CRASH (magazine)
Encyclopedia
Crash was a magazine dedicated to the ZX Spectrum
home computer
. It was published from 1984 to 1991 by Newsfield Publications Ltd until their liquidation, and then until 1992 by Europress
.
and Franco Frey as a mail order software catalogue that included several pages of reviews. It then launched as a magazine in February 1984, maintaining its focus squarely on Spectrum gaming (unlike its competitors, which tended to feature more serious technical coverage). Kean and the Frey brothers would continue to be involved with the magazine throughout its lifetime.
Crash included the occasional column which seemed unusual for a computer magazine. Its first year saw the launch of both the Lunar Jetman
strip (written and illustrated by John Richardson, based on the character from the games by Ultimate Play The Game
) and The Terminal Man, an original piece of fiction written by Kelvin Gosnell
and illustrated by Oliver Frey. Later years would see a brief revival of The Terminal Man, as well as Mel Croucher
's comic story Tamara Knight, both of which ended mid-run due to poor reception. After the closure of Newsfield's short-lived lifestyle magazine LM, CRASH also featured video reviews for a period, a strongly debated move.
. This led to a successful injunction being taken out against the magazine, with copies withdrawn from newsagents and an apology published in the following issue. Many issues had already been sent to subscribers, however.
By 1989, Your Sinclair
regularly came with a free covertape
containing a complete Spectrum game plus demos. Crash, which had included occasional demo covertapes but still lagged behind in circulation, relaunched in June of that year, including a free covertape with a number of complete games as a regular feature. This came at the expense of page count and editorial content, both of which fell dramatically in 1989. (The December 1988 issue had 212 pages; by June 1989 this was down to 36 pages, although some of this reduction is attributable to the seasonal release nature of games.)
, publisher of Sinclair User, who merged the two magazines. In practice, this meant little more than the appearance of the Crash logo on the front cover of Sinclair User for several months.
has acknowledged this by reprinting Crashs first cover as a poster and a selection of Oliver Frey artwork as a calendar. Much of his work was published in book form for the first time in 2006.
The cover of issue 41, June 1987, was a particularly violent image depicting two barbarians fighting, with one about to slit the throat of another. The picture was deemed too strong by W H Smith
and that issue was relegated to the top shelves.
ZX Spectrum
The ZX Spectrum is an 8-bit personal home computer released in the United Kingdom in 1982 by Sinclair Research Ltd...
home computer
Home computer
Home computers were a class of microcomputers entering the market in 1977, and becoming increasingly common during the 1980s. They were marketed to consumers as affordable and accessible computers that, for the first time, were intended for the use of a single nontechnical user...
. It was published from 1984 to 1991 by Newsfield Publications Ltd until their liquidation, and then until 1992 by Europress
Europress
Europress was a British magazine and software publisher. Their magazine publishing business was previously known as Database Publications.-History:...
.
Development
Crash was initially launched in 1983 by Roger Kean, Oliver FreyOli Frey
Oliver "Oli" Frey is a magazine illustrator and artist who worked on comic strips in the 1970s and 1980s.- Biography :Frey was born in Zurich, Switzerland on 30 June 1948. He grew up fluent in Italian and German...
and Franco Frey as a mail order software catalogue that included several pages of reviews. It then launched as a magazine in February 1984, maintaining its focus squarely on Spectrum gaming (unlike its competitors, which tended to feature more serious technical coverage). Kean and the Frey brothers would continue to be involved with the magazine throughout its lifetime.
Popularity
By October 1986, Crash boasted regular sales of over 100,000 copies. Its ABC figure of 101,483 copies a month for the period of January to June were claimed by the magazine to be "more than any other computer magazine in the country by all accounts".Editorial content
Much editorial content (for example, the previews and responses to readers' letters) was credited to Lloyd Mangram, a fictional character, although written by members of the editorial staff. Mangram was depicted visually in the magazine by a sketch of a man wearing a paper bag over his head with holes cut for eyes. This was in stark contrast to the magazine's practice (more common in later years) of accompanying each review with a small likeness of the writer. Lloyd Mangram's contributions made frequent references to his ancient Hermes Typewriter.Crash included the occasional column which seemed unusual for a computer magazine. Its first year saw the launch of both the Lunar Jetman
Lunar Jetman
Lunar Jetman is a ZX Spectrum video game developed and released by Ultimate Play The Game in 1983. The game is the second in the Jetman series, following on from his adventures in Jetpac, and one of the few games released to support the Currah Microspeech. In the game, Jetman has to defend the...
strip (written and illustrated by John Richardson, based on the character from the games by Ultimate Play The Game
Ultimate Play the Game
Ultimate Play The Game was a critically acclaimed video game developer of the early home computer era. "Ultimate Play The Game" was the trading name of Ashby Computers & Graphics Ltd. , a software company founded in 1982 by two ex-arcade game developers Tim and Chris Stamper...
) and The Terminal Man, an original piece of fiction written by Kelvin Gosnell
Kelvin Gosnell
Kelvin Gosnell is a British comics writer and editor. He was involved in the founding of the long-running comic 2000 AD in 1977.-Biography:...
and illustrated by Oliver Frey. Later years would see a brief revival of The Terminal Man, as well as Mel Croucher
Mel Croucher
Mel Croucher is a British writer and video games pioneer. Originally an architect, he moved into computers and set up Automata UK after the release of the Sinclair ZX81...
's comic story Tamara Knight, both of which ended mid-run due to poor reception. After the closure of Newsfield's short-lived lifestyle magazine LM, CRASH also featured video reviews for a period, a strongly debated move.
Rival publications
The August 1985 issue of Crash featured "Unclear User", a spoof on rival magazine Sinclair UserSinclair User
Sinclair User, often abbreviated SU, was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum...
. This led to a successful injunction being taken out against the magazine, with copies withdrawn from newsagents and an apology published in the following issue. Many issues had already been sent to subscribers, however.
By 1989, Your Sinclair
Your Sinclair
Your Sinclair or YS as it was commonly abbreviated, was a British computer magazine for the Sinclair range of computers, mainly the ZX Spectrum.-History:...
regularly came with a free covertape
Covermount
Covermount is the name given to storage media or other products packaged as part of a magazine or newspaper...
containing a complete Spectrum game plus demos. Crash, which had included occasional demo covertapes but still lagged behind in circulation, relaunched in June of that year, including a free covertape with a number of complete games as a regular feature. This came at the expense of page count and editorial content, both of which fell dramatically in 1989. (The December 1988 issue had 212 pages; by June 1989 this was down to 36 pages, although some of this reduction is attributable to the seasonal release nature of games.)
Demise
The final issue published by Newsfield was October 1991. Following their liquidation, the magazine was relaunched by Europress in December, continuing until the final issue in April 1992. After this, Crash was bought by EMAPEMAP
Emap Limited is a British media company, specialising in the production of business-to-business magazines, and the organisation of business events and conferences...
, publisher of Sinclair User, who merged the two magazines. In practice, this meant little more than the appearance of the Crash logo on the front cover of Sinclair User for several months.
Cover art
Crash was notable for its distinctive cover art, mostly by Oliver Frey. The magazine Retro GamerRetro Gamer
Retro Gamer is a British magazine, published worldwide, covering retro video games. It was the first commercial magazine to be devoted entirely to the subject. Although launched as a quarterly publication, Retro Gamers soon became a monthly...
has acknowledged this by reprinting Crashs first cover as a poster and a selection of Oliver Frey artwork as a calendar. Much of his work was published in book form for the first time in 2006.
The cover of issue 41, June 1987, was a particularly violent image depicting two barbarians fighting, with one about to slit the throat of another. The picture was deemed too strong by W H Smith
W H Smith
WHSmith plc is a British retailer, headquartered in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. It is best known for its chain of high street, railway station, airport, hospital and motorway service station shops selling books, stationery, magazines, newspapers, and entertainment products...
and that issue was relegated to the top shelves.
External links
- Crash magazine: The Online Edition
- Crash profile at Planet Sinclair