Sounds Magazine : Classic or Dud?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/4c/Sounds_2451980.jpg

Sounds was a long-term UK weekly pop/rock music newspaper, published from 10 October 1970 – 6 April 1991.

It was produced by Spotlight Publications (part of Morgan Grampian), which was set up by Jack Hutton and Peter Wilkinson, who left Melody Maker to start their own company. Sounds was their first project, a weekly paper devoted to progressive rock and described by Hutton, to those he was attempting to recruit from his former publication, as "a leftwing Melody Maker". Sounds was intended to be a weekly rival to titles such as Melody Maker and New Musical Express (NME). It was well known initially for giving away posters in the centre of the paper (initially black and white, but colour from late 1971) and later for covering heavy metal (especially the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM))[1] and Oi! music in its late 1970s-early 1980s heyday.[2] Sounds was the first music paper in its coverage of punk[citation needed] and in the late eighties was maintaining its reputation for getting there first, when John Robb covered the Manchester music scene and came up with the term 'Britpop' whilst writing for Sounds. The paper's editors realised the importance of its regional audience and had freelancers across the UK contributing gig reviews and articles about up and coming local bands.

Keith Cameron wrote about Nirvana after John Robb did the first ever interview with them.[3]

One of the "trinity" of British music weeklies, along with NME and Melody Maker, it folded in 1991 after the parent company United Newspapers, sold all their music titles to EMAP Metro and closed Sounds. Morgan-Grampian had been acquired by United Business Media – then known as United News and Media – in 1987, first as part of the United Advertising Publications (UAP) division and later as part of the then CMP Information portfolio. A legacy of Sounds was the creation of the heavy metal/rock magazine Kerrang!, which was originally issued as a supplement before being spun off as a separate publication.[1]

Contributors included Keith Altham, Garry Bushell, Geoff Barton, Phil Bell, Mick Sinclair,[4] Johnny Waller, Gary Cooper, John Gill, Tommy Udo, Barbara Charone, Caroline Coon, Andrew Courtney, Giovanni Dadomo, Hugh Fielder, Dave Fudger, Jonathan Knight, Antonella Gambotto, Jerry Gilbert, Vivien Goldman, Jonh Ingham, Pete Makowski, Alan Moore (aka "Curt Vile"),[5] Jon Newey, Mick Middles, Lizo Mzimba,[6] Ian Ravendale, John Robb, John Peel, Edwin Pouncey (aka "Savage Pencil"), Penny Reel, Cathi Unsworth, Jon Ronson, Robin Gibson, Damon Wise, Jon Savage, Peter Silverton, Sylvie Simmons, Steve Sommer, Penny Valentine, Marguerite Van Cook, Mary Anne Hobbs, Mat Snow, James Brown (who went on to form Loaded), Steve Lamacq, Kev F. Sutherland and Russ Carvell's UT strip, Keith Cameron, Mr Spencer,Jai Hadgraft, Winston Smith, Andy Peart, Tim Peacock, Paul Mardles, Paul Moody, Claude Wogger, David Tibet, Leo Finlay, Steffan Chirazi, Chris Roberts, Valac Van Der Veene, Ann Scanlon, Neil Perry, Kevin Murphy, Paul Elliott, Sandy Robertson, Dave McCullough, Jane Suck (nee Jackman), Phil Sutcliffe, Tony Mitchell along with photographers Andy Phillips,Virginia Turbett, Paul Slattery, Ross Halfin, Justin Focus, Steve Rapport, Rik Walton, Janette Beckman,[7] Mary Scanlon, Steve Gullick, Leo Regan, Steve Double and Gus Stewart.

I never actually read this but it did birth Kerrang! magazine. How good or bad was it? How did it compare to NME and Melody Maker?

I always assumed it was the magazine that covered rawk in the 70s whilst the other 2 didn't yet for others Sounds was the punk bible.

Sounds
Smash Hits
Melody Maker
NME
All sounds like a dream to me

is there no escape from them on ilm?

so did anyone ever read sounds? tom? marcello?

I used to read it from time to time, probably because it seemed more sympathetic to the early post-industrial scene than either NME or MM. Tibet used to write for it and it ran reviews of the first NWW album and DIJ live.

There was a guy called Sandy Robertson who used to review lots of weirdo / avant / noise records in Sounds back in the 80s, big Blue Oyster Cult fan too which is where he crossed over with Geoff Barton and the Kerrang! lot (probably the only place actually). The other guy I remember was Dave Henderson, who also ran the Dead Man's Curve label and wrote pieces like this :

http://media.hyperreal.org/zines/est/articles/wplanet.html

The home of PigFuck and Blast First style band coverage, oh and SST

Also the home of Positive Punk and other such Garry Bushell bullshit.

Also the home of Dave McCullogh, who probably covered the Vic Godard / Postcard end of post-punk better than anyone else.

I read it regularly from 1974, avidly during punk/post-punk, less enthusiastically during NWOBHM/Oi, but still fairly regularly until it folded (in the same week as Record Mirror, I think). Certainly my favourite period was 1976-79: Jonh Ingham/Giovanni Dadomo very quick off the mark on early UK punk, closely followed by Jane Suck/Jon Savage/Sandy Robertson/Dave McCullough. Considerably less fond of Geoff Barton (NWOBHM cheerleader) and Garry Bushell (even in his early SWP days). I barely recall anything about it after 1981 or so, which is odd.

Read my older sisters from the early 70s, it was better than the NME for mainstream UK rock - more uriah heap, deep purple and wishbone ash and less US west cost country rock that the NME would cover. I thought that was a good thing at the time, and still do.

In 1976 there were some albums you can send away for and I got the Sounds EMI SUmmer Sounds one all I can find about it is an ebay listing http://www.ebay.ie/itm/EMI-Summer-Sounds-vol-1-vinyl-lp-Soft-Machine-Druid-Kevin-Ayers-etc-/141289423723?pt=UK_Records&hash=item20e581836b

It was great 77 to 81 or 2 though nevr really declaring year zero in the same way NME did, it had smarter writers and better context. The first time I recall reading about the stranglers described them as 'who ever heard of an angry psychedelic band' a term that was new to me and led me to being interested in Nuggets era music, and curiously / thankfully not much interest in the Stranglers.

The Sounds cover of Edwin and wee Clair for the first write up of the emerging Scottish bands was the peak of my love for the magazine. Not only covering exactly what I was interested in but writing up very well.

I had mixed feelings about NWOBHM, not liking the music much but feeling that coverage of music should never be narrow, and that I wanted to read about it (but not hear it). Oi was worse, - soldiered on with occasional interest in the later 80s and its Goth coverage was good, but I don't think it ever really recoverd from Bushell.

People would moan, but they knew they'd miss it if it wasn't there..

And now it isn't.

and do you miss it?

not now, no.

Could have been a good alternative during the Britpop years

so did anyone ever read sounds? tom? marcello?

I certainly read it, pretty much until it wound up and more or less turned into Select.

My favourite writer on it was probably John Gill. Richard Cook did some stuff there as well after leaving the NME - more or less to help keep The Wire going - but his writing was very much hit and miss. You got the feeling that pop ultimately bored him.

It was my dad's favourite music mag in his youth.

My paper of choice from the mid-80's through to the end. Seemed less concerned with the philosophical/political angle than the NME, much more open to Americans on mind-warping drugs than the NME, who preferred earnest young Brits playing benefit gigs. Definitely agree about the lack of a Year Zero, it was partly responsible for getting me into 60's Garage/Psych too. Don't recall favourite writers although Tibet & Pouncey could be relied upon to turn up interesting stuff. Didn't Jeremy Gluck/Ralph Traitor write for them? Bushell still showed up occasionally unfortunately.

Does anyone have or know where to find the New Musick article, written by Jon Savage for Sounds? I got a RockBackPages.com link but it needs a subscription. Thank you!

does yr ilx email work?

(bumped as ilxor fpsa is currently posting on the olympics thread: i can send you this article if you still need it)

hey-o! sorry for missing this. I don't know my ilx email... how can I write to you to get this? thank you so much!

mine works or did very recently: click on my name and there's a "send an email" option; put your (normal) email into it and we can go from there :)

Also enclose your email address, because ilx mail don't do no replies.

yes!

(this was what "put your (normal) email into it" meant but it isn't very clear i guess)

Oops didn't read rest of yr sentence sorry!