Remember that in the days before the internet, you discovered what was happening by reading NME, or Sounds, or other music magazines. Your choice of magazine said something about you.
Q Magazine was founded by journalists and presenters Mark Ellen and David Hepworth in 1986.
They were involved with another magazine, and I have already posted a musical memory from Brendan Conway, which is worth repeating here:
In early 1985, I was invited to help make some ‘youth’ programmes for County Sound, a Surrey radio station. An arrangement was made for me to interview Mark Ellen who at the time was editor of Smash Hits and a regular presenter of The Old Grey Whistle Test. Later that year he was a co-presented for the Live Aid TV broadcast. I went up to the Smash Hits head office in Carnaby Street where Mark was kind enough to spend an hour of his day talking to me and answering my esoteric questions, all recorded for one of the programmes we made later. While in his office another of the journalists brought me a cup of tea and joined the interview for a few minutes. It was Neil Tennant. Unbeknown to me at the time, he was just about to leave Smash Hits because he had just secured a recording contract with Chris Lowe as The Pet Shop Boys.I had lot of issues of this magazine, and it was thanks to Q that I discovered 'Til Tuesday and Aimee Mann, for example.
At the time, taking a gamble on a new band could be a costly mistake.
Any other memories of Q magazine and bands you discovered through its pages?
