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Here comes another one...

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 11:13 pm
by Darth Mole
Howdy folks. Another ex-Newsfielder joining your ranks... for no adequately explained reason.

Er, hello.

Posted: Fri Jul 01, 2005 11:23 pm
by LeeT
And you are?... :? :wink:

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2005 9:08 am
by Darth Mole
The chummy brummy. Despite not actually being from Birmingham at all...

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2005 9:11 am
by Lloyd Mangram
Hello, um, err, Darth Mole! :)

You want us to guess??

I'd say Gordon Houghton's schizophrenic sister! :D

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2005 9:14 am
by Lloyd Mangram
Darth Mole wrote:The chummy brummy. Despite not actually being from Birmingham at all...
Ah, that's explaining things!

Welcome Steve Jarratt! :D

edit: Steve, the DEF Tribute to Zzap!64 is on the shelves of your local WHSmith next week, and a personal copy is in the mail! 8)

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2005 11:26 am
by LeeT
Good to see you here Steve - Can't you persuade Future to launch a retro-themed mag? :wink:

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2005 11:51 am
by debit
LeeT wrote:Good to see you here Steve :
Here, here - welcome, Steve. You've managed to coax me out of lurking and into posting here for the first time!

I came to the C64 rather late - in fact in the very same month Commodore Format 1 came out, the one with the C64GS on the front. Whilst the magazine undoubtedly went tits up towards the end I used to really enjoy it in its heyday and I don't think the Steve / Andy Dyer era was ever really bettered...care to spill any beans on what was happening behind the scenes, Steve? I've always wondered what it must have been like to work on C-Format, especially as so soon after launch it overtook Zzap!...

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2005 12:01 pm
by LeeT
I agree - I thought the early issues of CF were excellent and the covertapes contained some great games. Sadly there always seemed to be a high turnover of staff after Steve and Andy moved on - Obviously because a lot of staff were promoted and I suppose CF was pretty much at the bottom rung of the ladder! :)

Steve - Did Future ever consider legal action against Newsfield when ZZAP! aped the whole design of CF?

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2005 12:16 pm
by debit
LeeT wrote:
Steve - Did Future ever consider legal action against Newsfield when ZZAP! aped the whole design of CF?
Aye, I often wondered that. I remember in particular the reviews of "Supremacy" and how similar Zzap's! subsequent review was startling similar to CF's.

Each magazine had its high and low points, and that (Lucy Hickman?) era of Zzap was, well....rubbish. So come on, Steve, spill some beans for us! Ah, you will...

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2005 12:30 pm
by Mayhem
Welcome Steve :)

//apologises for using the "chummy Brummy" tag when he first met you at a computer show in 1992 :lol: :P

I was pleased you recognised the reference at least...!

So apart from Penn, Wade and Rignall, we've really not got many left to go, have we? :lol:

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2005 12:39 pm
by LeeT
Mayhem wrote: So apart from Penn, Wade and Rignall, we've really not got many left to go, have we? :lol:
I must admit that the 'Def Tribute' seems to have persuaded a lot of the ex-ZZAP! staff to come out of the closet (oo-er!) :lol:

It seems that Mr Rignall has reappeared onto the retro scene (but the interview has yet to appear) :(

Posted: Sat Jul 02, 2005 4:34 pm
by Darth Mole
Can't believe you guys notice this stuff! Yeah, Supremacy was almost pic-for-pic identical between CF and the ZZAP! that was. I guess we should have been flattered.

No, it wasn't worth the effort of going legal; the courts would have kicked us out and by then it was too late anyway. We just sat there and outsold them, month after month :-)

Working on CF was hard. There were a few staff problems, but I enjoyed doing my own C64 mag (I never get to edit ZZAP!), and it was good training for other mags I would go on and launch. And working with Andy Dyer was a real privilege - easily one of the funniest men I've ever had the pleasure to meet. I'm still very proud of CF, although I now only have the single copy of issue 1 issue up in the loft.

BTW: to my knowledge Jaz Rignall has never written RedEye. Certainly up till very recently (and including my last stint on Edge), it's always been another journalist - who shall, of course, remain nameless.

Bob Wade is back working for Future as a freelance prod ed on some of our practical needlecraft titles - he loves it, surrounded by women all day long!

Penn, of course, works in software dev. and writes a column for Edge.

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 3:14 pm
by Lloyd Mangram
Image


:D

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 5:18 pm
by Darth Mole
Jesus...

Posted: Sun Jul 03, 2005 11:45 pm
by Iain
You didn't just draw that did you Rob? I assume you copied it from somewhere?!