Fanzine culture still alive and kicking against The Man
In a week when Robbie Savage is turning up via Zoom at government press briefings about Covid-19, it seems apt to lament the lost golden age of the alternative football press.
This scenario involving Savage would have been ripe for lampooning and will still hopefully inspire some dark comic minds to get to work.
When Saturday Comes ,the self-proclaimed “half decent football magazine”, can still be relied on for that. As the title approaches its 400th issue, its editor recently put out a call for all active print fanzines to get in touch.
WSC are hoping to reintroduce a feature they used to carry where they provided the details of every fanzine in the land. The number ran to hundreds, the titles of many of which were entertaining in themselves, such as Gillingham’s Brian Moore’s Head
Looks Uncannily Like London Planetarium.
As of last week, WSC knew of 60 that were still going. “Moore…” sadly is no longer, as is the case with a raft of Scottish titles dating back to a time when many clubs had four, five or even six different unofficial publications.
Supporter websites have taken over but then these tend to be predominantly forum-based and not always so discerning contents-wise.
More power to the elbow, therefore, of those behind surviving fanzines at Celtic, Aberdeen, Kilmarnock, Motherwell and Montrose. The writers of the last-named club’s Larter’s Tache are quick to add the classic disclaimer that it’s 100 per cent unofficial and not associated with legendary goalkeeper David Larter – “or his moustache” – in any way.