Remembering Sir Clive Sinclair 1940 — 2021
As we say farewell to issue 4 it's also a very sad farewell to Sir Clive Sinclair, who passed away on 16 September after a long illness. You might be wondering why we're mentioning the inventor of the ZX Spectrum in a Commodore 64 magazine, but Sir Clive changed the computing landscape with a seismic shift that ushered in a new technological era. He'll forever be a legend to us all, no matter what your favourite 8-bit may be. - Paul Morrison
Indeed. He was born in my hometown of Richmond, but my affinity with him felt deeper than that. I grew up playing on my pal Matt's various array of Sinclair products; machines I still carry much fondness for. And today as I drive around in an electric vehicle, watching TV on a handheld device (not simultaneously)
I can't help wondering if we'd have all those things if it weren't for the genius of Sir Clive. Rest in peace sir, and thank you. - Christian Simpson
Despite being a massive Commodore fan, it's hard to ignore the influence Sir Clive had on the home computing scene in the UK and beyond. Without the Spectrum, there may not have been Ultimate, and then Rare. Even Jeff Minter cut his teeth on the black slab, I should know, I own it! And let's face it, we would have missed the schoolyard arguments about whose computer was better. Here's to you Sir Clive…
- Mat Allen
My first real computer was a Sinclair ZX Spectrum
48K. That little machine defined me — it has made me who I am today. I played games on it; I used it to learn to program in BASIC. It contributed to me passing my O-level Computer Studies. It helped me form relationships with other like-minded Spectrum fans, swapping games in the playground and sharing code written the night before at the weekly school computer club.
I regret not ever meeting Sir Clive Sinclair — I would have loved to just thank him. Thank him for producing such an iconic British piece of tech that defined a nation and me. I would have also liked to ask him what on earth he was thinking when designing the Sinclair C5, even though I now find myself craving to own one. Thanks, Sir Clive, you were one in a million!
- Chris Wilkins