I was a Photo Love story girl, admits Bruce

finisterre · Post by **finisterre** » 09 Apr 2007, 02:37

http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article2434968.ece

Steve Bright · Post by **Steve Bright** » 09 Apr 2007, 10:40

Erm, yes...round about the same time I appeared in Blue Jeans photo story as a biker. I was a DC Thomson sub editor at the time, and they used to trawl the offices for cheap 'models' back then.

What can I say - I was very young, naive and needed the money...all 8 quid of it. Thankfully I had a full face helmet on throughout most of the story.

ISPYSHHHGUY · Post by **ISPYSHHHGUY** » 20 Nov 2007, 20:02

I seem to remember reading an article in which a pre-stardom GEORGE MICHAEL appeared in one of these photo-strips [It looked like a 'JACKIE' job]......and it certainly looked like him [isn't 'WHAM!' yet another weekly publication connection?].

At risk of sounding pretentious,this photos-with-word-balloons is dubbed 'fumetti', and a pre-PYTHON TERRY GILLIAM [a fine cartoonist in his own right] worked on HARVEY KURTZMAN mag ''HELP!' in the late '60s, one item featuring yet another pre-stardom fave, JOHN CLEESE, in one 'fumetti' set.............seems quite a stepping-stone to fame............

Kashgar · Post by **Kashgar** » 21 Nov 2007, 14:04

The same may be said of knitting patterns if you count Noel Edmonds as famous. Only kidding, I actually rather enjoyed Noel in his pre Crinkley Bottom, Deal or No Deal days and still have fond memories of his Sunday morning radio show, in particular the edition in which he had first dibs on playing John Lennon's album 'Imagine'.

philcom55 · Post by **philcom55** » 22 Nov 2007, 12:16

ISPYSHHHGUY wrote:At risk of sounding pretentious,this photos-with-word-balloons is dubbed 'fumetti', and a pre-PYTHON TERRY GILLIAM [a fine cartoonist in his own right] worked on HARVEY KURTZMAN mag ''HELP!' in the late '60s, one item featuring yet another pre-stardom fave, JOHN CLEESE, in one 'fumetti' set.............seems quite a stepping-stone to fame............

...Not to mention an obscure Editorial Assistant called Gloria Steinem!

- Phil R.

ISPYSHHHGUY · Post by **ISPYSHHHGUY** » 22 Nov 2007, 12:54

I am glad that SOMEONE other than myself has heard of U.S. magazine 'HELP!', Phil. I came accross this by reading up on PYTHON history, and one cover repro I saw featured GILLIAM , done up like a top-hatted toff [a bit like SNOOTY], complete with monocle, submerged up to his waist in water.

Lew Stringer · Post by **Lew Stringer** » 22 Nov 2007, 13:25

ISPYSHHHGUY wrote:I am glad that SOMEONE other than myself has heard of U.S. magazine 'HELP!',

http://www.answers.com/topic/help-magaz ... technology

Lew

ISPYSHHHGUY · Post by **ISPYSHHHGUY** » 22 Nov 2007, 14:48

Kinda ironic that 'HELP!' folded in 1965, LEW.......same year as the Beatles self-named, second film............this mag looks quite fun, though......I would love to have a look through an actual copy.

ISPYSHHHGUY · Post by **ISPYSHHHGUY** » 23 Nov 2007, 08:40

OKAY.......enough of obscure, long-defunct U.S. mags hardly anyone in the U.K. cares about [let alone has seen].........and back on-topic to the populist, not QUITE so long-defunct 'JACKIE' mag........

I shamelessly admit I read 'JACKIE' every week in the early '70s, after my cousin Liz had finished with it [though I usually ended up doing my own early cartoons, in unprofessional blue biro, on any blank spaces]......LIZ [older than me] used to reprimand me for this if she wasn't finished reading it.

Very early-70s 'JACKIE' contained muchos hand-drawn strips [NO photo-strips at all, if memory serves....] of varying quality; some were routine and set in 'everyday' teen-life--------others had a definate 'fantasy' tinge, and were quite stylishly-drawn and effectively done. A lot of the young female characters depicted in these strips were impossibly-beautiful, unblemished lovelies, perfectly-formed beyond human capacity [THEN AGAIN, this is what the comic-strip medium is all about........]------and I often wondered how these living dolls could fail to find a boyfriend.

Around 1972, a strip chronicaling MARC BOLAN'S meteoric rise to fame spun over several weeks, this was especially memorable, and retained the artist's natural style [these pop-band hand-drawn adaptations were often peppered with static , laboured copies lifted from well-known stock press photos, and, unless handled by an extremely skilled craftsman, were almost always awful].........but this MARC job seemed more naturally done].-----------even cuddly, loveable pop-'fave-raves' the SEX PISTOLS recieved this tretment in an '80s ;SMASH HITS' yearbook.

The photo-strip phenomenon appeared around '74-5, first as a bold experiment, and eventually evolving into a considerable industry in it's own right: at it's peak, [the' MY GUY/OH BOY!'years,] it had effectively elbowed out the hand-drawn strip almost, if not totally, completely........quite a sad state of affairs for conniseurs of this schmaltzy consumer ooze.............

The photo-strip today seems mostly relegated to that bastion of public 'decency', 'the SUN', in which 'scenarios' are devised in which scantily-clad 'Sun-babes' are paraded for our enlightenment.............................apparantly...........

Brendan McGuire · Post by **Brendan McGuire** » 24 Nov 2007, 01:01

My sister used to get Jackie. Along with the Marc Bolan story, they also did Peter Green (of early Fleetwood Mac) - even at the time, a rather obscure icon to serialise. I have absolutely no idea who the artist was, but the finished impression was that DCT published the pencilled artwork. To my eyes, it didn't look like the 'inky' Biba artwork of the girl meets blah stories elsewhere in the mag. (Was it a mag?)
It also included the rather risible panel of Peter Green looking out of an air-craft window and feeling inspired to write their big instrumental hit of the time. I don't think many Albatrosses fly at 20,000 feet.

ISPYSHHHGUY · Post by **ISPYSHHHGUY** » 24 Nov 2007, 12:21

I know exactly the pencilled-liiking style you are describing, Brendan......the artist never managed a brilliant likeness of MARC, but was still a good atrist in his/her own right.......

Talking of which.......late '60s/early '70s 'JACKIE' magazine employed the skills of a very good caricaturist on their pop pages, I am not sure who drew these, but the style reminded me slightly of BOB DEWAR [does anyone know: is BOB a noted caricaturist?], but whoever done these depictions of then-current pop stars [NODDY HOLDER, BRIAN CONNELY, GILBERT 'O SULLIVAN, and many others] was certainly gifted, there was no doubt on who the likenesses were.

ISPYSHHHGUY · Post by **ISPYSHHHGUY** » 24 Nov 2007, 12:56

fair enough, draw a mirrored top-hat, add fuzzichop sideburns,--and---VOILA!-------instant NODDY HOLDER!-------ALICE COOPER would have been even easier!!! Put like tihs, it sounds easy.....but, believe me,--------------it 'aint!!

ISPYSHHHGUY · Post by **ISPYSHHHGUY** » 13 Dec 2007, 21:23

'JACKIE' magazine also had a bizarre system in which they issued large-format posters of early-70s 'popsters' for the teen market...........in an attempt to go 'ginormous' [I dunno if this term was in slang currency then, but 'MEGA' definately was not!]--------a poster was often split up over 3 weeks,.....

............ which proved to be a surreal and jarring experience when you turned to the centre-pages and were confronted with the tasteless and non-sensical [seen in isolation] sight of a the bottom 6-inches of some pop-iconette's LOON PANTS and attendent 1972 'stack' heels [sometimes sprayed silver, or withstars, glitter or crescent-moon logos attached]........

BH · Post by BH » 24 Apr 2008, 15:58

I was also a photo-story model. I'm in an issue of Oh Boy (about 1981?) which also had Tony Hadley (of Spandau Ballet) in a photo-story. Him and Steve Norman (also in SB) worked at IPC as messengers before they were famous. Tony Hadley was a right nerd too!

I was in quite a few stories back then and got a day off work and about Â£15, plus expenses and lunch, which was a flipping good deal back then.

Lovely perms we had!

Earl · Post by **Earl** » 24 Apr 2008, 19:11

Funny this should come up now. Just this week I got Thomson's Patches No. 1 and IPC's Photo Love No. 1 as part of a mixed batch from an ebay win.

From a boys point of view I got the first few years of the new Eagle when they came out. Remember the Joe Soap photo stories anyone? Somehow it did not compare favourably with the Tower King or House of Daemon.

Earl.

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