year poll playlist that what you might call contemporary country music was hugely represented in the poll but not in the content on the threads and the replies were that the site would not be welcoming to writing about this type of music, as though the monolithic Afterword was a different entity to its contributors). A perception that a certain type of thing is not welcome leads to an absence of such content, so the argument is self-fulfilling..

          • I like the long forms of old. Frankly, I was in awe of them – stringing words together of eloquence and thought.
            I have trouble with more than 3 sentences.
            I might have a go at a thought-piece, and see how (if?) it flies.

      • I do remember that in terms of B7 – he’d made his mind up before the old place closed and he and I got into a minor snit about it. I’ve since seen the occasional dig about longer form stuff but there’s been a lot more moaning about reviews, lists etc. Each to their own I’d say. The more you post about the things you like or would like to read about, the more you are likely to see from others.

  53. I bought the third issue of The Word and then became a subscriber.

    I discovered the blog in late 2007/early 2008 and started posting then as Dave Amitri notes earlier on.

    To my eternal shame I was responsible for the never ending ‘Time for a Re-appraisal’ posts back in the day.

  54. I was an early subscriber and reader/occasional contributor to the original blog. The Word podcasts, along withe the Adam and Joe podcasts, pretty much kept me alive in the 2008-10 period. I do still listen to WIYE as well.

    As far as I know, I have been involved in no scandals or flounces. I also have to admit that, although many of you have names that are as familiar to me as those of my children, almost all of you are merged into a single, undifferentiated entity in my head.

  55. Here since Dec 07

    Don’t visit or post as regularly as I used to but still scan every entry.

    I’ve kept up with the word podcasts, I enjoy their astute observations but am wondering are they going round in circles e.g. the stackwaddy game which I skip now

  56. I bought issue 4 or 5 and soon subscribed. I was namechecked on one podcast – drinks you don’t see anymore in bars – and I went to a couple of mingles (I too have a “Word Nerd” badge), but I found them a bit intimidating. Not a big contributor to the blog but I read it most days and post the occasional response, WIYE I will listen to if it’s someone or something that interests me but I don’t enjoy the half as much as the old Word podcasts.

  57. All this reminds me of a story. The second time I went to a mingle I got there early. The only people in the pub were six chaps round a table and a woman sitting on her own. The blokes looked about the right age and girth to Worders, but I didn’t recognise any of them nor them me, so I sat at the bar to listen in to their conversation.

    While I was ordering my pint I heard the woman lean over to the men and say: “Excuse me, are you the Word Massive?”

    The men looked non-plussed. “Er- what?” said one.

    “I’m Drakeygirl,” said the woman. “Are you the Massive?”

    A gentleman would have intervened at this point but my pint had just arrived. The group briefly considered whether it was, unbeknown to itself, a Massive. “Er, no, sorry Love,” said a spokesman.

    I gave it 30 seconds and then planted my pint on Drakeygirl’s table. As she looked up in horror I uttered the words every girl longs to hear. “Hi,” I said. “I’m Captain Underpants.”

  58. Hello again. Bought the Word from the first issue and subscribed fairly early on. Posted reasonably often on the original site. Joined here at the start but drifted away as I rarely felt inspired to post. Drifted back as a lurker.
    I should use this to get back into posting as you’re probably all missing my wit and wisdom…

  59. As suggested above, I have been around the Afterword from around the beginning, after being on the Word forum and a subscriber from near the beginning to the end (never did get the rest of my subscription back).
    I think I had a different username, and then some bright spark suggested we should use our real names rather that noms de plume. I think there are about 3 of us left who fell for that.
    I always liked the Word podcast, and have attend one (count it one) WIYE – what with them being in that there London to which I was an infrequent visitor. Since Covid started they have produced too many of them for me to keep up frankly. I used to listen a lot in the car – which is now mostly a garden ornament.
    I blame the demise of The Word for my failure to keep up to date with music – Mojo and Uncut just feel like I’m reading the same issue every time, unless it is a focus on some artist that I remember reading the original articles about back in the day. And those seem to cycle through the same dozen artists every few years.

    Grump, grump, grump.
    Anyway, did I mention that Cathal Coughlan has a new album out, and Tracey Thorn’s new book about Lindy Morrison of The Go-Betweens is ace.

    • “failure to keep up to date with music ” – yup. that’s my beef with Mojo and Uncut. There is some new stuff giving a brief spotlight, or a three paragraph review, but often hidden among the usual suspects.
      I now rely on mainly this place and 6Music to steer me – and (hopefully soon) mooching round a record shop and taking a chance on something.

        • What is the gist of the book? I think that Lindy always quietly despised Grant – if she could quietly do anything – and since time has elapsed has felt freer to voice her views about him. Personally, I think they are all over rated but she is a very interesting figure.

        • What is the gist of the book? I think that Lindy always quietly despised Grant – if she could quietly do anything – and since time has elapsed has felt freer to voice her views about him. Personally, I think they are all over rated but she is a very interesting figure.

          • The guardian article will give you a flavour. Very much Tracey’s view of Lindy’s view of the band, which presents Grant and Lindy in competition for Robert’s attention. But more than that it’s about being a woman playing music rather than being a hanger on, which seems to annoy some male musicians who want to cut her out and relegate her to “the girlfriend”.
            Lindy is loud and volatile – which would be seen as brilliant in a male musician, but held against her. She was prepared to get a job so that the band had money for food not just drugs – so she was seen as mumsy.
            Everyday sexism, which Tracey relates to.
            And of course she has had an interesting life outside music in politics, culture and human rights (which is not usually what you expect of a drummer).

      • It’s a good (short-medium length) read, as with all TT’s stuff. As much about Lindy and Tracey’s friendship as it is about the band, which is fair enough as they’ve been friends for 40 years and Lindy was only in TGB for a decade.

        The first TGB LP had “Two wimps and a witch” in the runout groove, and summarises the intra-band relationships well.

  60. Earlier today, I sent a copy of the tube map mentioned upthread out. Looking at some of the names on it, I chuckled and realised why I keep coming back.

    Nicknames. Not just user names.

    Faux Geordie, who (I think) H.P Saucecraft christened ‘Forks’, and Bob_32_116 ‘Bob Numbers” which I think was one of Moose the Moists.

    • I think Bob Numbers may have been me – in order to differentiate him from Idiot Bob.
      I bought the first issue from Borders and bought most subsequent magazines. I had a letter published early on moaning about the relentless Beatles coverage and promotion of Apple products! I joined the blog in 2008 I think.
      These days I visit occasionally. Nice to see some of the old gang still here. I hope everyone is well.
      I’m not sure anyone has mentioned the late James Blast – I liked his contributions and was quite cut up when he passed on.

  61. I bought Word number 1 and joined the forum around that time. Came across with the mass migration after the original site closed but went AWOL for a few years, until recently rejoining. It was (and remains) the only forum where I feel comfortable enough to contribute.

  62. I remember someone joining in the word blog who was all about profane Loaded-era bantz and oy oy saveloys, particularly when threads discussed female artists. I don’t think he was blocked, it just became clear that he was in the wrong cyber-pub and he got his cyber-coat.

  63. One of the problems of looking at the blog every three days or so is that you tend to miss the life-span of a thread. I have loitered here and at previous since 2008 ( I think ) always with this name. Based in Brisbane, Australia, I have been at no gatherings. I listen to the current Word podcasts with DH and ME and have occasionally tuned into Afterword pods. I have contributed some longish pieces when in the mood – my thing really is the philosophy of music, the nature of being a listener, the artistic experience and development of a writer/singer/performer. I think that a completely underdeveloped area of thought is the second half of a career ; second half of life which I have found fascinating. For example, Paul Simon has had a very interesting second or even third career but a biography will deal mostly with S&G ( yawn) early solo ( been there before) and Graceland – much covered. But I would love to talk about the Surprise album or You’re The One. There’s quite a lot to say. If a new artist put out an album as good as McCartney’s Chaos and Creation… then they could be hailed as a genius.

    But I digress. I find that it is actually quite difficult to engage folk in posts when you are not known – oh well.

    I can’t resist saying this – I recently read David Hepworth’s Uncommon People and I found it be a series of beautifully written essays about an interesting idea. Completely sustained theme and unashamed in its recognition that he as expertise in a particular type of music and performer. I am not bothered by the absence of this person or that person. However, I do wish that somebody close to him could suggest that he stop shouting on his podcast, that the topics are interesting for sure and that they are well covered. But the air of frustrated disbelief does wear thin as it does with any friend with whom we meet for a drink on weekly basis and find that their opinions have been clearly stated one time and that it might be more generous to allow the other person to finish a sentence.

    • Just like to say that “my thing really is the philosophy of music, the nature of being a listener, the artistic experience and development of a writer/singer/performer” sounds really interesting. Are any of your pats on this site? I’ll have a look later. Also, if you started a new one, I’d cheer and engage.

      Also, your comment about David Hepworth “their opinions have been clearly stated one time and that it might be more generous to allow the other person to finish a sentence.” is very witty and observant. I like a lot of his interesting views, but he does love the sound of his own voice.

  64. Bought issue 1 and then subscribed. Had all the issues at one point, but most are gone [IIRC I kept enough to fill one Ikea magazine holder and binned the rest] I have been a log member since the beginning but under different names [I remember when you were never more than two years from a name amnesty]
    The only thing I think is lacking is more female contributors, I think it was a much better place when we had a healthy number of ladies here.
    But all in all, it’s still a good place to visit.

  65. Very late to the party, me. Starting buying Word what I’m guessing is “midway through”; relatively expensive to buy on import in Sydney. But loved the writing and loved the podcast even more. I’ve probably said along the way that I was envious the rich cultural touchstones many here share that people from overseas perhaps don’t get to quite the same degree.

    This is still one of my first ports of call when checking in on the interwebs. I think the atmosphere here is more kind than when i first took an interest. I’ve certainly felt more confident in creating threads, though I do it infrequently. Far fewer flounces and, while I understand people’s discomfort with the ‘mercenary’ nature of the magazine’s closing, I can’t say I miss the anti-Hepworth pile-ons. Jilted lovers sometimes 🙂 I also feel there are far fewer ‘naval gazing’ meta threads* which, as far as I could tell, would only ever lead to heroic flounces.

    Though I don’t feel like I contribute much, I’m always happy to be here and really value the insights and the camaraderie. If not too bold a claim, in terms of the OP I think I’m one of the later Ramones in the Word narrative: Richie, or Guido or whoever. Or Rick Vito or someone in Fleetwood Mac. That kind of status.

    *except for this one

  66. The first Word mag I bought was issue 20 (which had Bruce Springsteen on the cover). I became a subscriber a bit later.
    Can’t remember when I joined the initial website. I’d been a lurker on the original Mojo website, which became Black Cat Bone, but when I first visited the Word forum, I knew I wanted to contribute. It seemed open, welcoming, and pretty good-natured.
    I’d like to think that my biggest contribution to this site was introducing Kaisfatdad to it. He kept the flame burning with a dedicated Facebook page during the long and difficult period before the revived site emerged.
    I listen to the Word in your Ear podcast with Mark Ellen, Alex Gold and the Incredible Heppo. I like it well enough to continue listening. They have lots of videocasts with special guests, but I never know which ones to listen to. This is because Mark Ellen inevitably describes each of them as “absolutely brilliant”….

  67. I simply can’t remember exactly, but became a Word subsciber pretty early on…in those days I was getting the full set..Q, Mojo, Uncut and Word – blimey I’m dull.

    Anyways, picked up on the old Word blog and enjoyed the ‘animated’ debates without getting involved too much, much like now really. People here are much more eloquent than me, so tend not to write too many comments. I enjoyed, and was thrilled, to be asked to do a couple of podcasts as it must have become obvious that I loved the Fabulosas, but I don’t believe I added too much value! I had some nice comments for some reviews, and that’ll do me nicely.

  68. I came to the Word magazine a bit later than most of you, I think it would have been in 2008. I never contributed to the original massive but lurked here (still do, I guess) for a while before signing up in 2016. (I’ve just checked that and I can’t believe it’s nearly been five years).

  69. Following some serious health problems I have not posted here for quite a few years. I didn’t flounce I just stopped posting. My nerves were shot to pieces and I can’t stand aggravation, no matter how mild, so I cut my social media from very little to nothing.

    I was part of the small Melbourne cadre led by Junior Wells. I purchased the first print edition, I still have it. Nick Cave on the cover. It had the words “New! Something to read!” which is what led me to buy it. Never got to read the final edition as (I am guessing) the few copies that made their way to Southern Australia were quickly snapped up by others.

    I was invited to join the Word Blog by another poster. I was on a tram reading Mojo or Uncut when I greeted this fella who I knew. He sat next to me and said, “I always prefered “Word” Do you ever read that?” and I reached into my bag and pulled out the then current copy and said, “Do you mean this?” He then suggested I give the blog a go.

    Was never a prolific poster. A lot of the threads went over my head so I left them alone. My highlight was getting praise from Mr Hepworth himself! It’s true! I gave him a piece of trivia he had never heard before on a subject he seemed to be researching. I sometimes felt the blog similar to the episode of The Simpsons where Bart and Lisa’s school get taken over by a company that teaches children purely as a ruse to develop new toys. I felt the blog existed to help them write the next edition.

    A lot of the names above in this thread are very familiar to me, some I have never seen before. The biggest blowup I witnessed here was between Archie Valparaiso and someone called Middlerabbit. They were fighting over punctuation! I kid you not! In the end Archie rode off into the sunset which was a great shame.

    The big mystery from my day was, “What was Danny Baker’s log in name?” Apparently he had mentioned in a newspaper that he was a regular on the Word website and it had been of great comfort to him during an illness. I never found out the answer. Every time I see him on repeats of QI I think, “I know him! Sort of”

    • Bodhisattva. He was still posting fairly regularly in the Word’s last days. I for one should have guessed from his Dan fixation – he certainly used to play that track on the Morning Edition on the old Radio Five (arguably one of the precursors of this place in terms of its content)

      It would be nice to think that someone could furnish you with a copy of the last Word – I don’t have one, sadly.

      • Yeah I’m in Melbourne. My desire to read the final issue evaporated some time ago. Not being able to find it was very aggravating at the time but I got over it. Probably wouldn’t read the final one even if I had it. Thanks anyway.

      • Can’t really help you. You know how they say, “It’s a nice place to visit but I wouldn’t want to stay.”? Melbourne is the opposite. It’s a great place to live but I have no idea what a tourist would do here. There is no great experience to have and no great sight to see. Our strength is everything just works properly. Try putting that on a postcard.

        One word of warning though. While seeing a match at the MCG should be on the to-do list of every cricket fan in the world it can be brutal in summer. Sitting in the sun for six hours, with no wind, surrounded by 90,000 people would be hellish. You have to get yourself a seat in the shade. The good news is there’s plenty of them.

      • From my limited experience of Melbourne, I’d say the Botanic Gardens would be a good refuge from the heat. Not far from the MCG. But perhaps you’re acclimatised by now…

  70. Bought every Word from issue 1 (Nick Cave staring at me from the kiosk in Chancery Lane tube station, yay!) to the very end. Still have most of them. My favourite magazine ever. Plus listened to the podcast from the first until today (even subscribing to the mag to get the full version).

    Also engaged semi-regularly under a different name on the old site. It was always an interesting place to dip into but did at times feel cliquey. As other irregulars have noted it could feel like a chat amongst insiders and posts were only engaged with if by a recognised name. Same here I suppose, where I’m even more irregular. No criticism meant. Answer would be to engage more I imagine, but I guess I’ll always be more of a lurker. And there’s plenty of interesting and entertaining stuff to keep me lurking.

    Remember feeling the Hepworth pile-on when it all ended was uncalled-for as they’d clearly been fighting tooth and nail to keep it all afloat (the mag was basically written by him at the end) and just seen their business tank (at, let’s speculate, a certain personal cost) and then people just moaned how they wouldn’t miss the mag, only the blog. His irritation didn’t feel out of place…

    Was a bit mean about the WIYE podcast on another thread the other day which I feel a bit bad about. They’ve kept me entertained for 18 years since that first issue of Word (plus I’ve read their books, and read Q and Mojo before discovering Word)) so it’s hardly their fault that I might be finding it a bit repetitive these days! So, long may they run. Stackwaddy game still annoying though…

    • Of course, having just said it can feel like being outside a clique when you’re not a regular poster, the fact my instrumental comfort thread resulted in such a great response means I’ve been left with a warm glow and an ace spotify playlist. Off to lurk again…

  71. I read the magazine from issue one and was active on the original blog, all under a different username, which is still on the tube map upthread (I’m on the photo as well – one up on Richard Thompson, as was ever the case). Can’t remember exactly when I changed to this one, possibly after the Drupal thing, but maybe when it first became the Afterword, and I certainly can’t remember why.

    Probably not as active now as I have been, but it’s all cyclical isn’t it? I’ve been in too long to get out now, and a lot of those ones and zeroes that squirt down the phone line and become words on my screen have personalities and affection matched to them, even if I have extremely limited real world experience of you lot (met @retropath2 a couple of times at festivals – remember them? – and one very brief meeting with @vulpes-vulpes and @carolina before an EITS gig, but my bad friend who worked in Fopp had made me drink a bit too much before that one, and I fear I may not have been on best form).

    I do still enjoy the WIYE podcasts – they’re fun company for half an hour a week or so, and to be fair I don’t think they aim to be much more – but I think the spirit of the magazine is better represented by Bigmouth, which of course is hosted by at least one alumnus in the form of Andrew Harrison (I certainly know Sian Pattenden’s name from lots of 90s / 00s music journalism, but I don’t think / can’t remember if she was ever specifically part of the Word team).

    • One of the few faces I recognized in the montage – I joined in too late and from too far away to mingle. I couldn’t open the tube map in Imgur in a resolution clear enough to read the tube stations, though I can vaguely make out that I am High St Ken (which is great as I used to buy my goth clothes there). I remember Maggie was dropped after the Drupal crash. Finally, do post more, when you feel like it. I really enjoyed the tracks you sent me and the site could do with more post-punk, electronica and other weirdness to balance off the beating of the Beatles drum.

  72. OK, I’ll play – as he’s dragged out of his COVID secure cave to rejoin polite (?) society.

    My first copy of the mag was issue 11 – BB King with his iPod ears in – which I found in Brighton HMV in January 2004. Kept buying then subscribed to the end. (Was it just me or was having your unused subscription being applied to The Week, just cruel?) Joined the blog as it emerged and have stuck with it through its various incarnations. Does the Rocking Vicar count as the prototype Word/Afterword website then? Didn’t clock that.

    Went to a Mingle once somewhere round the back of Euston station. I remember meeting Hannah, Drakeygirl (and Mr Drakeygirl), one of the Bobs, Joe, Fraser and Mark Ellen – yes we talked about Dylan – before the demon drink got the better of me and I fell over! I once had a letter printed – on the subject of record shops iirc. I’m on the photo wall – row 7, 4 in from the left. Them’s my credentials. If you don’t like them I have others!

    What do I miss? The fun; the wit; the erudition; the sense of camaraderie; the cover CDs – I still have tracks in my collection that were found there.

    What don’t I miss? The Randomiser (I was never, ever cool enough to post); the flounces; the lists within genres I never got to grips with.

    I began as a lurker, emerged as an occasional poster and then reverted to lurking. That said, this is one of my top 5 sites to visit every day and I really love the range of the topics and the wit, the erudition – oh, hang on, I think I’ve lost my thread somewhere.

    This thread has been a great reminder of the strengths of this place and of how much water has passed under the bridge over so many years. It has been lovely to see so many long-forgotten noms de plume reappear and get right back into the game. Thanks to all, you’ve made an old man chuckle – and that doesn’t happen much these days!

  73. I can only echo what many have already said: I was an early adopter of the mag and devoured pretty much its every word, and was dismayed when it turned its toes up. I only lurked on the original blog, but after a long time lurking here as well, I plucked up the courage to sign up and post occasionally, although I’m still much more of a lurker than a poster.

    I find this place one of the most enjoyable reads on the interweb and some of the in-jokes always make me smile (TMFTL; the HJHs – I don’t get them all though!)

    I’ve always enjoyed the podcast and listen to WIYE more out of habit than anything. I can’t see the point of being a patreon though. As others have said, there are now so many Word in Your Attics on YouTube it’s hard to know where to start – there just isn’t time to watch them all.

    To sum up: I’m proud to be a humble cabin boy on the good ship Afterword; long may she sail.

  75. I’m so grateful to the Afterword. In meat world, there is no-one I know remotely interested in listening to music as intently as I do. You often provide the spark that lights my fire.

    I bought the first Word magazine. There were a lot of great writers, especially pre-Dido. I largely observed the original blog from a safe distance. My admiration for Frazer Lewry knows no bounds. The man has the patience of a saint. He was kind enough to vote in a Jazz poll I once held, excluding Miles Davis. He voted for Alice Coltrane’s Journey To Satchidananda. I have no interest in WIYE whatsoever.

    I have never been to a mingle but I have met quite a number of Afterworders in real life. It’s always been an absolute pleasure.

    I much prefer The Afterword, mainly because it severed links to the magazine, so posters no longer felt the need to try and impress the staff. It also helped when the thumbs down option was removed. Bloggers come and go. However, I do wish there were more active women participants. Hannah, Drakey, Helena Handcart, Contraryarticle, Minibreakfast, RubyBlue et al brought a certain quality that is sorely missed (no disrespect to the women who continue to post). For example, a Moose interjection is far more satisfying topped off with a mini comeback. Hannah gave so much to the site I suspect she became exhausted, but there was one thread I remember that must have been the final straw. Still, from what I gather, she has moved on to a happy life. As far as I’m concerned she is the true hero of this forum.

    Which brings me to you, Dr Volume. In what is effectively a post-script to this thread, I’m outing you as an unsung hero of The Afterword, working tirelessly, in your own time, to set things up and keep things going in the early years. You will, of course, modestly point out that you were part of a great team and you may have stepped back some years ago but the site couldn’t have existed without you. A triple hamper is well deserved and it must be very pleasing for you to see lots of old names making a reappearance and, most of all, plenty of new names stepping forward. I can’t wait to read your legendary gig reviews again. In the meantime, take a bow.

    My thanks go to all the mods over the years and the likes of Rich, whose interWeb skills are beyond my comprehension.

    Which reminds me. It’s time I put my hand in my pocket to keep the coffers ticking over.

  77. 1st post for some time – I’ve been occasionally lurking for a bit when I’ve had a moment. I was a Word buyer from issue 1 but relatively late to joining the forum, however, I did end up posting quite a bit of stuff and went to a Mingle or three – fond memories of singing “Dock Of The Bay” to a roomful of Word Nerds/Birds years ago. Drink may have been involved.

    Then… Life intervened and I had less time/energy to post stuff. Also… one or two posters… ahem. But I’ve followed the odd thread occasionally. This was a nice nostalgia-fest. Lots of paisley-patterned love to everyone who knew me when I was Someone.

  78. Lately I’ve been mostly lurking, being too tired to get involved most of the time, and way too tired to be funny. But on the original Word site I pretty much jumped in both feet first almost as soon as I found it, which was in 2010. I think I’d bought my first magazine around the same time, or perhaps I found the blog first and then bought it out of a sense of obligation…!

    I’ve been on the Afterword from the beginning (and the short-lived prior attempt at it) and I still have a quick look every day. Just not been having the time and energy to engage much these past couple of years. And the more you lurk, the higher the threshold to go back to posting, I find.
    There is a bit of “we’ve done that topic a few times already”-fatigue as well, at times. And the Britcentric perspective is sometimes slightly tiresome, I must admit… 😉
    I still love it and would miss it sorely if it disappeared! I just wish I had more time and energy to post more, replies and OP:s and reviews, because I know from experience that getting more involved makes it a lot more fun. Unfortunately I have too many projects and deadlines to meet at the moment, so I can’t see when I’ll find the extra time to spend doing that again. I guess I’ll just pop in occasionally for a Blogger’s Takeover or a quick reply here and there on my days off work for now.

    I have a bad habit of often not replying to others replying to me, especially when I feel that my point was missed; and then when I’ve left it too long without adding to that conversation I regret being too apathetic or lazy to take the time to get my point across. Although I do that IRL as well, usually I’m so stunned by how others interpret what I say that I can’t think of a reply before they’ve moved the converstion on…I don’t know why I find it so unbelievable that people misunderstand what I say – it’s been happening to me all of my life on a daily basis so I should definitely be used to it by now! 🙂

    Being one of the few Word Birds left I feel a responsibility to hang around as well (even if a surprising amount of AW:ers seems unaware – fooled by the unladylike moniker, I suppose!)
    And as I said, I like it here, so I’ll keep up a while longer, if slightly lurking for now.

    • Long you may stay, Locust. You would be a big miss.

      Some more reviews would very welcome. You come at music from a different angle to me and I value your opinion. You’ve directed me to many a great album I would not even have considered otherwise.

      • Thanks Tigger, that’s nice to hear (especially coming from the King of Reviews).
        I guess one of the reasons I haven’t posted reviews for a long while is that I find it difficult to listen to music when I’m stressed, it all becomes background noise to me then. That’s why my focus (on Blogger Takeovers etc) has shifted from music to books, as books become what keeps me somewhat calm and sane when I’m stressed and too busy. Last year I bought less albums than any other year since the 90s! And this year isn’t that different, so far.
        Books, however…yikes! Making place for all of them on my shelves is a constant headache. One I can’t say I mind much, unfortunately (for my wallet and my bookcases).

          • What I enjoy so much is that @locust mentions interesting Swedish stuff that I have never heard of. Why does no one else I know in Stockholm mention these things to me?

            Can it be that we live in parallel Swedish universes, linked only by the AW?

            • Well, @Kaisfatdad, I guess that most of those things I get to mention on the wonderfully odd and enjoyable threads that you’ll start by asking about some very specific and rather strange topic – perhaps you don’t ask enough specific questions of your friends IRL? 🙂

              • Maybe….And maybe you just are someone who knows lots and lots of interesting, arcane stuff. For which I am most grateful.@Locust.

                I do have friends like that too. Fredrik, my Jazz Librarian neighbour, for example, does always seem to have some titbit of wonderful, very obscure jazz history, that he wants to share with me.

                He never fails to surprise me either.

        • Isn’t it funny – I’ve bought more albums this year than I probably have for about a decade. Maybe something to do with a pandemic and my kids leaving home (in theory – their University experience has mostly been on a visiting basis so far).

          Mostly from MusicMagpie to be honest, so not supporting too many starving artists except Cathal Coughlan, Ride and the Wedding Present (are Ride and The Wedding Present starving artists? Probably less than Cathal). Oh and Taylor Swift who I am sure is NOT a starving artist.

    • “I don’t know why I find it so unbelievable that people misunderstand what I say – it’s been happening to me all of my life on a daily basis”…

      Yup, know that feeling. Mind you, isn’t that what the internet and social media are essentially *for* – to facilitate misunderstandings…?

  79. I bought the first issue of Word.
    I was a contributor to the original Word blog which was a Bulletin Board affair.
    It had the plug pulled on it unceremoniously, mainly I think down to the lack of proper moderation and some contributors being wind-up merchants.
    I then joined the Afterword’s first antecedent, which was set up by Lindsay. I can’t recall what it was called. The number of contributors was much smaller than we have here. The only other name I remember was the late James Blast.
    When the new blog opened I signed up.
    This was very well moderated, firstly by Matt then by Frazer.
    I was at the first drink, as mentioned above by Lunaman and Twang. I do recall we were attacked as élitist for arranging such a meet. I said it was down to circumstances, us living in London but said anyone was welcome. If you couldn’t make it here, arrange your own.
    They later evolved into mingles.
    I was here when Afterword began and have been here, on and off, ever since.
    I don’t quite understand, in the Word blog, why anyone might think they would get a writing gig through submitting contributions instead of just writing something and then submitting it for publication to the magazine.

    • A quick look at way back shows I began posting in 2007 under my real name, but changed it to the present moniker in 2008. Bloody hell that is a bit scary. God, I’d forgotten about frequent posters like Pat Carty, Azeem, and Five-Centres

  81. I bought Word from issue 1 – never actually subscribed. Got a letter printed, but didn’t work out the blog until the mag was nearly finished. I still occasionally read Uncut & Mojo – usually suckered in by the cover blurb and usually disappointed by the content. I can’t remember when I signed up (chronological list of users puts me on the same page as Ernie and Raymond). I was here for the music – a place where you could like progressive music and not be ridiculed to excess, unlike in the real world (still remember Fraser’s equations and Venn diagrams) – of course, that pendulum has swung back a bit recently. I never contributed to political or argumentative threads and was never part of a clique. Contributing a bit less over the last few years, but still checking in – particularly for KFD’s wonderful musical threads and any long-form music writing and reviewing (particularly you, Mr Tigger). I used to listen to the early WIYE but have dropped off a bit recently – I prefer the Afterword podcasts, to be honest. I’ve never attended a mingle (difficult geography) and have never knowingly met any of you, except el Hombre Malo, years ago in a different context. This is the friendliest and wisest group of people I’ve ever (never) met and is the only forum to which I ever contribute.

      • No-one is ever part of a clique, yet everyone’s always asking “what’s that cliquing sound?”. Funny that.
        I was reminded this week that my first ever post on here was that they should sometimes have journalists on Match Of The Day as I was watching Match Of The Day and thinking they should have a journalist on. Plus ça change, eh?

  82. I became instantly addicted to the magazine, right from the first issue. I liked Mojo as well, still do, but it can be a bit hit and miss. Strangely though, although Mark Ellen seems a good guy, I was never much of a Hepworth fan as I find his style slightly brusque. Can’t be doing with the books either, they seem formulaic and samey. My loss.
    As for the forum, I lurked for a few years, as although I enjoyed reading it a lot, it did seem slightly cliquey and even a bit intimidating at times. I was very pleasantly surprised when the first post (I think it was) made over 100 comments and proved that if you’ve got something to say that strikes a chord, people will respond. And on the whole it’s a lovely little bit of the internet, although I have to say I just can’t be bothered to engage with anything that controversial nowadays.
    I’ve discovered some good music, books, and TV through coming here, so it’s a big thank you from me.

  83. I was a regular on the Word blog and recognise the originals still here. Got the odd shout-out on the podcast too, that was always fun. Magazine Subscriber… but you can’t keep these things forever (wish I could) so I’ve just held onto a couple of issues.

    I followed onto The Afterword (was even an admin for the 24 hours or so that it was launched as a more traditional messageboard, before the blog was built) but stepped away after a bit. I actually thought the site had gone down at some point, but discovered it was back up fairly recently and have glanced in from time to time during lockdown. My account must have gone, but this thread has prompted me to recreate it and say hello. So hello! Hope everyone is surviving this odd period and digging into their record collections to stay sane.

  84. I remember finding the first issue more or less a random in the Leeds branch of Borders, buying it on a whim and devouring it over the next few days. I started subscribing a couple of issues later and stuck with them until the end. I remember it being particularly weird when I was interning at a recording studio and would often read about people I’d met (or at least seen around) a few months before.

    I was on the old site, but I don’t always remember to include this in the sites that I regularly check out (as my post history will attest) but I do often come by and read things even if I don’t contribute as much as I did on the older site.

  85. I feel like I’ve been here forever. At least 15 years then, maybe more. I certainly didn’t buy issue 1 of the magazine, but Tom Morton on BBC Radio Scotland told me about it early on. It certainly was one of the early ones I got. No idea when I joined the website(Word) but very soon after buying the mag. I got a review of one of Kathleen Edwards cds printed in the mag and was well chuffed.

    I went to one Glasgow mingle and met lots of folks. James Blast and El Hombre Malo the most famous ones.

    I rarely post, but I log in a couple of times every day. It’s my alternative newswire.

    Keep it going folks!

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