Twenty-fifth anniversary of a grown-up music magazine

I keep a watching brief on all the music monthlies – MOJO, Uncut and The Word for rockpop, as well as Jazzwise, the late Straight No Chaser, fRoots, BBC Music and Gramophone, to name the major titles in my sights.

But I only buy a copy of any magazine every couple of months: I’m only interested in about 5% of the content of any issue - the remainder of the pagination will be unsuitable for grown-ups, concerned with selling, and selling the second rate, in all genres, rockpop or classical, jazz or roots.

The Wire is a magazine I always consider buying very carefully, every month. It focuses on the avant-garde, the experimental, the recherché and occasionally, let’s face it, the downright bonkers. Its musicians are, let’s say, outside the mainstream: I’ve not even heard of most of them. If there’s someone on the cover I rate or want to explore (Miles, Coltrane, PJ Harvey, Mark E Smith … ), I buy that issue.

Unlike virtually all other music mags, The Wire takes its readers seriously. And, unlike virtually all other mags, you can’t confuse it for a sales catalogue pushing new product. Apart from the sustained excellence of its writing, The Wire is beautifully designed.

My prized copy of the first issue, from Summer 1982, tells me that The Wire has just passed its 25th anniversary – a magnificent achievement for such a niche title.

Long may it continue to plough its eclectic, esoteric furrow. Will The Wire celebrate a fiftieth anniversary? I wouldn’t bet against it.

Music for Grown-Ups readers owe it to themselves to check it out:


http://www.thewire.co.uk/




Gerry Smith