Three Cheers For Shindig!

My reading pile is getting huge, I can't stop adding to it! One read that always goes straight to the top of the pile is the wonderful Shindig! magazine. It appeals to me on so many levels from the glorious thud as it hits the floor when postie shoves it through my letterbox to articles on bands I adore such as Kippington Lodge, Soft Machine and The Pretty Things to name just a few. Coupled with genuine knowledgeable writing by a friendly team of enthusiasts you almost feel part of the gang when reading it. Imagine my delight to hear the news that from the next issue it's coming out six times a year - Yahoo!

The latest gigantic issue is a Mott The Hoople special with some super writing by Kris Needs. It also has features on The Alan Bown Set, The Critters and The Twilights - the splendid thing about Shindig! is you keep going back to it and find nuggets you missed on your first read! It's the only mag I keep - I never recycle it!

There is a small feature that me old mucker Overend Watts (Mott bassist) did for a fanzine I put together back in the 1990's called Wig Out - it's about his love for the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band and how they had such an influence on his pre-Mott bands and still do for that matter - I won't spoil it for you, check out the article here.

One amusing story that relates to the above article when it first appeared (1997) - some months after Overends Wig Out piece his phone rang....."Hi, this is Michael Lloyd here from the WCPAEB, just leaving a message for Overend".....phone gets picked up by Overend "Is that really you? Is it really you? It can't really be you" it turns out it really was Michael Lloyd who called to say how much he and the other band members loved the article. A long chat ensued and some myths are put to bed about the group and some new gems unearthed! Great story. Imagine the excitement!

The good news is that in addition to being a subscriber magazine Shindig! is back in the shops - the next issue (on sale 16th February) will be on special promotion in WH Smiths so it should be pretty easy to find. Enjoy!