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Best of Brakfast Episode 174 Yana Bolder
Before the internet, these magazines told Britain what mattered in music
Before streaming, social media, and music websites, music fans discovered new bands in a very different way.
You waited for the latest issue of your favourite music magazine.
For decades, magazines were at the centre of UK music culture. They shaped tastes, launched careers, started arguments, and helped define entire eras of music.
For Gen X especially, they were essential reading.
📰 Why music magazines mattered so much
Back then, access to music news was limited.
There was:
Radio
TV shows like Top of the Pops
Record shops
And music magazines
That meant magazines became the place to:
Discover new bands
Read interviews
See tour dates
Follow music trends
Debate who was cool and who wasn’t
They didn’t just report on music. They influenced it.
🎤 Smash Hits
The pop bible of the 80s
For many British teenagers, Smash Hits was the first music magazine they bought regularly.
Bright, funny, and full of personality, it covered:
Pop stars
Chart music
Posters
Lyrics
Celebrity interviews
What made it stand out was its humour. It didn’t take itself too seriously, and readers loved it for that.
If you grew up in the 80s, chances are you had at least one Smash Hits poster on your bedroom wall.
🎸 NME
The voice of indie and alternative music
NME became hugely influential in UK music culture.
It wasn’t just about reporting music news. NME shaped opinion.
The magazine championed:
Indie bands
Alternative music
New scenes and movements
If NME backed a band, people paid attention.
Throughout the 80s and 90s it became closely linked with British guitar music and helped fuel movements like Britpop.
🎶 Melody Maker
The serious music fan’s choice
Long-time rival to NME, Melody Maker often had a reputation for taking music slightly more seriously.
It covered:
Rock
Indie
Emerging artists
Music journalism in greater depth
For dedicated music fans, Melody Maker became essential reading.
The rivalry between NME and Melody Maker was almost as competitive as some of the bands they covered.
📀 Kerrang!
The home of rock and metal
If you were into louder music, Kerrang! was everything.
Launched in the early 80s, it focused on:
Rock
Heavy metal
Hard rock
Alternative scenes
Bands like:
Bon Jovi
Metallica
Iron Maiden
became closely associated with the magazine.
For many fans, Kerrang! helped create a sense of belonging around rock culture.
💃 The Face and style culture
Some magazines went beyond music entirely.
The Face mixed:
Music
Fashion
Youth culture
Photography
Lifestyle
It helped define cool in the 80s and 90s and had a massive influence on British style and culture.
🛍️ The ritual of buying magazines
Part of the appeal was the experience itself.
You’d:
Buy the latest issue from a newsagent
Flick through it on the bus home
Read reviews before buying albums
Cut out posters for your bedroom wall
Music magazines felt personal. They became part of growing up.
📺 Before algorithms chose your music
Today, streaming apps recommend songs instantly.
Back then, magazines acted almost like human algorithms.
Writers and editors introduced readers to:
New bands
Underground scenes
Upcoming artists
And because everyone read the same publications, they helped create shared music culture across the UK.
📉 What changed?
The internet changed everything.
Music news became:
Instant
Free
Constantly updated
Social media and streaming platforms gradually replaced weekly magazines as the main source of discovery.
Many famous music magazines:
Reduced circulation
Moved online
Or disappeared completely
The influence they once had became harder to maintain.
🎶 Why they still matter
Even now, those magazines shaped generations of music fans.
They helped define:
Music taste
Fashion
Identity
Youth culture
And for many people, discovering music felt more exciting when it took effort.
The bottom line
Before playlists and streaming recommendations, music magazines were the gatekeepers of UK music culture.
They told people what to listen to, who mattered, and what scene was about to explode next.
And for a generation of British music fans, they were every bit as important as the records themselves.
Which music magazine did you always buy growing up?
Sir Keir Starmer says he has proved doubters wrong before and will do so again. Asked about Labour MPs calling for him to step down after election losses, the prime minister said he would not shy away from criticism within his own party. He said there were doubts when he took over Labour and doubts again before the general election, but insisted he had already proved critics wrong. Football fans […]
