Special Collector's Magazine - The Best Of NME - Celebrating The First Chapter 1952 - 2015.pdf

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SPECIAL 2015
M A S S I VE
C O L L E CTO R S
ED I T I ON
Own a piece of history
* * * 1 3 2 PAG E S * * *
RS
O S T E
est
P
great
5O
The
in
covers y
stor
N M E
hi
The best of
Celebrating the first chapter
1952 – 2O15
29 JULY–26 AUG 2015 £3.50
T H E PA S T, P R E S E N T
& FUTU RE OF M USIC
US$9.50 ES€5.35 CN$8.99
N E W M U S I CA L E X P R E S S
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4
LETTERS
Whether it was called
From You
To Us, Angst, Fanmail
or
Sounding
Off,
the
NME
letters page has
always been the place to tell us
when we were right, when we were
wrong, and why we should give
you a job – and that’s just Morrissey.
Read his many missives and
other entertaining celebrity
communiqués here.
6
HISTORY
As
NME
prepares to make its
great leap into the future, we look
back over 63 years of the world’s
finest music magazine, from its
origins as a Tin Pan Alley jazz mag
to the bicep-troubling bumper
issue you hold in your hands now.
In the intervening years, we launch
the singles chart, redefine rock
journalism, throw countless awards
bashes, make and break a million
careers and argue endlessly about
what goes on the office stereo. The
story so far of
NME
is here.
106
LIVES
We revisit some of the most
monumental onstage moments here,
from early Arctic Monkeys shows to
Rage Against The Machine sticking
it to The Man in Finsbury Park via
The Libertines playing a squat in
east London. You had to be there!
But not if you read
NME…
124
PETER ROBINSON
VERSUS THE WORLD
It was a sad day for pop music
when
NME’s
Peter Robinson retired
his long-running
Versus
column,
in which stars of the day were
subjected to a dizzying barrage
of personal, surreal and downright
rude questions. The best are
collected here.
14
BREAKING NEWS
COVER: MARTYN GOODACRE, DENNIS MORRIS, CHALKIE DAVIES, STEVE DOUBLE, ELLIS PARRINDER, PIETER M VAN HATTEM, KEVIN
CUMMINS, DEAN CHALKLEY, ZACKERY MICHAEL, EAMONN J MCCABE, TOM OXLEY, ANDREW KENT CONTENTS: DEAN CHALKLEY
While the world occupied itself
with the moon landing, royal
weddings and successive economic
crises, we’ve always been more
interested in what The Beatles
had in their sandwiches.
NME
has
been documenting the moments
that shook the music world for more
than six decades; we look back on
some of them here.
126
THRILLS
We return to
NME’s
long-running
‘humour’ page
Thrills,
in which fake
Wu-Tang members rub shoulders
with made-up techno DJs, and
we visit Mark E Smith’s house and
investigate the curious phenomenon
of the “C-bag”.
26
FEATURES
We throw open the
NME
archives
to revisit pivotal encounters with
a troubled Nirvana, an enigmatic
Bowie, Morrissey in his pomp and
more. With words by some of
NME’s
biggest names through the
ages, from Danny Kelly to Charles
Shaar Murray, Steven Wells and
Johnny Cigarettes, here are some of
NME’s
best ever features.
128
HOW THE HELL
DID THAT HAPPEN?
Damon dressed as Debbie Harry?
That happened. As did Aphex Twin
downing a bowl of lemons and
us killing off a made-up band in a
bus crash. How did it all happen?
Because we just did it!
41
THE 50 GREATEST
NME COVERS
Clear a lot of space on your wall –
we’ve selected 50 of the most iconic
NME
covers of all time and reprinted
them in all their glory. Features: The
Stone Roses, Joy Division, Amy
Winehouse, Blur, Björk, Rihanna, Daft
Punk, Ramones and many more.
FOR YOUR
FAVOURITE
NME.COM
VOTE
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N E W M U S I CA L E X P R E S S
3
►
Missives from famous NME readers, and a word about the future
EDITOR’S LETTER
Dear readers,
Before we begin the next chapter in
NME’s
history, it’s important to
celebrate the first. For 63 years we’ve
been passionate, argumentative and
obsessive about the music that
matters most to you readers and us
staff. We were there when The
Beatles exploded, saw first hand the
birth of punk, turned Britpop into a
national obsession and declared The
White Stripes the saviours of
rock’n’roll. We reported the news. We
created the news. We were the news.
If you’re worried that this is the bell
tolling for
NME,
don’t be. Evolution
and reinvention is what
NME
has
always stood for, and it’s what
NME
will continue to stand for. And on
September 18, when you pick up a
copy of the new free
NME
magazine,
celebrate with us, knowing that the
future is very bright for this vital and
intoxicating old rag.
Until then, enjoy this ‘best of’
special. We could never include
every massive moment in our
history, and we’re bound to have
missed something out that meant
something big to you personally (and
duly pissed you off no doubt!)
But then, isn’t that how it’s always
been, and why you fell in love with
NME
in the first place? It’s always
been about the debate.
Long live
NME.
Mike Williams, Editor
Aged 15, Morrissey
began a long-running
correspondence with the
NME
mailbag on the topic
of bands he’d seen and
liked recently, including
the Sex Pistols, The
New York Dolls and the
Buzzcocks. He also, in
1977, begged us for a job…
Today I bought the album
of the year. I feel I can say
this without expecting
several letters saying I’m
talking rubbish. The album
is ‘Kimono My House’ by
Sparks. I bought it on the
strength of the single.
Every track is brilliant,
although I must name
‘Equator’, ‘Complaints’,
‘Amateur Hour’ and ‘Here In
Heaven’ as the best tracks
and in that order.
June 1974
BIGMOUTH
STRIKES
REPEATEDLY
Morrissey:
always has
something to get
off his chest
I pen this epistle after
witnessing the infamous
Sex Pistols in concert at
the Manchester Lesser
Free Trade Hall. The
bumptious Pistols in jumble
sale attire had those few
that attended dancing in
the aisles despite their
discordant music and
barely audible lyrics. The
June 1976
Pistols boast having no
inspiration from the New
York/Manhattan rock scene,
yet their set includes ‘(I’m
Not Your) Steppin’ Stone’,
a number believed to be
done almost to perfection
by the Heartbreakers on
any sleazy New York night
and the Pistols’ vocalist/
exhibitionist Johnny
Rotten’s attitude and
self-asserted ‘love us or
leave us’ approach can be
compared to both Iggy Pop
and David Johansen in their
heyday. The Sex Pistols are
very New York and it’s nice
to see that the British have
produced a band capable
of producing atmosphere
created by The New York
Dolls and their many
imitators, even though it
may be too late. I’d love
to see the Pistols make it.
Maybe they will be able to
afford some clothes which
don’t look as though
they’ve been slept in.
– we throw parties!” and
“It doesn’t bother us when
people say that we can’t
play, when we met we
actually couldn’t”, etc, etc,
but all these sweeping
statements were launched
in 1973, and when those
same epigrams are repeated
three years later by lesser
mortals (ie Sex Pistols,
Runaways, Ramones and
Kiss), things begin to look
synthetic. Methinks that
The Dolls weren’t the ‘damp
squib’ that Nick Kent would
have us believe because
if you look closely at the
increasing number of British
‘punk’ bands emerging by
the shipload, you will see in
each one, a little bit of the
Dolls. I think it’s time that
NME
broke the office rules
and had an article on the
New York Dolls. You know it
makes sense.
November 1976
4
I thought it was terrific when
David Johansen of the New
York Dolls delivered such
quips as: “Who cares about
music when one has such
sense of drama?”, “We don’t
play too good but we can
dance as bad as we want”,
and “We don’t hold concerts
A mere further mention
of punk rock would no
doubt bring yawns from all
quarters, as its five-minute
stint at serious musical
acceptance seems long
overdue. The elements of
punkitude are still apparent
within my good degenerate
self, however, and I have
made the impertinence
to inform the masses of a
quartet infamously known
as Buzzcocks who seem to
fit so neatly into the punk
category, yet have been
eschewed from all chances
of recognition. Buzzcocks
differ only one way from
their contemporaries: they
have a spark of originality
(that was important
once, remember?), and
their music gives you the
impression they spend
longer than the customary
10 minutes clutching the
quill in preparation to write.
Indubitably, Buzzcocks will
hardly figure strongly – or
even weakly – in the
NME
poll, and in these dark days
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when Patti Smith, Loudon
Wainwright or even The
New York Dolls fail to make
an impact on Radio 1 DJs,
common sense is therefore
not so common. Both
this letter and Buzzcocks
themselves will probably
be filed and forgotten. But
for now, they are the best
kick-ass rock band in the
country. Go and see them
first and then you may have
the audacity to contradict
me, you stupid sluts.
January 1977
In 1987, while doing
time for murder at Her
Majesty’s Prison Gartree in
Leicestershire, notorious
criminal Reggie Kray
wrote a letter addressed
to then-editor Ian Pye (at
the recommendation of
one “Jooles Holland”) to
ask if we’d cover his mate
Pete Gillett. Knees were
shaking…
THAT SHIT KRAY
After witnessing
Johnny Thunders & The
Heartbreakers live, my
much revered Carly Simon,
Loudon Wainwright,
Jefferson Airplane, Buffy
Sainte-Marie, The New York
Dolls, Phil Ochs and Patti
Smith albums are presently
smouldering on a low light.
Don’t talk to me about any
band but the Heartbreakers
because I just won’t listen
– these boys are newer
than the New Wave and
(surprise!) they can play!
What’s even more amazing
is that the Heartbreakers’
music is both memorable
and professional, something
which is seemingly least
expected from a New Wave
band. The ’70s start here.
PS: I work for the Inland
Revenue – am I still allowed
to be a punk?
April 1977
May 1987
CORBIS, GETTY
The Nosebleeds have also
noticeably metamorphosed
though probably due more
to personnel changes than
anything else. Last year they
were the entirely forgettable
Ed Banger And The
Nosebleeds (who ‘created’
the dirge-like single ‘Ain’t
Bin To No Music School’);
now Banger has gone his
own so-called eccentric way.
The Nosebleeds resurface
boasting A Front Man With
Charisma. Lead singer is
now minor local legend
Steve Morrisson, who, in his
own way, is at least aware
that rock’n’roll is about
magic, and inspiration. So
The Nosebleeds are now
a more obvious rock’n’roll
group than they’ve ever
been. Only their name can
prevent them being this
year’s surprise.
May 1978
Barely a week went by in
the ’60s without a note
from the Fabbos arriving
in the office. Such avid
readers were The Beatles,
in fact, that ‘From Me To
You’ was named after the
NME’s
letters page, then
called
From You To Us.
The ‘Alley Cat’ mentioned
in the January 1964 letter
(below) was
NME’s
gossip
column. The postcard
was a thank you for a Poll
Winners’ Party award.
And come the ’70s, John
Lennon used the letters
pages of the music press
to send lengthy diatribes.
Dear Chrisp, Al and folks!
Having fun, we’ve ordered
NME
(just to read Alley Cat
of course). See you soon.
Ta-ta. John, Paul, Ringo,
George, from Paris.
January 1964
A HARD DAY’S
WRITE
January 1972
kind of dirt doesn’t do any
of us any good, least of
all Paul and I. I suppose
the story is based on the
‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’
single, which nearly didn’t
come out in the USA too.
(As you know Northern
Songs prevented its release
in Britain). If your groupie
from LA thinks I’m trying to
steal a march on Paul with
a live album (recorded in
Lyceum Ballroom 1969 and
Fillmore East with Frank
Zappa 1971), and possibly
part of John Sinclair benefit
Concert (10th Dec ’71)
he must be dafter than I
thought! – anyway, this is
a John and Yoko album to
boot! As for the Dylan and
God and Buddha rumours,
we’ll see about that one…
PS. By the way, EMI/Capitol
are trying to prevent
anything recorded by John
and Yoko coming out unless
we admit it’s a Beatles
record – ie, low royalty.
(They only decided this
after ‘Imagine’!!)
Puzzled, John and Yoko
The Beatles began
their love affair
with
NME’s
letters
page in 1964
respect. I’m in the fortunate
position of being able to
do what I want and at this
point I choose not to make
a record.
May 1995
While on tour with the
Manics in 1992,
NME’s
Stuart Bailie had this note
pushed under his hotel
door, Richey exploding The
Truth behind the façade of
consumerist Amerikkka.
RICHEY GOES
TO HOLLYWOOD
Kevin Rowland would
often fire off poison pen
missives to
NME
when
he felt slighted. Here
he takes issue with a
misinterpretation of label
offers, but he would also
take umbrage when our
gossip page correspondent
insinuated that he’d been
seen wearing a crap coat.
Re: your piece on myself in
NME
(April 15). It was nice
to see the positive mention
of ‘Don’t Stand Me Down’
(my favourite Dexy’s LP).
However, I am frustrated
at realising once again that
the reason we’re not
currently recording
is due to the lack of
an “acceptable offer
from an understanding
record company”. This
is not true. The idea
that this was the case
did not come from me,
but from the author
of the spring ’93 piece,
Stuart Bailie. He presumed
it, he didn’t ask me. We
could make a record any
time we want. There have
been offers that are more
than “acceptable” in every
May 1992
We think this letter means
that Pete Doherty was
fine with the Manics going
MOR, but hated his thicko
schoolmates.
About your Manics article
(NME, April 19). Mr Wells
knows the Manics are
middlebrow and they
probably always have
been. Kafka, Camus and
Proust sit snugly on shelves
THE LAST (WEIRD)
WORD ON THE
MANICS
May 1997
December 1968
If Chris Van Nose is
referring to John and
Yoko’s ‘Live Jam’ album,
it was never intended to
go out until January. This
Pete had the last
word on the
Manics. Forever
Addressed to Swells, this
note came wrapped around
an actual axe. Still, it was
better than the turd that
Jeremy from The Levellers
sent to Andrew Collins…
“LET’S BURY THE
HATCHET”
– Bono
AXE HERO
Sometime in the late ’80s
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TOO RYE OI!
in assorted bedrooms
around England, but if
their owners were led to
them by the inside of a CD
cover, the true motivation
stretches as far as the need
to drop an esoteric title
into a conversation in the
common room. I know, I
have to listen – and I have
to clear up the mess. You
can take a sixth-former to a
Penguin Modern Classic but
you can’t make him think.
The Marxists, Situationalists
[sic], pseudo-bisexual
BAD POETS avec eyeliner,
pseudo-leopardskin BAD
POETS sans eyeliner and
the rest of the Cult Of
Nothing should accept,
for the last time, that with
Richey went all feeble
hopes of purity and guitars
and profound graffiti. Don’t
hold it against the lads –
they want to do it. They
are comfy. And they know
that there is more chance
of social equality through
conformity than through
locking yourself in a hotel
bathroom and shitting in
your purse. Besides which,
the middlebrow ethos
is far more revolutionary
than the self-conscious
political seriousness school
of thought.
PS. That’s the final word on
the Manics. Forever. So all
fanzines must stop. Let it
be known.

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