Sounds (magazine)
Encyclopedia
Sounds was a long-term British
music
paper
, published weekly 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)) and Oi!
music in its late 1970s-early 1980s heyday. Sounds was the first music paper in its coverage of punk 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 realised the importance of its regional audience and had freelancers across the UK who contributed 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.
One of the "trinity" of British music weeklies, along with NME and Melody Maker, it finally 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). Ironically its circulation was beginning to rise again significantly in the last few months of its life.
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, which continues to this day.
Contributors included Keith Altham, Garry Bushell
, Geoff Barton
, Phil Bell, Johnny Waller, Gary Cooper, John Gill, Tommy Udo, Barbara Charone, Caroline Coon
, Andrew Courtney, Jonathan Knight, Antonella Gambotto, Jerry Gilbert, Vivien Goldman
, Jonh Ingham, Alan Moore
(aka "Curt Vile"), Jon Newey, Mick Middles, 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, Claude Wogger, Leo Finlay, Steffan Chirazi, Chris Roberts, Valac Van Der Veene, Ann Scanlon, Neil Perry, 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, Mary Scanlon, Steve Gullick, Leo Regan, Steve Double and Gus Stewart.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
paper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
, published weekly 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
Melody Maker
Melody Maker, published in the United Kingdom, was, according to its publisher IPC Media, the world's oldest weekly music newspaper. It was founded in 1926 as a magazine targeted at musicians; in 2000 it was merged into "long-standing rival" New Musical Express.-1950s–1960s:Originally the Melody...
" 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
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
(especially the New Wave of British Heavy Metal
New Wave of British Heavy Metal
The New Wave of British Heavy Metal was a heavy metal movement that started in the late 1970s, in Britain, and achieved international attention by the early 1980s. The movement developed as a reaction in part to the decline of early heavy metal bands such as Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin and Black...
(NWOBHM)) and Oi!
Oi!
Oi! is a working class subgenre of punk rock that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The music and its associated subculture had the goal of bringing together punks, skinheads and other working-class youths ....
music in its late 1970s-early 1980s heyday. Sounds was the first music paper in its coverage of punk and in the late eighties was maintaining its reputation for getting there first, when John Robb covered the Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
music scene and came up with the term 'Britpop
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
'; whilst writing for Sounds. The paper realised the importance of its regional audience and had freelancers across the UK who contributed gig reviews and articles about up and coming local bands.
Keith Cameron wrote about Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
after John Robb did the first ever interview with them.
One of the "trinity" of British music weeklies, along with NME and Melody Maker, it finally folded in 1991 after the parent company United Newspapers, sold all their music titles to EMAP Metro
EMAP
Emap Limited is a British media company, specialising in the production of business-to-business magazines, and the organisation of business events and conferences...
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). Ironically its circulation was beginning to rise again significantly in the last few months of its life.
A legacy of Sounds was the creation of the heavy metal/rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
magazine Kerrang!
Kerrang!
Kerrang! is a UK-based magazine devoted to rock music published by Bauer Media Group. It was first published on June 6, 1981 as a one-off supplement in the Sounds newspaper...
, which was originally issued as a supplement before being spun off as a separate publication, which continues to this day.
Contributors included Keith Altham, Garry Bushell
Garry Bushell
Garry Bushell is an English newspaper columnist, rock music journalist, television presenter, author and political activist. Bushell also sings in the Oi! band The Gonads and manages the New York City Oi! band Maninblack. Bushell's recurring themes are comedy, country and class...
, Geoff Barton
Geoff Barton
Geoff Barton is a British journalist who founded Kerrang! heavy metal magazine and was an editor of Sounds music magazine.He joined Sounds at the age of nineteen after completing a journalism course at the London College of Printing. He specialised in covering rock music and helped popularise the...
, Phil Bell, Johnny Waller, Gary Cooper, John Gill, Tommy Udo, Barbara Charone, Caroline Coon
Caroline Coon
Caroline Coon is an English artist, journalist and political activist. Her artwork, which often explores sexual themes from a feminist standpoint , has been exhibited at many major London galleries, including the Saatchi Gallery and the Tate.Coon was born to a family of Kent landowners and had...
, Andrew Courtney, Jonathan Knight, Antonella Gambotto, Jerry Gilbert, Vivien Goldman
Vivien Goldman
Vivien Goldman is a British journalist, writer and musician. She was born in London, the child of two German-Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. She studied English and American literature at the University of Warwick...
, Jonh Ingham, Alan Moore
Alan Moore
Alan Oswald Moore is an English writer primarily known for his work in comic books, a medium where he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and popular series, including Watchmen, V for Vendetta, and From Hell...
(aka "Curt Vile"), Jon Newey, Mick Middles, Ian Ravendale, John Robb, John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
, Edwin Pouncey (aka "Savage Pencil
Savage Pencil
Savage Pencil is a comics artist, and is the nom de plume of English music journalist Edwin Pouncey.-Biography:...
"), Penny Reel, Cathi Unsworth
Cathi Unsworth
Cathi Unsworth is an English writer and journalist. After working for Melody Maker and Bizarre, she began writing novels, with The Not Knowing in 2005 and The Singer in 2007, on Serpent's Tail...
, Jon Ronson
Jon Ronson
Jon Ronson is a Welsh journalist, documentary filmmaker, radio presenter and nonfiction author, whose works include The Men Who Stare At Goats. His journalism and columns have appeared in British publications including The Guardian newspaper, City Life and Time Out magazine...
, Robin Gibson, Damon Wise, Jon Savage
Jon Savage
Jon Savage , real name Jonathon Sage, is a Cambridge-educated writer, broadcaster and music journalist, best known for his award winning history of the Sex Pistols and punk music, England's Dreaming, published in 1991.-Career:...
, Peter Silverton, Sylvie Simmons, Steve Sommer, Penny Valentine
Penny Valentine
Penelope Ann Valentine was a British music journalist, rock critic, and occasional television personality....
, Marguerite Van Cook
Marguerite Van Cook
Marguerite Van Cook is an artist, writer, musician/singer and filmmaker. She was born in England and now resides in New York in the Lower East Side/East Village. She attended Portsmouth College of Art and Design, Northumbria University Graphic and Fine Arts programs, BMCC, Columbia University for...
, Mary Anne Hobbs
Mary Anne Hobbs
Mary Anne Hobbs is an English DJ and music journalist from Garstang, Lancashire. She launched a new Primetime show on Xfm on 9 July 2011-Early career:...
, Mat Snow, James Brown
James Brown (editor)
James Brown is a British journalist. He is best known for creating the modern men's magazine market with the launch of his title Loaded in 1994, a magazine that was said to define a generation...
(who went on to form Loaded
Loaded (magazine)
Loaded, first published in 1994, is a British magazine for men that is considered to be the "original lads' mag". Its motto is "For men who should know better".-History:...
), Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq , sometimes known by his nicknames Lammo or "The Cat" is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio stations BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.-Early career:He was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire...
, Kev F. Sutherland
Kev F. Sutherland
-Career:Since 2005, Sutherland has written, produced and performed as The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre, appearing at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010, in theatres internationally and on television...
and Russ Carvell's UT
UT (comic)
UT was a British adult comic that was published monthly in the mid-1990s.The title began as a weekly pop music parody strip by Kev F Sutherland and Russ Carvell in the music paper Sounds, running from 1987 until Sounds final issue in 1991...
strip, Keith Cameron, Claude Wogger, Leo Finlay, Steffan Chirazi, Chris Roberts, Valac Van Der Veene, Ann Scanlon, Neil Perry, 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, Mary Scanlon, Steve Gullick, Leo Regan, Steve Double and Gus Stewart.
External links
- Comic strips that were published in Sounds by Alan Moore