Books (Englisch)
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29.99 €
Grim Humour: Highlights and Lowlights 1983 - 1987
Post Punk Fanzine Compilation - Book - by Richard Johnson
(2022)
Grim Humour was a UK fanzine which existed for eighteen editions, between 1983 and 1993. It received good reviews and favourable attention from the outset, partly due to its often sarcastic or caustic tone (which became more pronounced with later editions) and its focusing on many groups who arrived from the post-punk music landscape that originated in the DIY sensibilities of the time. Although initially assembled by a group of friends whose passion for the music they wished to document far overrode their artistic or writing skills, the fanzine soon developed in every respect and even became (inter)nationally distributed to independent record stockists, resulting in larger print runs and, with the later editions, a more semi-professional approach that never once betrayed the attitudinal stance of the early issues.
This collection is dedicated to re-edited interviews, reviews and suchlike from the first ten editions, reprints of a number of the original pages, bonus material and several contributions by those who were involved with the 'zine, championed it or were part of the very same enclave it pulsated in. Due to the fact many of the original pages had colour backgrounds or were brimming with text bashed out on barely functioning typewriters, the idea of simply rewriting many of the features took hold as a sensible alternative itself open to being expanded on and contextualised.
The features include interviews with The Fall, Killing Joke, Crass, Coil, 400 Blows, Sonic Youth, In The Nursery, Head Of David, Virgin Prunes, The Damned, Nick Cave, The Ramones, Fool's Dance (featuring Simon Gallup of The Cure), And Also The Trees, Alternative TV, Portion Control, Big Black and others, plus many reviews, a couple of rants and far more besides. It is hoped this book illuminates a tiny segment of a culture now long gone and never to be repeated. Given just how many of those concerned remain active to this day in one capacity or another, this is far more than a simple nostalgia trip.