Fanzines & Web sites
Stuck indoors today as I have a mild dose of the flu & I started wondering whatever happend to some of our old fanzines & websites.
I do fondly remember SMBU & less fondly One-One (a little too cynical even for me)
I was never sure why they ceased (if anyone can enlighten me that would be great)
I also wondered what other WWFC fanzines people have a fond remembrance of
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Comments
The Adams Family!!
I remember When Skies are Blue and Tales of a Chairboy. I think they mainly folded due to costs (and time), were The Wanderer a standalone publication it may have ceased to be but with WWISC running it, it has managed to keep going (and sales have actually never been better).
I will try and dig out a piece I wrote on WWFC fanzines for The Wanderers 100th edition and post here
Chairboys Gas which inspired el records to name an LP by Bad Dreams Fancy Dress 'Choirboys Gas'. El records was later bought by Cherry Red records. Coincidence????
Is The Wanderer the one that still runs? If it is, then really wish it could be sold with a card reader as well as cash. It’s rare I have cash on me.
In the absence of a programme I would happily pay a fiver for it as I can imagine the effort that goes into it by volunteers.
Actually out of interest, would anyone else voluntarily pay more for it? For example if it was sold as ‘£x’ or higher voluntary donation?
Chairboys Gas, the first WW fanzine, and the best. Read by the fans, the players, and threatened with legal action by the then Club Chairman.
Tales of a Chairboy was quality. I think the creator was a bit more cheerful than his gasroom demeanour these days!
That's the one - we are hoping to get a card reader soon as a few people mention paying by card.
We've just put the price up to £2 so would be a bit reluctant to raise it again anytime soon - but being able to take card would definitely increase the sales
Great news Phil, really pleased to hear this!
The fanzine and early fan site section on Chairboys Gas is quite fun - http://www.chairboys.co.uk/gas/cghome.htm and http://www.chairboys.co.uk/gas/electric/index.htm
I had considered creating a fanzine archive, and there's quite a few old fanzines for sale on Ebay right now - price is a bit high for me though https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=wycombe+fanzine&_sacat=0
Almost 22 years on and a few of these are still posting...
(unfortunately nothing happens if you click on the links 🙁)
https://web.archive.org/web/20010302165156/http://www.gasroom.co.uk/
I used to post on there too, albeit not often & with a different handle than I use here
I wrote this piece about The Wanderer back in 2015 for the 100th edition. Bit out of date but most of it is still relevant...
Tales of The Wanderer
It does seem that, these days, fanzines are a thing of the past. In the digital age, they haven’t exactly vanished but have moved away from the grounds themselves. The paper based magazine like the one you are currently reading have moved on-line with websites, blog spots and podcasts replacing them. They’re quicker, cheaper and easier to get out, although some ‘old-fashioned’ fanzines do exist.
Sadly retired Wanderers fanzines include the famous ‘Chairboys Gas’ which ran for twenty five issues from 1986 to 1990. The final four editions of this can be found online at chairboys.co.uk. Rather interestingly even back then, there is a front cover bemoaning the lack of local newspaper coverage...
The move to Adams Park sparked ‘The Adams Family’ which ran for 32 issues. ‘Tales of a Chairboy’ came around the time of the Sanchez era and at one time was publishing a new edition for every home game. ‘When Skies are Blue’ was of a similar ilk. It saw editor Ian Baker flexing his journalism muscles before embarking on a full time career which would lead him to hit national headlines when Leicester manager Nigel Pearson called him an ‘ostrich’ in a press conference last season.
The Wanderer is the only Wycombe Wanderers fanzine left in the old format, although suffice to say as a magazine alone it probably wouldn’t have gotten this far were it not supported financially and published by the Independent supporters club.
Being published by WWISC has also enabled additional support from the committee when selling the magazine. Selling is a varied experience. The cry of ‘WANDERER FANZINE ONE POUND FIFTY’ is often greeted with the (we think) serious question of ‘How much are your programmes mate?’ Sometimes you do manage to sell the odd one to a punter under the guise of it being a programme, although it’s advisable to only do this to away fans…
Technically, this is actually the 102nd edition of the fanzine. In 2001 we produced a cup special to coincide with the F.A. Cup run and then we did the same feat in 2007 prior to the league cup semi-final with Chelsea.
Producing the magazine can be a mixed bag. It is less challenging when the team are doing badly – it’s easier to be critical or correct the manager’s decisions. Likewise with the club itself, if things aren’t going to plan there is more to write about. In 2010 an article about Steve Hayes and his running of the club sparked a few comments that it was somewhat too harsh. Perhaps the most controversial moment was in late 2010 when we spoke about the projected stadium move. Despite the majority of the fanzine being against the move, one article was in favour and a gasroom debate was sparked by someone taking this to be WWISC views and ignoring the vast majority of the articles that were saying no to Booker. Suffice to say that Dale had his work cut out last season with the team’s performance on the pitch and things seeming to improve off it.
Chasing people for copy was never fun and deadlines were occasionally extended for some people and no doubt still are…
A few years ago we put the price up to £1.50 to cover costs and this was some time later by reducing the output to four editions a season, the idea being we would have more copy for each edition and the value would increase.
We have interviewed many players over the years, and they tended to be varied experiences. The interviews used to be arranged by Keith Allen and once I requested to speak to midfield stalwart Tommy Doherty. Keith laughed and said ‘good luck!’ before informing me that Tommy was VERY unreceptive to press and suggested I speak to another member of the squad. I took his advice. At the other end of the scale, when I asked to speak to a certain Mr Ainsworth, Keith quipped that ‘you might have a problem getting him to shut up’. These are two extremes but I did tend to find that the more experienced pros (Tommy Mooney, Rob, Lee, Michael Duberry, Keith Ryan) were easier to get answers from with the biggest talker being Scott McGleish (it was back in the days of using a Dictaphone – ask your parents kids – and I was worried of running out of tape…)
When I first took charge of proceedings, we used to post (again kids – your parents) the magazine to the printers but now it’s obviously sent via the super technological method of ‘electronic mail’. This is the reason that it was sometimes slightly out of date in the past – sometimes three of four games would pass between posting and selling, enough for form to turn one way or the other or even managers to depart. I remember editing one edition before getting the message that Tony Adams had quit (before Ivor Beeks it would transpire) and managing to change the magazine subsequently. I was not so lucky with Peter Taylor – no sooner had we sent off the copy supporting the man as news of his sacking broke. ‘All Wanderer articles are null and void!’ now editor Dale texted me on that day. You win some…
The main staple of the magazine is the match reports. Over the years these have changed and developed in terms of their formatting but have always remained. On some levels they do seem slightly unnecessary. Often time passes between writing and publishing them and some matches can be a dim and distant memory by the time it comes to print. On top of that is the notion that most fans will have been at the games and subsequently will learn nothing from the report. We have always therefore endeavoured to ensure that the reports aren’t reports per se, but opinions on the game, the tactics, the ref etc. Ideally you pick up things others may not with a view to shedding a different perspective on the match or highlighting aspects that fans who weren’t in attendance may have missed in other reports. We toyed with the notion of dropping the reports themselves once, but I was strongly against it. At a time when constitutions and ownership was being discussed left, right and centre, I felt that there was a danger of losing perspective of why we support the club in the first place (as important as those other things are) and keeping a focus on the matches themselves was, to me, important.
The other recurring piece is of course the story of WWISC’s many pub visits prior to away games. This started out as ‘On the road’ and became ‘Travels with our mum’ but Al Coholic (not his real name. His real name is Brian) retired and the pub reports sort of dried up much to the disappointment of some of the regulars. It has made the occasional return with a few volunteers stepping up to the plate. Many a personal jibe is made with the feature primarily humouring the regular travellers with a view of showing what a WWISC away day can all be about. Famous moments that have been repeated time and again include one lady falling into a ditch at Rushden, one gent falling off his stall en route to MK and the fondly remembered incident when I turned up for the coach on time.
All in all editing and creating The Wanderer I found to be a great experience. Sometimes frustrating but often rewarding and amusing. As mentioned earlier, when the team is doing well it can be difficult to know what to write with the irony being that when the team is doing badly, you don’t really want to think about it too much. I remember after THAT drubbing at home by Huddersfield, I did a couple of housekeeping bits for the magazine the day after before completely switching off from all things Wycombe Wanderers for a week. Highs and lows – the trails of being a football fan.
What the future holds for The Wanderer is unknown. At the current rate, it will take twenty-five years to get to issue 200. A long way off, but then, we never thought we’d get this far…
The Wanderer is a fantastic fanzine. I have heard they only use the best writers...
I'd intended to reply to this but got sidetracked by the wide and varied vicissitudes of life. You are far too kind Malone. I'm touched. Not sure if I could have ever been described as cheerful, even in those days.
Jonny King is doing a fabulous job with the Wanderer. Not sure about the bloke who used to write the 'Behind the Goal' page in Chairboys Gas though. Maybe a bit too much salt!
I dare say it took a tonne load of effort - just from vaguely knowing the One-One guys ( I think it was called One-One? Seems so long ago!)
But I remember being gutted when it stopped.
I dare Jonny's piece is decent, but I suppose I've got to that inevitable stage in life where I'm both a tightwad and realise how much space all this stuff takes up!
Aye, it certainly was time consuming. Even after all these years it’s good to know all the effort was worth it.
I wrote a few articles for One-One too. They were so impressed with one of them that they printed in size 72 font!
Should be reprinted in honour of all involved, and those offended.
PhilSlatter.
My report from my next away / pub game must surely be from my new pen name Al Couhlig.