2 Fanzines & The Music Media

It’s slightly surreal that magazines that were looking to be in opposition to the mainstream music media got reviewed in that same media. Even more so that the two main reviewers were Julie Burchill – got her job at the NME by submitting a handritten review of Patti Smith’s Horses and Jon Savage originally started his own fanzine London’s Outrage.

They had two features each – one a roundup and another roughly 6 months to a year later on what had changed.

As you’d expect, Burchill was pretty much scathing and peremptory though had a soft spot for Arcane Vendetta’s These Things which continued in the punk massacre that was The Boy Looked At Johnny.

NME 11.6.1977 – click for larger image.

Jon was more measured, but reflected his own personal likes and dislikes (obviously) but he provided some very good critiques of the current scene. The first one was in the September 10th Issue of Sounds and a full two pages. Click for larger images.

.His follow-up article was in the January 14th 1978 edition and featured some existential thoughts on the fanzine writer as a parallel star to the bands and fame for 15 minutes muisngs and how a number of fanzines had fallen by the wayside “Whatever happened to Skum, More-On, ZIP Vinyl, Apathy In Ilford…”

It was an interesting time as punk was changing. Sniffin’ Glue had gone but there was still a large amount of fanzines both starting and others finding their feet to keep on producing issues like Ripped & Torn and Panache. Other big hitters were about to cease like New Pose, 48 Thrills and White Stuff.

Coincidentally fellow fanzine writer turned Sounds music journalist Sandy Robertson of White Stuff was reviewing the singles that same week and Jon plugged his Secret Public fanzine he’d done with Linder Sterling.

Regardless of what was said by Jon, the article still offered some welcome publicity for the fanzines.

I’m not 100% sure but I think Burchill & Parsons contributed to the NME Book Of Rock from 1979 which was a pull-out each week. Fanzines had the entry below which isn’t a bad summary and ends on a positive note that there was life in the idiom yet. So maybe Burchill & Parsons didn’t do the article 🙂

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