Kindred Spirit - The Story of a 1980's Hull Fanzine

Work is underway on the book telling the story of Kindred Spirit fanzine. It starts in the winter of 1978 shortly after the release of All Mod Cons by The Jam, and will finish with the wonderful run of music polls I've hosted on X throughout 2024 and 2025. More information will be shared in due course. If you'd like to keep up to date with developments, my social media and email contact details can be found at the foot of the page. I had 200 copies of the 40th anniversary edition printed and they have all sold. I hope in time they will become a collector's item. However, there are still a few copies of the four original issues available to buy. If you’re interested in finding out more, please tap on a fanzine cover below for a link to the respective eBay listing.  I’ve recently reduced the prices of all four fanzines. Once they have sold it will be the end of an era, so if you'd like a little piece of music history now is your chance!  Issue 1 - September 1983.  Include...

I always thought 1982 was a transitional year for music. We saw the rise of synth pop. Hip-hop with a raw edge was introduced to the mainstream. The second wave of punk bands spread the word to a wider audience under the UK82 banner. The indie music scene started to evolve. And you'd be disappointed if I didn't mention that 1982 was the year we said goodbye to The Jam. Some of us still haven't got over it 43 years later! With the advent of MTV, it became not so much about the song but the video. In some cases large amounts of cash were splashed on exotic locations and special effects. Sometimes you had to sit through five minutes of a kind of mini movie before getting to the actual song. I recall when I was writing my fanzine, many of the up and coming bands I interviewed commented on how they felt the rise of the music video was changing the entire landscape and putting smaller bands at a disadvantage. It became more about image than talent in some cases. With hindsight yo...