Pop Magazine, from the 1960s

‘I was a reader of comics until very late, but I graduated in the sixties to the New Musical Express. Once you did that, you couldn’t read the Melody Maker.’

‘Teen magazines only began with Honey in 1961, and I bought it religiously from the first issue, progressing from Girl and Schoolfriend. I can remember individual issue from 1964 and 1965 because each page was devoured so carefully.’

‘There was a wonderful women’s magazine called Nova. I was so sad when it folded. Before that there’d been Honey and 19. The focus was on fashion and pop music and boyfriends.’

‘Private Eye was compulsory reading. I remember the Christmas issues with a little plastic record, always very funny.’

‘The Time cover depicting Swinging London is a defining moment of the sixties. It was also the moment we knew we were in the middle of something big.’

‘We used to call each other names after characters in the underground comics. Bobo Bolinsky – “He’s the Number One Zero. He’s No Big Deal” – was a popular choice, as were the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, especially Fat Freddie and his cat.’

Extracted, with permission, from The 50s & 60s: The Best of Times – Growing up and being young in Britain by Alison Pressley, publishedby Michael O’Mara Books Limited.

Copyright © Alison Pressley 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003; compilation copyright © Michael O’Mara Books Limited 1999, 200, 2002, 2003. All rights reserved.