No Cure

Last updated

No Cure was a fanzine based in Bracknell and Newbury, UK. Originally started by Richard Haworth, from issue 2 it was part-edited and produced by Richard Griffin and Richard H with regular contributions from Jah P. The fanzine took a major interest in the Berkshire and Oxfordshire punk and post punk scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s and covered punk, Oi! post punk and Reggae. Many interviews were conducted by mailing a cassette and list of questions, which elicited interesting discussions between band members without the problem of an interviewer butting in (see also cassette culture). Bands interviewed ranged from The Jam and Stiff Little Fingers to The Raincoats, VIPs, Patrick Fitzgerald, LKJ and The Instant Automatons. The photographer Pennie Smith was also interviewed. A thousand copies of No Cure were sold each issue through record shops in Reading (Quicksliver), Windsor (Revolution) and London including Rough Trade and mail order. At one point it was the largest selling UK zine in New York City.

As with most fanzines, production techniques were rudimentary. Text was produced using a portable typewriter, pens (most issues had a crossword) and images cut from magazines and elsewhere, along with some original photography by Richard H. Text was glued onto boards and sent to the printers. In total seven issues were produced.

Richard G later teamed up with Chris Green producing two issues of Bits fanzine and X Cassettes which released music from local bands like Quality Drivel, as well as groups from further afield. They were also involved in the promotion and distribution of a Reading area compilation LP Beyond the River released by Open Door records and featuring local bands such as Dig Dig Dig, El Seven, The Ballistics, The Erection Set, St Vitus Dance, Movita, Shrinking Men, A1 Vegetables, The Beating Hearts, Access and The Stills. A single was released by Oxfordshire band Dig Dig Dig. Richard G was also involved with Mike D of Toxic Graffiti (sic) fanzine in establishing the short lived UK Fanzine Collective. Chris G went on to form Criminal Damage Records.

No Cure was the first Berkshire fanzine. It championed local bands such as The Lemon Kittens and the Infra Red Helicopters from Bracknell and the K-9s.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fanzine</span> Magazine published by fans

A fanzine is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest. The term was coined in an October 1940 science fiction fanzine by Russ Chauvenet and first popularized within science fiction fandom, and from there the term was adopted by other communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Do it yourself</span> Building, modifying, or repairing, without the aid of experts or professionals

"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and semi-raw materials and parts to produce, transform, or reconstruct material possessions, including those drawn from the natural environment ". DIY behavior can be triggered by various motivations previously categorized as marketplace motivations, and identity enhancement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zine</span> Collection of self-published work reproduced by photocopying

A zine is a small-circulation self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very small group, and are popularly photocopied into physical prints for circulation. A fanzine is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon for the pleasure of others who share their interest. The term was coined in an October 1940 science fiction fanzine by Russ Chauvenet and popularized within science fiction fandom, entering the Oxford English Dictionary in 1949.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berkshire</span> County of England

The Royal County of Berkshire, commonly known as simply Berkshire, is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London to the east, Surrey to the south-east, Hampshire to the south, and Wiltshire to the west. Reading is the largest settlement and the county town.

The cassette culture refers to the practices associated with amateur production and distribution of music and sound art on compact cassette that emerged in the mid-1970s. The cassette was used by fine artists and poets for the independent distribution of new work. This article focuses on the independent music scene associated with the cassette that burgeoned internationally in the second half of the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punk zine</span> Fanzines of punk rock

A punk zine is a zine related to the punk subculture and hardcore punk music genre. Often primitively or casually produced, they feature punk literature, such as social commentary, punk poetry, news, gossip, music reviews and articles about punk rock bands or regional punk scenes.

Fifth Column was a Canadian all-female post-punk band from Toronto, formed in 1980 and breaking up in 1995.

<i>Flipside</i> (fanzine) Fanzine based in Pasadena

Flipside, known as Los Angeles Flipside Fanzine, was a punk zine published in Whittier and Pasadena, California, from 1977 to 2002. The magazine was associated with its own record label, Flipside Records, releasing vinyl records and compact discs beginning in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Apostles (band)</span> English punk rock band

The Apostles are an English experimental punk rock band, who developed within the confines of the 1980s anarcho-punk scene in the UK, but did not necessarily adhere to the aesthetics of that movement.

Attrition are an English electronic music band, formed in Coventry in 1980 by Martin Bowes and Julia Niblock. The band emerged from the experimental post-punk scene of the early 1980s and, along with other groups such as Throbbing Gristle, Coil, Einstürzende Neubauten, and In the Nursery, greatly contributed to the development of industrial music in the UK.

Exit Ten was an English post-hardcore/rock band with metal influences. Their debut album, Remember the Day, was released in 2008. Their second studio album, Give Me Infinity, was released in October 2011.

German punk includes a body of music and a subculture that have evolved since punk rock became popular in Germany in the 1970s. Within the subculture of punk in Germany, a style of music called Deutschpunk was developed; this style of music has developed distinctly from hardcore punk, and includes lyrics in German as well as a fast tempo. In the punk scene in Germany, some bands play music in the Deutschpunk style, while other German punk bands pursue various other styles of punk music.

Disorder are an English street punk band that formed in the Bristol area of England in 1980, and has existed with varying line-ups. They are aligned with politically charged punk bands.

<i>Razorcake</i> Los Angeles nonprofit and punk fanzine

Razorcake is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that publishes the Razorcake fanzine, a DIY punk rock fanzine published bi-monthly out of Los Angeles, California. It was co-founded by Todd Taylor and Sean Carswell in 2001.

Screaming Dead are a punk rock band from Cheltenham formed in 1980, who have often been characterized as "horror punk". They released several singles and EPs with indie chart success, before splitting up in 1985. They reformed in 1997; disbanded again in 1999; and reformed in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thames Valley Buses</span> British bus company

Thames Valley Buses Limited, trading as Thames Valley Buses, is a bus company based in Bracknell, England. It was known as Courtney Buses until 2021. Founded in 1973, the company operates a network of commercial and contracted local bus services and school buses in Berkshire, north Hampshire and small parts of Oxfordshire, Surrey and Buckinghamshire. In March 2019 it was purchased by Reading Buses, with the company having gradually rebranded to its current name between October 2019 and April 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Screaming Banshee Aircrew</span> English rock band

Screaming Banshee Aircrew were an English rock band originating from York. Their varied music appealed to the Gothic scene, and their energetic performances attracted many fans across the UK. They were disbanded in July 2010, and many of the band members went on to join other bands.

<i>Ablaze!</i> British indie music fanzine

Ablaze! is a British indie music fanzine, produced in Manchester and Leeds. Ablaze! ran for ten issues between 1987 and 1993, and returned for an eleventh issue in 2015. Ten issues of the zine were compiled into a book, The City Is Ablaze!, published in 2012.

Fast Forward was a cassette magazine documenting post-punk music in the early 1980s. It was edited in Melbourne, Australia, by Bruce Milne and Andrew Maine, with graphic design by Michael Trudgeon. The cassettes interspersed interviews with music and were packaged with printed artwork and distributed in record shops around Australia and abroad. Thirteen issues were produced between November 1980 and October 1982.

<i>C86</i> 1986 compilation album by various artists

C86 is a cassette compilation released by the British music magazine NME in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from British independent record labels of the time. As a term, C86 quickly evolved into shorthand for a guitar-based music genre characterized by jangling guitars and melodic power pop song structures, although other musical styles were represented on the tape. In its time, it became a pejorative term for its associations with so-called "shambling" and underachievement. The C86 scene is now recognized as a pivotal moment for independent music in the UK, as was recognized in the subtitle of the compilation's 2006 CD issue: CD86: 48 Tracks from the Birth of Indie Pop. In 2014, the original compilation was reissued in a 3CD expanded edition from Cherry Red Records; the 2014 box-set came with an 11,500-word book of sleevenotes by one of the tape's original curators, former NME journalist Neil Taylor.

References