But Neil being Neil, he must have mentioned his upcoming G. Hits album in interviews from 1978 on, and then finally released it in 2004!
The thing about Uncut's music guides is that they are not superficial. They dig deep. You get all the basic info on the artist that you can get from a typical record sleeve biography or a Wikipedia entry, all the stuff that would satisfy someone who was simply asking "Who is this David Bowie person?" - but then on top of that, or rather alongside it, you get the extra snippets the fans want to know: the back stories behind each album, the thins happening in their personal life at the time that were relevant, etc. Every time I have read one of their guides I have thought "This journalist relly did their homework."
I think that would definitely influence whether he gets a Guide or not. I have the "Soft Rock" Genre Guide but haven't read it yet. I think he would have fit in there
Or download the app so you get alerts every time a new issue is out. I’ve just received the Classic Pop Depeche Mode issue today.
I think a lot of it depends on how much vintage interview material there is available to the publishers; they seem reluctant to cover artists who aren't from the era of multi-page, very conversational pieces that were the hallmark of NME, Sounds, MM etc. That is possibly why certain acts haven't yet been awarded their own issue. EG.
Yikes, Glad I bought the Alternative Cover put out by Barnes & Noble, as recall cringing when I saw the version of the 'Over the Top' Elton John Cover you posted, which also was in the Store Magazine Racks. Anyways, I bought this Version/Cover:
I saw that George Clinton was touring in England in recent years, so assume P-FUNK has a lot of Fans there. He is retiring though after a Final Tour this Year. No idea if Earth, Wind & Fire or other FUNK and R & B Music Artists were popular in England, but recall a few Music Artists from there like 'Soul to Soul'.
There have been specials on Madchester, Britpop (more than one!), Synthpop, Goth, Punk, Two-Tone, etc. which have not featured a single artist, but been more general. Also these: I suppose the question might then be, are UK publications the best to do such specials, or would they be better covered by US publications, given that they are quintessentially American genres? As has been reported, there have been specials on Madonna by Q and Classic Pop. A special on Kylie Minogue has been released in the last few months, it even came in different covers. Classic Pop Presents Kylie Minogue is now on sale! - I could certainly see issues on Paul Simon (& Garfunkel) and Motown (to include Diana Ross). Not sure whether they would have the material for a Babs issue, as I don't recall her being in NME, Melody Maker and Sounds back in the day, and she's been pretty reclusive in her later years. I'd love a Beefheart special -- he often gets lumped in with FZ, but I'd rather see him in the context of Howlin' Wolf, etc. I think his problem might be that he falls between two stools: Garage and Bowie. Not sure whether there would be sufficient general interest in an Iggy/Stooges edition, but I could see a Bowie/Iggy/Lou Reed edition going down well. There were 3 or 4 on the stands at the same time just recently! And Classic Pop did one some time back. I don't see that flying in the UK market. Of course, what do I know, he's sold out a gazillion nights at MSG, so there's definitely a market for him. Classic Pop did an ABBA one. I'm pretty sure Classic Rock magazine has done a VH special -- they've certainly been featured a few times in the regular magazine (and been on the cover numerous times). I could imagine Shindig or Record Collector doing a Scott Walker special, probably too niche for Uncut/Mojo. I think XTC on their own are too niche (see above for other issues which included them). In combination with the likes of Jellyfish, The Red Button, Cotton Mather, etc. under a Beatles-influence edition, I think it could fly. Kraftwerk were on the cover of the Electronic Pop genre edition, and were also recently featured in Electronic Sound magazine, plus see the image above. ELP (plus Asia and solo) have been heavily featured in a number of issues of Prog magazine. Tomita sounds like a topic for Electronic Sound magazine. Blur have featured in the various Britpop specials. Blondie, Iggy, Madonna - see above. Pet Shop Boys - see Classic Pop special in 2 covers: Classic Pop Presents Pet Shop Boys is now on sale! - Classic Pop Magazine Status Quo - yes, somewhat surprised that they haven't had the special treatment, especially given their popularity in the UK. Motorhead - see Classic Rock special [edit: I see the Classic Rock special = Team Rock, oops!] Madness - they were part of the 2-Tone special released a couple of months ago plus this issue released by Q in the UK and Mojo in the US: Iron Maiden - as you surmised, already done by Classic Rock: Rush - the have been featured a lot in Prog and Classic Rock. Suede/Blur - see Britpop specials. Iron Maiden - see above. Not by the UK mags, to my knowledge. New Order/Joy Division - scroll back a couple of pages for link. Blur/Suede - see Britpop issues. Talking Heads/Pet Shop Boys - see above. Duran Duran - done last year in 2 covers: Classic Pop Presents Duran Duran is now on sale - Classic Pop Magazine Simple Minds - see first image -- I don't think they have maintained their popularity to justify their own issue. The Dead have been covered by Rolling Stone. A Richard Thompson special wouldn't sell, but a bigger issue on the English folk scene might. As I wrote above, I don't see that coming out of the UK. They did cover Run-DMC and the hip-hop explosion in the NME Originals issue on the 80s, but it was just a few pages.
The Ultimate Guide artist ones are a series though, they have a uniformity of style and design, and it would be nice - if commercially unfeasible (or unappealing to publishers) - to widen the net a little and not leave some bands in the niche/genre categories that they exist in. There's a danger of perpetuating the same old cliches - if you don't put the XTCs and Talking Heads and Billy Joels in the UMG series, then they won't sell. Uncut are playing to the same limited audience, keeping this endless circle of "classic rock" mythology and iconography in place. I'd guess it's a question of economics, because the trend earlier on was to be more adventurous and varied in their choices of acts to feature. PJ Harvey was apparently the worst selling issue, and now we're back to endless rehashes of Stones, Beatles, Hendrix, Queen, Floyd etc etc etc. Some acts may well be covered in other titles but to me they're mostly an unappealing mess with different styles to the UMG range. EG.
Since OASIS had their own Individual Issue(forget if was put out by Uncut, Q, Mojo or NME), I think BLUR should have their own Issue(well BLUR/Gorillaz/ The Good, The Bad & the Queen and Albarn's Solo Albums all included), as BLUR alone have a Better Discography when compared to OASIS. Actually, Suede has put out better Albums than both BLUR & OASIS, with their 3 Comeback Albums included(let's just forget the last one 'A New Morning?' before they broke up initially). So, I would buy a Suede Special Edition Magazine and one for Spiritualized over any other Post 1990s' UK Music Artist. Actually, also would include James for Quality of their Albums. However, I do own these Brit-Pop Special Editions:
Well, there was a Special Edition for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and Steely Dan in the past year, and their Music seems more of an American Style, but no idea how popular they were in the UK. Also, these Special Editions(and Monthly Editions of Q, Mojo and Uncut) are UK Publications, which are being Sold in America(at least at Barnes & Noble Stores, but assume also at some Record Stores, who sell Magazines, as I recall seeing these Magazines in a few Independent Record Stores), so do not see your point being valid. It would be different, if these Magazines were not available in the US. Then again, I do not know how Sales do for these Magazines in the US compared to the UK(and the rest of Europe), but assume they sell well enough, or some Book/Magazine Stores would not stock them here.
What's funny is that because this year is Elton's 50th year in show biz, a couple of magazines had special issues devoted to EJ; Newsweek magazine, and Parade has a Music Icon magazine (similar to the Ultimate Music Guide) , and this Barnes & Nobles special edition of the UMG....and all 3 used this exact same photo ! Elton is one of the most famous musicians in the world, and there must be tens of thousands of photos of him taken professionally in the last 5 decades....yet 3 completely different magazines all used the same cover shot
Yeah, and although I only bought the B & N Uncut Magazine, I can see where using the same Cover(although did not see them myself so just taking your word on it), might mess up some people who forgot which Magazine they bought and possibly might rebuy one of those Special Edition EJ Magazines 2 Times. Also, would think that there must be even Better Photos and I just chose the Best of the Worst(thought I saw 3 Cover Options for the Uncut Special Edition, but maybe it was just 2 options, as forget now, since I bought it in May-IIRC. Even seeing the Genesis Reissue messed me up for a minute, as I thought I had already bought it about a year ago(which I did), so was confused why another reissue was already being put out for Genesis, as not sure there was even any New Content in the Reissue.
Check it out ! A few weeks ago, I saw all three of these (the UMG and the two pictured below) right near each other at B&Ns in New York City
If they can afford to do an issue on King Crimson, they should be able to do one on Richard Thompson! Richard Thompson’s contribution to English ‘folk-rock’ is unsurpassed by anyone and fully deserves to be acknowledged by the English music magazine, Uncut.
While I agree artistically, I don't know if he has a big enough profile for them to see that as feasible . Remember this is the magazine BUSINESS, and the former editor of the UMGs used to post on here, and pretty much said that these magazines are aimed at the general public and not just deeply knowledgable music fanatics, so you need subjects that are fairly well known. That being said, I was surprised at a King Crimson issue, as well as the ones devoted to PJ Harvey and Tom Waits , who I perceive as more "cult" artists than mainstream stars , so who knows, maybe Richard Thompson will eventually get an issue...
Tom Petty had success in the UK before he hit it big in America. I know he was popular enough for Uncut (and Mojo for that matter) to run several articles on him over the years. Not sure about the level of Steely Dan's success in England. But I know that Springsteen is massive in the UK, and has received a guide, while his contemporaries like Bob Segar and John Mellancamp, who I don't think were nearly as popular over there (but huge stars in the US), will probably never get an issue to themselves.
I'd buy a Richard Thompson one in a heartbeat. He's exactly the kind of artist whose work would make an UMG issue essential for me. Plenty of albums across multiple decades, a level of success that's not mainstream but also not completely obscure. An eloquent, fascinating character as well. EG.
Mojo: The Collectors Series: Led Zeppelin Series Bundle I also got this today - part 1 of a 2-edition set. The next issue hits the stands next month. I dithered about this one, but I got both the Stones ones in the same series and enjoyed them.
