Classic Pop (magazine)

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Classic Pop is a bi-monthly[1] British music magazine. It launched in October 2012, branded as the "Eighties, Electronic, Eclectic" magazine.[2][3] Regular features include artist interviews, career overviews, and analyses of classic albums.[4]

Classic Pop
EditorSteve Harnell
Editor-at-LargeIan Peel
Former editorsRik Flynn, Ian Peel
CategoriesMusic magazine
FrequencyMonthly
PublisherAnthem Publishing
FounderIan Peel
First issueOctober 2012
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Websiteclassicpopmag.com

Its occasional series, Five Decades of... interviews and appraises the work of a musician or group who may have been overlooked by other media, but who are nonetheless influential and active over the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. Key Five Decades of... features have included Vince Clarke (Issue 10, pages 54–61), Duran Duran (Issue 1, pages 52–59), Simple Minds (Issue 2, pages 58–65) and Spandau Ballet (Issue 3, pages 50–57).[citation needed]

The magazine was devised and founded by Ian Peel, who was also editor for the first 19 issues. Rik Flynn stepped in as editor until Issue 23 followed by current editor Steve Harnell. Ian Peel remains involved as Founder & Editor-at-Large.[5]

Launched by Anthem Publishing,[6] Classic Pop had become a monthly magazine by the time Anthem temporarily paused publication of the title in April 2020 due to Covid-19. After a break of three months, which saw Anthem cease publication of sister magazine "Long Live Vinyl",[7] Classic Pop returned as a bi-monthly publication with occasional special editions (such as "Synthpop Volume 2: Electric Dreams").[8]

Classic Pop has also published special one-off editions commemorating the lives of David Bowie, Prince and Michael Jackson, as well as the careers of ABBA, Madonna, Paul McCartney, George Michael and Elton John.[citation needed]

Regular sections

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'Godfathers/Godmothers of Pop'

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One of the magazine's lead sections, every issue has profiled one or more musicians with an interview and induction into Classic Pop's "Godmothers/Godfathers of Pop".[9] The following artists have been bestowed the title:

Marc Almond (Issue 16, page 18–19), Adam Ant (Issue 19, page 17), Wally Badarou (Issue 12, page 19), Tom Bailey (Issue 4, page 19), Andy Bell (Issue 13, page 17), Blancmange (Issue 1, page 21), Thomas Dolby (Issue 23, page 33), Wolfgang Flür (Issue 20, page 17), Martin Fry (Issue 9, page 17), Glenn Gregory (Issue 3, page 19), Clare Grogan (Issue 12, page 17), Tony Hadley (Issue 6, page 19), Daryl Hall (Issue 16, page 21), Morten Harket (Issue 3, page 17), Nick Heyward (Issue 19, page 19), Peter Hook (Issue 5, page 19), Trevor Horn (Issue 10, page 17), Steve Jansen (Issue 23, page 35), Matt Johnson (Issue 18, page 17), Howard Jones (Issue 2, page 19), Gary Kemp (Issue 1, page 19), Nik Kershaw (Issue 1, page 23 and Issue 21, page 33), Mark King (Issue 11, page 17), Annie Lennox (Issue 4, page 17), Ron Mael (Issue 10, page 19), Phil Manzanera (Issue 22, page 19), Dieter Meier (Issue 7, page 19), Daniel Miller (Issue 20, page 19), Kylie Minogue (Issue 2, page 17), Giorgio Moroder (Issue 6, page 17), Yoko Ono (Issue 7, page 17), Andy Partridge (Issue 15, page 17), Kate Pierson (Issue 21, page 31), Nick Rhodes (Issue 5, page 17), Nile Rodgers (Issue 8, page 17), Shaun Ryder (Issue 18, page 19), Cathal Smyth (Issue 22, page 17), Lisa Stansfield (Issue 8, page 19), Susan Ann Sulley (Issue 15, page 19), Bernard Sumner (Issue 17, page 17), John Taylor (Issue 9, page 19), Tracey Thorn (Issue 17, page 19), Toyah (Issue 13, page 19), Midge Ure (Issue 11, page 19), Martyn Ware (Issue 14, page 17), Pete Waterman (Issue 14, page 19).

'Classic Album'

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Each edition of Classic Pop devotes five pages to an in-depth examination of the making of, and influence of, a pop album.

Guest Reviewers

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Since May 2014, the singles reviews section has been written by a guest contributor.[10] These have included:

'Lost & Found'

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Every issue of the magazine has included a column – most often written by Ian Peel or John Earls – examining and assessing a single or album that in their option should be considered classic or influential with hindsight, but which has fallen off the radar of the media or public-at-large. The following releases have been covered in this section:

Occasional series

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'Labelled With Love'

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Classic Pop runs an occasional series of in-depth appraisals of record labels. These have included:

'The Story Behind the Song'

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For five issues in 2014, Classic Pop ran a series of interviews with songwriters describing the creative process behind some of their work.[11] The songs examined in this series were:

'On the Road With...'

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A pictorial based on behind-the-scenes photos and commentary from a recent concert. These have included Claudia Brücken's This Happened at Bush Hall, London (Issue 1, pages 106–107), The Christians' European Tour (Issue 2, pages 128–129), Thomas Dolby's Time Capsule Tour of the US (Issue 1, pages 104–105), Nick Heyward at Let's Rock the Moor! (Issue 4, pages 112–113), Let's Rock Festival (Issue 11, pages 90–91), Madness at The Queens' Diamond Jubilee Celebration Concert (Issue 1, pages 108–109), Swing Out Sister at Billboard Live, Tokyo (Issue 3, pages 128–129), Then Jerico's Big Area Tour (Issue 2, pages 126–127).

'Hit Songwords'

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The earlier issues of the magazine included the lyrics to a particular song. These were Deacon BlueChocolate Girl (Issue 4, page 12), The FarmAll Together Now (Issue 5, page 12), Frankie Goes to HollywoodTwo Tribes (Annihilation) (Issue 6, page 12), Spandau BalletGold (Issue 2, page 12), SqueezeCool for Cats (Issue 3, page 12).[12]

References

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  1. ^ "Classic Pop magazine announcement". 5 June 2020.
  2. ^ "CLASSIC POP LAUNCHES TODAY!". Anthem Publishing. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  3. ^ Pierre Perrone (3 October 2013). "Now that's what I call music..." The Independent. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  4. ^ "Introductions: Classic Pop". Writing Magazine. April 2019. p. 85.
  5. ^ "Meet the Founder and Editor-at-Large of Classic Pop magazine". iSubscribe.co.uk. 8 April 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  6. ^ "Classic Pop".
  7. ^ "Long Live Vinyl". longlivevinyl.net.
  8. ^ "Classic Pop Presents Synth-Pop Volume 2". 24 September 2020.
  9. ^ Sinclair, Paul (19 October 2012). "Classic Pop magazine: new launch". SuperDeluxeEdition.com. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
  10. ^ ClassicPop.com (16 May 2014). "Classic Pop Issue 11 Out Now". Anthem Publishing. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  11. ^ ClassicPop.com (23 January 2014). "Classic Pop Issue 9 On Sale Now!". Anthem Publishing. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
  12. ^ "CLASSIC POP Magazine Back Issues". CrazyAboutMagazines.com. 10 July 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
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