When the format for this project was first mooted I have to say I could barely conceal my delight. A retro-fanzine. Absolutely brilliant. Looking at it today it seems such a simple concept – rattle off a few articles on a subject of your choice, get it photocopied and distribute it to like-minded souls.
Except it WASN’T that simple – for the people involved it meant using their own time, money and resourcefulness (photocopiers weren’t exactly thick on the ground back then) to enter into virgin territory with their respective publications. So why did they do it? Pure and simple – PASSION. They felt so passionate about the subject matter that they felt compelled to have their views made available to others and more importantly NOT open to censorship of any kind.
This celebration of fanzine culture has been put together by a few writers garnered from a loose collective of males of … erm…a certain age shall we say? We have used any excuse over the last seven or so years to get together and wax lyrical about any subject you care to mention, but whose passion remains rooted in Football, Music & Fashion. Although the collective’s members come from every corner of the UK we have relied heavily on the input of some of our north-western brethren for this project. Indeed, it would be no exaggeration to say that without the Puma Argentina’s popularity in the north west of England and Merseyside in particular, we wouldn’t be welcoming its re-issue today.
For those of you who were around during the period we hope to evoke some fond memories, for those of you who weren’t – a flavour of what it was like to spend your formative years during a time when youth culture movements were like a good bus service, it didn’t matter if you missed the last one, there would be another arriving soon enough …
Our thanks go to Puma who have taken a leap of faith in entrusting this project to us. It would have been an easier option to have given the brief to an established agency who may have been tempted to try and re-write history for the sake of better copy. We would also like to extend our thanks to The End, Sniffin’ Glue, Boys Own and all the other original fanzines for their ground-breaking work which has inspired and allowed those that followed to have their say.
Enjoy …
