Throughout the eighties and nineties, the British pop magazine went through a golden period with exclusive interviews from music royalty, satirical commentary on the concept of fame and a thorough delve into the Top 40. In a forgotten age before social media, this was one of the only ways that ardent music fans could keep abreast of the significant events that were taking place. Just like music, the pop magazine could be as diverse as the genre itself and required specialist journalists to capture the mood of the time. Joining the heavyweight Smash Hits in 1988, writer, journalist and broadcaster Miranda Sawyer found herself at the epicentre of a musical revolution with Stock, Aitken and Waterman dominating the UK music scene with a couple of Australian actors from the hugely popular soap Neighbours.
In the era before the internet and social media, entertainment was still slightly elitist and didn’t cater for the teenager demographic. One of the only ways for teenagers to consume pop culture was by watching Top Of The Pops and reading Smash Hits. Just like social media, such magazines spoke of the lives of the current protagonists of the period and photographed figures like Louise Wener and Jesus Jones in the go-to places. These publications seemed to be there at each musical milestone and would document events in a similar way to what fans now do on Twitter. This is why Miranda is certain that Britpop was a real and tangible scene because she was there to witness it. Attending the same events and frequenting the same bars as many of the campaigners of the era, for Miranda, Britpop was definitely it’s own entity.
The other striking aspect of Smash Hits which set it apart from its contemporaries was the ability to be slightly irreverent with the content it produced. Whether it was a cleverly constructed comic strip, a satirical reference to current affairs or a carefully woven question to one of the biggest music acts of the day, the magazine forever attracted to make the reader think as opposed to wall to wall music porn. It could be cheeky, provocative and funny while remaining within the realm of decency which appealed to the rebellious spirit of nineties Britain. Above all, it was a music magazine and needed to reflect the whole spectrum of music which British teenagers were now growing up with. By making their content more cheeky and self aware, Smash Hits were ironically cultivating a footprint for all pop related platforms hereafter and Sawyer is proud to have been part of this.
In 1993 Miranda made history by becoming the youngest ever recipient of the prestigious Periodical Publishers Association Award for her work on Select Magazine. By this time her journalistic net had been cast wide and she was in perfect position to record the development of a brand new musical movement. Again, the power and potency of music magazines had hit its peak and with such a variety of protagonists of this new genre of Britpop to choose from, it was a golden age for the music journalist. Whether it was the art school boys from Blur or the foppish Brett Anderson or the northern lower class antics of the Gallagher brothers, it seemed that Britpop was representative of everyone but this was only evident in such magazines.
Her new book Uncommon People: Britpop And Beyond In 20 Songs aims to capture the essence of the period, its cultural significance and legacy in twenty of the most iconic anthems. Having been a music journalist first for Smash Hits and then The Face offered Miranda a unique insight into this cultural revolution. She was either present or had documented all the defining events of Britpop and remains among just a handful of people to tell such a tale of how music came of age during the mid nineties. The book is out now and available from all of the usual outlets including Kindle. It was a great pleasure to welcome the all conquering Miranda Sawyer to Beyond The Title and hope that we can do it again in the future!
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