Crass Zines

CRASS ZINES

Far easier to pigeon-hole than many of the bands emerging during the early Eighties was a type of fanzine being produced on an extraordinarily large scale given the catch-all name 'Crass zine'. With the dawning of Punk in 1977 came also the rise of the Punk fanzine but it was really only with the birth and rise of Crass that the fanzine medium came to full fruition.

Spearheaded by Mark Perry's Sniffin' Glue zine, the fanzines of the Seventies blazed with an enthusiasm that the mainstream music press could in no way match. Little wonder then that some of those fanzine writers of that first wave including Paul Morley, Jon Savage and even Garry Bushell were quickly signed up by the mainstream music papers to become original and highly influential journalists.

The now iconic reproduction of three guitar chords along with the instruction 'This is a chord, this is another, this is a third. Now form a band,' was an example of the kind of inspiring statement that only a fanzine could adequately make though an even more vital statement being made was in the physical form and appearance of the fanzines themselves.

Crudely and cheaply designed using pens, typewriters, scissors, glue, and access to a photocopier; fanzines presented themselves as examples of a method of communication that was accessible to absolutely anyone and everyone. Fanzines were perfect vehicles for self-expression and creativity where there could be if so desired no censorship, no editing, and no pandering to trends.

Individuals and groups being interviewed could be quoted verbatim and in so doing a sense of honesty and truthfulness created that was suspiciously lacking in the mainstream press. The argument then fell as to whether one hundred zines with a circulation of one thousand was one hundred times better than one magazine or newspaper with a circulation of one hundred thousand. For Crass and many others it was a no-brainer.

Crass were of the not unsubstantiated opinion that the mainstream music papers were inherently corrupt so were therefore extremely hesitant and often absolutely adamant that they wouldn't grant interviews to any of them. Apart from publicising and promoting tours and record releases the music press served no real purpose and was simply not needed. Crass would instead, however, always grant interviews to fanzines. Such was the popularity of Crass that any mention of them on the cover of any publication practically guaranteed saleability which for the music press was a problem but for fanzine culture was a godsend.

Here was one of the most important and popular bands in the country - in music business terms shifting nearly a quarter of a million units of their own releases and a further fifty thousand copies of other releases on their label - giving interviews exclusively to fanzines, most (initially, at least) with often the tiniest of circulations.

When Crass donated the song Rival Tribal Rebel Revel as a free flexi-disc to Toxic Grafity zine, demand was such that over ten thousand copies were ultimately printed. The only real way for any of the mainstream music papers to get the name 'Crass' on their covers was by featuring a review of a Crass gig, a review of a latest Crass album release, or by publishing an interview concocted of interviews stolen from a variety of fanzines.

This devotion to and support of the independent press caused an absolute explosion in the production of fanzines. So, with the exclusives on Crass along with additional interviews with such fellow travellers as Poison Girls, Flux Of Pink Indians and Dirt plus articles on the arms race, vegetarianism and anarchism, etc, the 'Crass zine' came into being.

Moreover, these zines were missives from the Punk underground. Open examples of networking within the Punk kingdom. Autonomous broadcasts where ideas were discussed and transferred whilst connecting and grappling with reality.