By the end of the eighties the football comic was on its last legs. Gary Lineker’s Hot Shot was meant to be the rescue act. Big name on the cover, slicker paper, a bit of shine. But this was issue 14 of what ended up being just 28 before it quietly merged into Roy of the Rovers. I… Read More »
Nine pence. That’s what Saturday cost.A walk to the paper shop, breath in the air that smelt like chip fat and damp leaves, and there it was – Roy of the Rovers. Thirty-odd pages of glory, mud and moral certainty. Cover – “Racey’s Rocket!” Roy in full flight, red shirt flashing, a blur of hair and optimism. Racey’s… Read More »
IPC Magazines Ltd | 3 1/2p | Edited by Wilf Prigmore Not one I read back in the day — I was only three! But chances are my sister had a few copies of Tammy or Sandie scattered around, and maybe I flicked through one between climbing furniture and watching Rainbow. Reading it now, more than fifty years… Read More »
D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd | 24p | Edited by Bill Graham I’ll start with a confession — Warlord was never one of mine.By 1985, my weekly haul was more likely Tiger, Roy of the Rovers or any other sporty comic. But Warlord? Not really. Even at fifteen, I wasn’t drawn to tales that made war sound like… Read More »
IIPC Magazines Ltd | 14p | Edited by Barrie Tomlinson Back in November 1980, this issue of Tiger and Speed hit the shelves — and I was ten years old, sprinting (well, walking fast) to the paper shop between TISWAS and the start of Grandstand. Forty-odd years later, it’s part of my ever-growing digital archive — one of… Read More »
Adam Ant – Roundhouse, Camden – November 2nd 2025 Tickets were bought back in 2023 for a gig meant to happen in 2024, which of course got kicked into 2025. Typical. By the time it finally rolled around, Hammy was the designated driver so off we went to Colchester to pick up the train into London. It was… Read More »
The Boomtown Rats – Cambridge Corn Exchange – 25 October 2025 The day started with Neil driving to Ely to see them take on Woodbridge. There were a few matches closer to Cambridge, but we went for that one as local lad Connor Field was turning out for Woodbridge. They ran out 3–1 winners, with Field getting one… Read More »
I’ll be honest – I went into this one completely blind. I’d never really listened to The Enemy, but when old mates Shaun Real (Realo), Ian Brown (Browny), and Ian McKinnon (Ninky) suggested a night out, I wasn’t going to say no. Any excuse to get together again. The day started the way all good ones do –… Read More »
Released on this day – 30th October 1995 By the autumn of 1995, Pulp had gone from being Sheffield’s best-kept secret to the band that defined British life in the mid-90s. Jarvis Cocker — gangly, awkward, funny, and a little bit filthy — was suddenly a national icon. He’d conquered Glastonbury, confused the tabloids, and made being the… Read More »
October 29th 1990 By 1990, Paul Heaton had perfected the art of sounding chipper while quietly reminding us that life is largely disappointing. Choke, their second album, is a masterclass in middle-England melancholy — cheerful brass, bitter lyrics, and the sort of charm only found in pubs with sticky carpets and functioning jukeboxes. It’s the record that gave… Read More »
