The Garden Party - A Liverpool Music Fanzine -
I had the idea for starting a Liverpool Music fanzine because i was an avid supporter of local bands and apart from "Breakout" (another local music fanzine) there was very little in the way knowing what was going on in the local music scene other than Peter Trollope's occasional Liverpool Echo articles. Actually i am quite wrong here as Radio Merseyside with Roger Hill and Con McConville and Janice Long and John Peel (at BBC Radio1) where excellent ambassadors for Liverpool music as well but that was radio and not the written page.
Merseysound had become defunct and "The End" was more football than Music. So one day, after a really good day in Sefton Park watching "Larks in the Park", sitting in the Albert Pub on the stairs i suggested to Phil Davis (who should be noted in Liverpool Music history as one of the best photographers of local bands) that we start a cheap fanzine on local bands. With the help of John Gillin, Gary Desmond, Sue Smith, Alison Hughes, Keith Astin and Dave Price we managed to get 8 issues out over 18 months or so. After 9 issues my time was taken up with "The Persuaders".
Neil Tilly -  who ran the Breakout fanzine - very kindly let us have use of his photocopy machine and delivered our typings and cuttings and glued pictures into a real "home made" fanzine. This was pre-computer days and spell checks so there were some awful spelling mistakes that Phil use to go bananas about. Because i had a lot of contacts through the Ministry rehearsal rooms we started out by asking locals bands for interviews, requesting demo tapes for review and a guest list entry to their gigs. It was a wonderful time and over a 18 month period covered some excellent bands and made quite a few friends in that time.
Regrets? i had planned to put a compilation LP together of The Farm, The Icicle Works, Personal Column, Cook Da Books, The Persuaders, Politburo, Come in Tokio. Liverpool Music history in the 80s always stops at Teradrop Explodes, Echo and The Bunnymen, Pete Wylie, Deaf School, OMD but the next generation were just as good - We all did BBC Radio Sessions - guested on John Peels Roadshows, made TV appearences and some of us even got major deals.
Last note - A German Book came out late 80s that used (without permission) nearly every fanzine we issued and Phil's photos - You cant buy this book on ebay for less than £100 - You have my permission to print any of these pages for free
I had the idea for starting a Liverpool Music fanzine because i was an avid supporter of local bands and apart from "Breakout" (another local music fanzine) there was very little in the way knowing what was going on in the local music scene other than Peter Trollope's occasional Liverpool Echo articles. Actually i am quite wrong here as Radio Merseyside with Roger Hill and Con McConville and Janice Long and John Peel (at BBC Radio1) where excellent ambassadors for Liverpool music as well but that was radio and not the written page.
Merseysound had become defunct and "The End" was more football than Music. So one day, after a really good day in Sefton Park watching "Larks in the Park", sitting in the Albert Pub on the stairs i suggested to Phil Davis (who should be noted in Liverpool Music history as one of the best photographers of local bands) that we start a cheap fanzine on local bands. With the help of John Gillin, Gary Desmond, Sue Smith, Alison Hughes, Keith Astin and Dave Price we managed to get 8 issues out over 18 months or so. After 9 issues my time was taken up with "The Persuaders".
Neil Tilly -  who ran the Breakout fanzine - very kindly let us have use of his photocopy machine and delivered our typings and cuttings and glued pictures into a real "home made" fanzine. This was pre-computer days and spell checks so there were some awful spelling mistakes that Phil use to go bananas about. Because i had a lot of contacts through the Ministry rehearsal rooms we started out by asking locals bands for interviews, requesting demo tapes for review and a guest list entry to their gigs. It was a wonderful time and over a 18 month period covered some excellent bands and made quite a few friends in that time.
Regrets? i had planned to put a compilation LP together of The Farm, The Icicle Works, Personal Column, Cook Da Books, The Persuaders, Politburo, Come in Tokio. Liverpool Music history in the 80s always stops at Teradrop Explodes, Echo and The Bunnymen, Pete Wylie, Deaf School, OMD but the next generation were just as good - We all did BBC Radio Sessions - guested on John Peels Roadshows, made TV appearences and some of us even got major deals.
Last note - A German Book came out late 80s that used (without permission) nearly every fanzine we issued and Phil's photos - You cant buy this book on ebay for less than £100 - You have my permission to print any of these pages for free
Issue 1 featured our Favourite Band "Personal Column" and Sebastian's Men, Neil Tilly who had the Breakout Magazine and helped us with our photocopying. Reviews of The High Five,, Crosstal AV, The Icicle Works and Unoccupied Europe - It had no proper logo until Issue 3 so the Title was badly drawn up by me
Issue 2 featured The Reverb Brothers with some fabulous Phil Davis photographs. Also featured were "Love Love Away", The High Five, Box Of Toys, Unoccupied Europe, Afraid of Mice, The Faction, Prisonners of War
Issue 3 had the Logo Bar - This issue featured "The High Five", Experimental Gardens, Passion Polka, A Select Committee, No Exit, Action Transfers, Ian Platt, Change to teh East, Chameleon Zoo,
Issue 4 featured "The Icicle Works", Danse Macabre, The Bamboo Fringe, Care, The High Five, Experimental Gardens, Sebastian's Men, Personal Column, Passion Polka, The Faction