“I liked disco, I liked the O’ Jays. I liked The Isley Brothers' Summer Breeze. Sheila B Devotion's Spacer. Bowie, glam, silly pop rock. Everything apart from heavy metal." - Edwyn Collins
I like the bit about "It was enough to wear straight trousers or drainpipes to be called a punk rocker, and have shortish hair"- and get beaten up for it. It was like that in Liverpool, too. And the elitism, and not wanting to be identikit punk.
Nicely done, Alastair. And thanks for linking to the show. It all comes together serendipitously at a certain point in time, doesn't it? Something I should have raised on the Fanzine Podcast was that Steven Daly also became a journalist excelling in - there is a term for it I am sure and you would know if so - famous-people long-form profiles.
It does come together, yes. Steven's a great journalist. He knows his way around a celebrity profile. (I wanted him to pop up and disrupt the Beckham Netflix series). Before Vanity Fair and all that, he used to contribute to CUT, the Scottish music/culture magazine I worked for in Edinburgh. A lot of talented people worked for it. That's the point I should have made - punk and fanazines offered a foot in the door for a lot of people who didn't have contacts in media and creative industries.
I love this; I always loved Orange Juice.
I like the bit about "It was enough to wear straight trousers or drainpipes to be called a punk rocker, and have shortish hair"- and get beaten up for it. It was like that in Liverpool, too. And the elitism, and not wanting to be identikit punk.
I’m glad you like it. I like the elitist bit too. For me, punk was about avoiding the set menu.
Me too! Still is.
I can tell you from personal experience that Edwyn and family are mensch extraordinare.
And by cripes has he got a musical ear…….
Nicely done, Alastair. And thanks for linking to the show. It all comes together serendipitously at a certain point in time, doesn't it? Something I should have raised on the Fanzine Podcast was that Steven Daly also became a journalist excelling in - there is a term for it I am sure and you would know if so - famous-people long-form profiles.
It does come together, yes. Steven's a great journalist. He knows his way around a celebrity profile. (I wanted him to pop up and disrupt the Beckham Netflix series). Before Vanity Fair and all that, he used to contribute to CUT, the Scottish music/culture magazine I worked for in Edinburgh. A lot of talented people worked for it. That's the point I should have made - punk and fanazines offered a foot in the door for a lot of people who didn't have contacts in media and creative industries.
Wonderful article!
Thanks, Lucy.