What magazine/paper/periodical most shaped your political thinking?

[Carl Steele]

Red Weekly (also known as Red Dictionary)
Spartacist Britain (also know as many things, but Jim Robertson once said it looked like the Queen, no idea what that meant)
Revolutionary Communist (scandalously no archived editions to be found anywhere, but I recall it as the opposite of Socialist Worker)
Viz

Unfortunately this is not far from the truth

 

[Pickman's model]

Red Weekly (also known as Red Dictionary)
Spartacist Britain (also know as many things, but Jim Robertson once said it looked like the Queen, no idea what that meant)
Revolutionary Communist (scandalously no archived editions to be found anywhere, but I recall it as the opposite of Socialist Worker)
Viz

Unfortunately this is not far from the truth

I thought the opposite of socialist worker might be tory boss

 

[Serge Forward]

Capitalist Worker?

 

[chilango]

Surely, as the old joke goes, a socialist worker is the opposite of a Socialist Worker?

 

[Carl Steele]

I thought the opposite of socialist worker might be tory boss

Revolutionary Communist was a barely penetrable theoretical journal (lots of economics) produced for a while by ex-International Socialist (SWP) members. It was the opposite of the Socialist Worker idea of a socialist tabloid.

 

[hitmouse]

Revolutionary Communist was a barely penetrable theoretical journal (lots of economics) produced for a while by ex-International Socialist (SWP) members. It was the opposite of the Socialist Worker idea of a socialist tabloid.

Any relation to the RCP/Living Marxism/Spiked! or RCG/Fight This! Fight That! lineages?

Anyway, I reckon my main ones are:
Socialist Worker/Socialist Review/even the bloody ISJ, for my sins
Various punk zines, especially Last Hours (which I think must have had at least one Urb as a contributor?), also MRR to an extent
Class War (2000s edition, probably not that good compared to the glory days but made an impression on me at least)
Resistance
Had forgotten about Now or Never!, but that was a good one as well, as was the occasional Schnews. Another one I'd forgotten about was the Commune, I think I'd been on the verge of volunteering to help distro that when it folded. Was the WAG paper Alarm? That was another decent Class-War-alike for a while.
I remember Catalyst being good when it had a sudoku?
Viz as pretty much a constant throughout.
I suppose Spectacular Times doesn't really count as a periodical, but I appreciated finding old copies of that.

Trying to think of actual paper-and-ink publications I've read over the last decade: main one is probably LRB, I unsubscribed after Grenfell but might re-subscribe at some point. Recently subscribed to Dope, not wildly in love with it but respect to it as an ambitious anarcho street paper. I quite rate AWW stuff but I've generally read that online rather than as a paper.
In recent years, reckon I've ended up buying Trot papers out of politeness/knowing the seller about once every six months, variously Solidarity, Socialist Appeal or Alternative.

 

[Carl Steele]

Any relation to the RCP/Living Marxism/Spiked! or RCG/Fight This! Fight That! lineages?

Yes, those people. They were a faction in the IS, thrown out in 74 or 75. They produced 2 or 3 issues of the journal before fracturing in several different directions. In addition to the RCP/RCG groups some of them went into the WSL and then into the Sparts.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Yes, those people. They were a faction in the IS, thrown out in 74 or 75. They produced 2 or 3 issues of the journal before fracturing in several different directions. In addition to the RCP/RCG groups some of them went into the WSL and then into the Sparts.

Splits and Fusions Archive has PDFs of Revolutionary Communist:

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

INDEX of Groups and Publications

Use these links to find particular groups or publications and go directly to our online file archives. We will gradually be bringing this online as we sort our file folders into some semblance of o…

splitsandfusions.wordpress.com

 

[hitmouse]

Yes, those people. They were a faction in the IS, thrown out in 74 or 75. They produced 2 or 3 issues of the journal before fracturing in several different directions. In addition to the RCP/RCG groups some of them went into the WSL and then into the Sparts.

Two very different trajectories, united by their shared enthusiasm for exclamation marks!

Also, thinking about it, was wondering - in the olden days, how did the likes of Freedom and Black Flag (I appreciate that these two aren't exactly a singular entity) get distributed? Was it just bookshops and subscriptions, and maybe also sellers at punk gigs, or were there street sales of Freedom and BF as well? Would DAM groups sell Black Flag and DA both?

 

[Pickman's model]

View attachment 259641
View attachment 259642
Two very different trajectories, united by their shared enthusiasm for exclamation marks!

Also, thinking about it, was wondering - in the olden days, how did the likes of Freedom and Black Flag (I appreciate that these two aren't exactly a singular entity) get distributed? Was it just bookshops and subscriptions, and maybe also sellers at punk gigs, or were there street sales of Freedom and BF as well? Would DAM groups sell Black Flag and DA both?

Certainly bookshops, loads of magazines and papers were distributed by central books, formerly in hackney wick. Used to see freedom in compendium in camden town where there was aleister crowley upstairs and anti-capitalism downstairs. When I knew a dam member many years ago he never mentioned bf to me, tho he did say about da. So by 1989/90 any paper sales were a thing of the past I think

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Also, thinking about it, was wondering - in the olden days, how did the likes of Freedom and Black Flag (I appreciate that these two aren't exactly a singular entity) get distributed? Was it just bookshops and subscriptions, and maybe also sellers at punk gigs, or were there street sales of Freedom and BF as well? Would DAM groups sell Black Flag and DA both?

What Pickman’s said, but Black Flag would be sold at demos also, at least in London in the late 80s / early 90s.

 

[Carl Steele]

Splits and Fusions Archive has PDFs of Revolutionary Communist

Oh, they produced 9 journals! Just looking at the covers makes me feel like lying down.

I think they thought they were reconstituting Marxism, foolishly, but they weren't alone in believing they were somehow historically significant.

 

[Serge Forward]

It's also worth remembering that back in the 80s there were over 300 radical bookshops around the country, so a lot of publications got shifted through them. Now it's probably less than 10.

 

[Pickman's model]

It's also worth remembering that back in the 80s there were over 300 radical bookshops around the country, so a lot of publications got shifted through them. Now it's probably less than 10.

Housman's, DK what's going on with freedom - heard junkies had moved in, bookmarks - must be another one or two in London surely. Don't know much about the ones outside london

 

[Pickman's model]

It's also worth remembering that back in the 80s there were over 300 radical bookshops around the country, so a lot of publications got shifted through them. Now it's probably less than 10.

Class war also sold through some newsagents in London

 

[chilango]

Class war also sold through some newsagents in London

...and Cardiff

 

[chilango]

What Pickman’s said, but Black Flag would be sold at demos also, at least in London in the late 80s / early 90s.

Trying to remember if we sold BF on our stalls.

We did have CW, Subversion, and other stuff that I forget. We got a big box of things from DS4A (distro) for the stall and some groups sent us their rags to sell too. I think CW was the only paper we sold away from the occasional stall though. And even that was rare.

There were usually bookshops and friendly cafes etc. that would take stuff for us iirc.

 

[Lurdan]

In addition to Central Books, in the late 1970s and 80s a lot of mainstream left and feminist publications were distributed by PDC (Publications Distribution Co-op). They weren't much interested in small anarchist publications (and they were also in my recollection unaccountably fixated on people paying their bills). At the start of the 80s the people who subsequently founded the London bookfair started up the co-operatively run A Distribution. Initially out of the basement at Rising Free, and when that closed from the Freedom building. All dependent on the network of different types of left, radical and alternative bookshops of course.

Don't recall a great deal of street selling in London. In the days when there were a lot more demonstrations people would turn out to sell at those as well as leaflet.

 

[Serge Forward]

The ACF did a few street sales with Virus (later Organise) back in the day.

And before that I occasionally handed out Careless Talk stuff on the market in Newcastle Under Lyme. They also sold Careless Talk and Freedom fortnightly in a local N-U-L wholefood shop called Kermase. We rarely got a response to any of our propaganda, mind.

 

[hitmouse]

In addition to Central Books, in the late 1970s and 80s a lot of mainstream left and feminist publications were distributed by PDC (Publications Distribution Co-op). They weren't much interested in small anarchist publications (and they were also in my recollection unaccountably fixated on people paying their bills). At the start of the 80s the people who subsequently founded the London bookfair started up the co-operatively run A Distribution. Initially out of the basement at Rising Free, and when that closed from the Freedom building. All dependent on the network of different types of left, radical and alternative bookshops of course.

Don't recall a great deal of street selling in London. In the days when there were a lot more demonstrations people would turn out to sell at those as well as leaflet.

Is/was A a different thing from Active? Outside of London, I suppose News from Nowhere, October, Hydra would be a few of the main ones still going, plus Lighthouse up in Edinburgh.

 

[hitmouse]

Did a bit of aimless digging around, apparently in July 1981 several Leeds DAM members were fined £40 (which was probably the cost of a house or something in them days?) for selling Black Flag on the street.

 

[Fozzie Bear]

Is/was A a different thing from Active?

Yep different people and eras. A Distribution was early 80s and mainly sold to shops iirc. They published Anarchist Review which Sparrows Nest has some of as PDFs.

Active Distribution mainly sold to punters from stalls and mail order I think. Late 80s onwards.

 

[Dom Traynor]

The ACF did a few street sales with Virus (later Organise) back in the day.

And before that I occasionally handed out Careless Talk stuff on the market in Newcastle Under Lyme. They also sold Careless Talk and Freedom fortnightly in a local N-U-L wholefood shop called Kermase. We rarely got a response to any of our propaganda, mind.

Good shout back to the worst named publication ever - Virus. On the other hand Organise is a great name.

 

[Serge Forward]

It came from Thatcher I think, refering to opponents as the enemy within, a virus. Colin Parker's mag before the ACF was formed.

 

[Pickman's model]

It came from Thatcher I think, refering to opponents as the enemy within, a virus. Colin Parker's mag before the ACF was formed.

Sadly missed

 

[Pickman's model]

Good shout back to the worst named publication ever - Virus. On the other hand Organise is a great name.

 

[Serge Forward]

Sadly missed

He is indeed.

 

[LDC]

Certainly bookshops, loads of magazines and papers were distributed by central books, formerly in hackney wick. Used to see freedom in compendium in camden town where there was aleister crowley upstairs and anti-capitalism downstairs. When I knew a dam member many years ago he never mentioned bf to me, tho he did say about da. So by 1989/90 any paper sales were a thing of the past I think

Compendium! That used to be my favourite bookshop when I was little!

 

[hitmouse]

Good shout back to the worst named publication ever - Virus. On the other hand Organise is a great name.

The name so unfortunate they named it twice.

 

[imposs1904]

Compendium! That used to be my favourite bookshop when I was little!

I always hated that miserable wanker who worked downstairs at Compendium. (This would have been mid to late 90s.) He made Housman's resident Stalinist, Max, seem like a sweetheart by comparison.