something like, “It reminds me of early Zigzag.” The reasons are obvious to those who remember Pete Frame’s proto-fanzine and particularly striking to this writer who has contributed to both: exhaustive features on artists, many of whom had escaped, or were about to burst into the mainstream, layout (pens and cowgum rather than computer graphics) and crucially, the unbridled passion of the writers.


A


Zigzagstarted as a home-produced labour of love before going through several incarnations, hitting a gamut of peaks and, unfortunately, enough troughs to finally send it into the ground. At the time no-one had attempted a serious monthly underground music magazine before, Zigzagset a precedent which continued to swell over the years long after Frame had flown to leave his mark with the celebrated Rock Family Trees.


In 1969 there were only underground publications like Oz and InternationalTimes, which featured music but were more lifestyle/political vehicles. Zigzag was the first to examine more obscure and esoteric musical forms at length, taking the piss out of the business where necessary and, thanks to Pete’s draftsmanship background, boast a strong visual identity. Pete handed it to me in ’77 to reflect another musical revolution but that’ll come later. In the meantime, say hello to Shindig!’s spiritual godfather...


COMMON REACTION for questing souls coming across Shindig!for the first time often goes


Pete now resides in the upper reaches of the Scottish Highlands, supposedly retired, but the evening we met he was planning the lecture he was giving the next day at St Martins’ School Of Art about his family trees, which will be launched on the Internet later in the year. This chortling raconteur sitting in front of me is the whole reason I got into rock writing in the first place. A beatnik hippie who didn’t give a toss about publishing conventions, formal training or payola, just wanted to see his favourite music get some exposure and did it himself on a shoestring. Also it provided a more attractive proposition than working at the Prudential.


We conducted our chat in the cosy confines of Aylesbury’s ancient King’s Head pub, remembering when bands would play there every Sunday night through ’77 (including a bunch from Swindon called XTC). The town plays a part in this story. For over 30 years Pete lived in a 17th century thatched cottage in the nearby village North Marston, but Aylesbury also boasted the legendary Friars club (I’ve lived here most of my life too, give or take the ’80s).


Pete actually hails from Luton, smitten by rock ’n’ roll at its birth (as recounted in his fantastic book TheRestlessGeneration). In ’65 he ran a folk club, putting on names like Bert Jansch, John Renbourn and even giving a young troubadour called Donovan his first paid gigs.


“I was already completely loony. I was training to be a chartered surveyor but had always been far more interested in rock ‘n’ roll, not to mention motorbikes and women. My first thought was to be in a band, but I was hopeless. When the underground press came along I thought maybe this was the answer. My very first attempt at journalism was accepted by InternationalTimesabout a power trio called Hurdy Gurdy. Donovan wrote ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man’ for them, although he later claimed he wrote it for himself. They were going to record it, but then Donovan turned round and said, ‘Sorry I’m gonna


record it myself!’ Anyway, I wrote this article and it got published in IT. I thought ‘that’s it… I’m a writer now!’”


Pete subscribed to Boston folk magazine Broadside, whose style, perspective and layout heavily inspired Zigzag. “There was this bloke who used to write for it called Peter Stampfel, who was in the Holy Modal Rounders and The Fugs. He became a big mate of mine just through writing letters, turned me on to Country Joe and The Fish, Buffalo Springfield, all this addictive music. He would send me tapes. He also told me about John Fahey. In early ’66, when The TransfigurationOfBlindJoeDeathcame out I sent away for it from America. It had that hand-written book in it. That was a big turning-point album for me…it was a combination of music, calligraphy, art, literature, mythology– everything I was interested in was contained in this one amazing record.


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