To celebrate the publication, by PC-Press (www.pc-press.co.uk) of a brand new compendium ‘Vague Fanzines Book, Vol. 1: 1979-1984: Issues 1-15’, which lovingly reproduces the first 15 issues of Vague in A4-sized full colour, we welcome to Housmans Tom Vague in discussion with Tony D, to talk about the impact Vague had, and also on anarcho-punk zine culture more widely.

Vague was a fanzine that tuned so many people on to the joy of punk and the futuristic and hybrid styled music that followed it, that became known as ‘Post-Punk’ or for a period of time ‘Positive Punk’. Vague promoted the notion that a band meant something more than the music and that meaning could be shared amongst like-minded folk, the ‘lovable spikey tops’ or the like-minded ‘tribe’ that people were looking for. Vague though was critical enough to see through the growing number of punk bands who were seduced by the world of pop
stardom and teen adulation.

That disillusion often turned into a searching for the counter culture, or philosophy and radical politics, to find something that could inspire us to be different and to change the world around us. Vague became the go to critical counter cultural fanzine that still found music irresistible but wasn’t just a fawning FAN zine. Vague also importantly had a sense of humour, it could laugh at itself as well as brag about how good it was and slag off those it found wanting!

Tom Vague, the long-running editor of Vague, will be joined by Tony D, the man behind the classic punk zines Ripped and Torn, and also Kill Your Pet Puppy. The event will be hosted by MayDay Rooms, whose archival work celebrates and preserves radical print cultures and DIY Independent publishing house PC-Press who have published Vague volume 1 and also books about Test Dept, Massive Attack, Killing Joke, NSK State and a Post-punk novel; Looking For A Kiss by Richard Cabut.

The event will be hosted by MayDay Rooms, whose archival work celebrates and preserves radical print cultures.