Mum & Dad, along with my Aunt & Uncle, were clearing
out some stuff from my grandparents bungalow over the Christmas holiday and
found, in a box of my Grampy’s things, a copy of the Phoenix Student Magazine
1985-6.
This was
Montsaye Comprehensive’s first issue for a few
years - I’d seen one when I first started, in 1981 or so - and I think it went
down rather well. I wrote articles
and stories for it and co-edited with Rob Nichols, Mark Guyett, Sean Marshall
and Steve Corton.
We were in the Sixth Form and it’s quite clear to see that ‘alternative
comedy’ (as it was called then, typified by ‘The Young Ones’) had made its mark
on us. Some of the humour is stupid,
some of it works a treat (the school trip report is still funny) but it’s the
attitude that tries hardest to sparkle - we were 16 years old and fighting the
establishment (albeit from a pleasant Comprehensive nestled in the heart of the
Midlands).
I read some of it over the weekend and whilst I clearly wasn't
as smart as I thought I was back then, some of the pieces have flair and the
whole thing was a lovely blast from the past.
We decided not to go with the usual A5 zine style, stapled
in the centre but would go for a side-stapled A4 format (which had never been
done at the school). Rather than have a
perfunctory cover on coloured card, we would have a glossy cover with specific artwork
(produced by Sean Marshall, using Rotring pens). This was long before the advent of clip-art,
so Sean also drew every bit of artwork seen in the mag (including that in
some of the ads).
Although we got help from the staff, the five of us took the
project on ourselves, sold the advertising (itself a nostalgic kick, since a
lot of the businesses are no longer trading) to fund the printing and made
quite a bit of money, which we gave to charity.
There was also an ‘official’ magazine, which wasn’t as professional in
its presentation and didn’t, as I recall, sell anywhere near as much.
The Phoenix was the first time I’d ever really put my work
out there to people who weren’t either immediate family members (poor old Dad
used to have to read everything) or close friends. It was great to write something that I thought
was scary (“The Funhouse”) or funny (“Kung Fu The Mung Wu Way”), run it past my
co-editors and then see it published.
Hearing people talk about it after that, kids I didn’t necessarily know,
was a real rush and I still get that same thrill today.
I remember the whole process of putting the magazine
together well, I remember having a great time doing it, messing around with
friends but creating something at the same time and whilst it might not stand
up to too close scrutiny today (twenty eight years later), I wouldn’t change a
thing about it.
left to right: me, Rob Nichols, Mark Guyett, Sean Marshall, Steven Corton
The Phoenix Editorial Team, pictured in the Kettering Evening Telegraph, November 1985
(the magazines are spread out on the litho machine, whereas we had it photocopied at a college in Kettering)
