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

If someone had told 22 year old me that it would take me until I was in my early 60s to bring out a fifth issue of Kindred Spirit I would have had to press the pause button on my Walkman, remove my headphones and say "Can you repeat that? I must have misheard what you said!" I can see the look of sheer disbelief on my unlined face in my mind's eye now! But that is exactly what happened, and in 2024 I finished what I started by producing a one-off 40th anniversary edition. Whilst I did take advantage of 21st century technology to create the 'zine, I tried to stay as close to my roots as possible. I might not have spent hours crouched over a portable typewriter with a bottle of Tippex and a pack of felt pens on hand, as I did in 1984 but I did put together two "cut and paste" collages old school style, for the front and back covers. Doing this really took me back into the zone. What I did not want was for the fanzine to end up being nothing more than my blog o...

Musically, 1983 was something of a changing landscape. The definition of indie was rewritten when we were introduced to The Smiths. Synth pop seemed to dominate with bands such as Eurythmics, Heaven 17, Tears for Fears and Yazoo. The 12 inch single was king, no more so than New Order's Blue Monday. Goth found its way into the mainstream. The punk scene was still simmering. The UK top 40 was a mish-mash of everything. Pop, post-punk, heavy rock and reggae through to some of those dreadful "novelty" records. The Indie Charts told a different story. 1983 was also the year I started writing my fanzine. As you may have already gathered, I am in the process of writing a book telling the story of my fanzine and beyond. It will include stories about and snippets from the original four publications, plus the 40th anniversary edition, selected clips from this blog and a ton of rare information related to the bands I featured. Nirvana, Peter Hook, Geno Washington, Orange Juice and ...