We Love Smash Hits

1992...

2006-02-03T18:30:00.000Z

The year 'it all' happened.

Got. Swap. Got...

2006-02-03T17:40:00.000Z

I'll swap you five Daves for one Annie.

Smooth...

2006-02-03T17:34:00.000Z

Here's one of Neil's reviews;
ELTON JOHN: I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues (Rocket)
An old-fashioned, predictable weepie which is I guess why they called in Stevie Wonder to liven it up with his harmonica. I think Elton John ought to buck up his ideas: this isn't very inspired and I bet he knows it.

The hottest guest reviewers...

2006-02-03T17:32:00.000Z

What H and Claire look like now...

2006-02-03T17:26:00.000Z

Only joking! It's Vince and Alf from 1982 (two years after God made Estelle).

Spot the Pet Shop Boy...

2006-02-03T17:24:00.000Z

Woo! Yay!

Don't let designers review albums...

2006-02-03T17:22:00.000Z

Five out of five and nary a piglet in sight.

Milli Vanilli - always good value...

2006-02-03T17:21:00.000Z

Girl, you know it's true.

Airbrushing is a wonderful thing...

2006-02-03T17:19:00.000Z

It can get rid of spots, facial hair and even spaghetti. Just ask Tweedy.

S Club 8...

2006-02-03T17:17:00.000Z

Not to be confused with 808 State, MN8 or Altern8.

Worst band ever in Smash Hits™ - part 5

2006-02-03T17:12:00.000Z

La Bouche? Don't ask me, I was there when this was done and I don't remember them.

Print it out and wrap your exercise book in it...

2006-02-03T17:11:00.000Z

Is Wendy James the new Kylie Minogue?

2006-02-03T17:09:00.000Z

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Another corking song lyric...

2006-02-03T17:08:00.000Z

And this was before any of your fancy computers, mind.

Now that's what I call music...

2006-02-03T17:06:00.000Z

The biggest competitions...

2006-02-03T17:03:00.000Z

A typical Songwords Card...

2006-02-03T17:00:00.000Z

This will be hit number...2. Yeah right!

Worst band ever in Smash Hits™ - part 4

2006-02-03T16:57:00.000Z

V. There were five of them, they were Roman. Except they weren't.

Smile, it's The Cure...

2006-02-03T16:52:00.000Z

Ignore the fact that lead singer Robert Smith is a dead ringer for Jo Brand - if you like any of the 'modern' American bands then give them a listen. They're tunetastic.

Next year's BIg Brother anyone?

2006-02-03T16:49:00.000Z

For those of you in your teens or twenties, yes that is the same Pete Burns. Honest!

Stock, Aitken and Waterman...

2006-02-03T16:47:00.000Z

Plus! Bonus Pete Waterman lookey-likey. Suits you.

Vanilla Ice gives one to Madonna...

2006-02-03T16:36:00.000Z

Instead, here's a picture of him handing her a Smash Hits Award.

Spot the fella...

2006-02-03T16:05:00.000Z

What reviews used to look like...

2006-02-03T16:04:00.000Z

Britpop, schmitpop...

2006-02-03T16:01:00.000Z

We had 'em all! Blur, Oasis, Pulp... even The Bluetones!

They don't make 'em like that any more...

2006-02-03T15:55:00.000Z

Try getting that on your iPod.

Children behave...

2006-02-03T15:53:00.000Z

Repeat last four lines to fade.

Smash Hits does LIve Aid...

2006-02-03T15:48:00.000Z

Where do you keep yours?

2006-02-03T15:45:00.000Z

Marky Mark keeps his Smash Hits Award on a urinal.
Now that's taking the piss.

What do you mean, pop bands used to be ugly?

2006-02-03T15:42:00.000Z

The Professionals. Steve Jones and Paul Cook from the Sex Pistols. And Chewbacca's uncle.

Boyzone's secret diaries...

2006-02-03T15:39:00.000Z

Fancy a stab at the secret that wasn't revealed...

T'Pau on t'cover

2006-02-03T15:36:00.000Z

Anyone else think that Carol Decker and Gillian McKeith lookey-a-likey?

Worst band ever in Smash Hits™ - part 3

2006-02-03T15:35:00.000Z

Seona Dancing anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Q: Would it worry you if people compared you to Rachel Stevens?

2006-02-03T15:32:00.000Z

A: Yeah!

Ooh, get you, your momma too...

2006-02-03T15:31:00.000Z

...and your daddy.

S'Hits circa 1979. The year before God made Estelle.

2006-02-03T15:27:00.000Z

Brrrr, it's Tears For Fears!

2006-02-03T15:25:00.000Z

Roland the red-nosed popstar, had a very shiny... Curt.

Stars and their pets

2006-02-03T15:22:00.000Z

This issue: Dougie McFly's lizard!
Next issue: Peter Andre's cock!

Before Panini was a fancy bap...

2006-02-03T15:21:00.000Z

Worst band ever in Smash Hits™ - part 2

2006-02-03T15:13:00.000Z

For those of you who don't recognise them - it's Information Society!
Bizarrely the female lead singer had left the day before the interview was done.

Smash Hits pre-empts Zoo by years with controversial Bush shot on cover...

2006-02-03T15:10:00.000Z

Ah, the '86. A fine vintage...

2006-02-03T15:07:00.000Z

Worst band ever in Smash Hits™ - part 1

2006-02-03T15:06:00.000Z

Oh phukk, it's Phixx.

The 26 word review...

2006-02-03T15:03:00.000Z

The Biscuit Tin versus H from Steps

2006-02-03T13:23:00.000Z

What's your favourite drink?
Milkshake. I don't like the ones made with ice-cream though, 'cos they give me a headache. I like the ones that are made with real strawberries. They're yummy!

Features and photos, fact and fiction...

2006-02-03T13:19:00.000Z

...and much, much more of what we're famous for (including fun...)

Dear Smash Hits

2006-02-03T13:18:00.000Z

Lots of love, Mrs Adam Ant x

Big in Japan...

2006-02-03T13:16:00.000Z

FACT! Japan were on the cover three times!

All the latest trends...

2006-02-03T13:11:00.000Z

There's A Guy Works Down The Chip Shop...

2006-02-03T13:06:00.000Z

...who won't be wrapping the cod in Smash Hits anymore.

Never forget where you're coming from

2006-02-03T13:02:00.000Z

Take That swap Robbie for some swanky new dinner-plates.

"Smash Hits," grunts Belinda Carlisle cheerfully from her hotel swank-couch.

2006-02-03T12:59:00.000Z

Marvel at the word-count!

The biggest cover stars...

2006-02-03T12:56:00.000Z

Big shout out for the 'Gary Glitters' coverline...

Unrivalled access...

2006-02-03T12:49:00.000Z

The Lasting Legacy Of Smash Hits

2006-02-02T19:44:00.000Z

BBC NEWS WEBSITE: Feb 2nd, 2006

Smash Hits, which is to close after 28 years, was the bible for many teenagers discovering their musical tastes in the 1980s and 1990s.

Every fortnight, Smash Hits thumped through the letterbox dishing out gossip, interviews, pull-out posters - and perhaps most importantly - lyrics to the top tunes of the day.

The whole kit and caboodle was served up in a typically playful house style that would go on to set a new standard in magazines.

In 1981, it is rumoured that the then Smash Hits editor David Hepworth sent a memo to record companies saying he intended "to reverse the entire direction" of pop music publishing in favour of trivia, demanding to know the colour of their artists' socks.

The approach worked.

Before long, Smash Hits' irreverent and witty style was pulling in a regular readership of half a million readers.

Hepworth - and the two editors before him - had gathered together a sharp team of writers, including Mark Ellen, who is now editor of Word Magazine, and Neil Tennant, who would go on to front the Pet Shop Boys.

They helped shape the tongue-in-cheek style of the magazine that triumphed throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.

Where else would the pop royalty of the day be known as Dame David Bowie, Sir Clifford of Richard and Fab Macca Wackythumbsaloft?

Bros were nicknamed Matt, Luke and Ken - after third member Craig was declared irrelevant - while Brother Beyond were somewhat shortened to The 'Yond.

"Corky O'Reilly! It's Kylie" and "Legs akimbo!" were often used phrases among it vernacular.

Pop stars were not pandered to on the pages, but asked both probing and silly questions of the "do you have smelly feet?" ilk. They often received equally silly replies.

But the magazine also succeeded in appealing to the teenager with a wide taste in music, as anyone who was anyone in the charts making it onto the hallowed pages.

Interviews with artists like The Cure and the Cocteau Twins were sandwiched comfortably between gossip on pop acts like Duran Duran and Wham!

Letter writers to Black Type mused on the songwriting ability of their favourite stars, wrote poems, and argued amongst themselves. They signed their letters Morten Harket's Bottom, Neil Tennant's Chest Wig, or Jesus and Mary's Chainstore.

Smash Hits was the brainchild of former NME man Nick Logan who called his protegee pop bible Disco Fever.

The first test issue - featuring Belgian one-hit-wonder Plastic Bertrand on the cover and Sham 69 as the centre spread - was put to together on Logan's kitchen table.

But unsure of how it would go down, Logan refused to print his name as editor, using instead the pseudonym Chris Hall - a combination of the names of his children Christian and Hallie.

After just three issues, Smash Hits moved from monthly to fortnightly, and its impact was immediate and lasting.

During the 1980s, appearing on the Smash Hits cover equalled BBC show Top of the Pops in determining when an act had finally arrived.

Morrissey wearing a hearing aid and holding a kitten inside his cardigan was just one of the memorable covers of the time.

Even footballer Paul Gascoigne made the cover when Gazza-mania gripped the country during the 1990 world cup.

Celebrity Big Brother's Preston will be the last cover star

Perhaps the most high-profile editor was X-Factor presenter Kate Thornton who took the helm in 1996 aged just 21.

She said the magazine's closure was "the end of an era" but added that "times were changing".

In recent years the magazine was sold with free gifts from notepads to coloured pens for its increasing pre-teen readership, as teenagers turned to new technology to influence their musical direction.

Mark Frith, who now edits Heat magazine, said the music industry itself may also be to blame for the demise.

"I think these days, a lot of pop music is invented in boardrooms at record companies and it kind of ticks all the boxes and appeals to the right demographic," he said.

"Where are the characters coming through now and making pop music? It's not just there.

"I think Smash Hits particularly thrived on those kind of people."