The Smash Hits Story

[AcerBen]

This is on (rather late, no?) tomorrow night on Channel 4. I don't know whether it's an old documentary that's been brought up to date or what..

23:00
The Smash Hits Story (Documentary)
Smash Hits, Britain's most popular and long-running pop magazine, was a must-buy for teenagers every fortnight since 1978 until it's sudden closure in February 2006. From the start, the magazine wore its skewed scepticism on its sleeve, and its huge influence can be seen in nearly every corner of British popular culture today.
(Subtitles)

[Kolakube]

There was a Smash Hits documentary for their 25th anniversary - could it possibly be the same documentary - perhaps with an extension on the end??

[AcerBen]

I hadn't noticed Mr PJ has already mentioned it on the front page

Also, if you're in on Saturday night, try to catch The Smash Hits Story on Channel 4 at 11pm. It's a reswizzled version of the documentary that first went out to celebrate the mag's 25th birthday. Portions of the new footage are probably best viewed as a masterclass in why website editors should never, ever do TV interviews.

[gavinh]

just watched this, what a great show.... also saw the popjustice forums on there and mr popjustice himself (and that was worth watching for alone!)

[James]

I rather enjoyed that.

Good to see the board get a cameo appearance too, who had the Paris & Donatella avatar?

[butterflyboy]

A Great documentry. Makes me wish i could have been my age now in the eighties. Great to see Mr PJ and the site-would have been nice if thed have said somethign like "Popjustice.com is the new way pop fans communicate and celebrate good pop music in these modern times" Or Something.

[Dudie]

Good to see Mr PJ on there but I found some of the commentators' remarks about how terrible it is for youngsters to have liked Steps for example really wanky. They also liked to blame the demise of Smashhits on Pop Idol which is equally stupid. It's more likely to be the rise of Heat and all the music channels and stuff like that than anything else.

[nnnumb]

Oh fuck!

I've missed it again. Did anybody happen to tape it?

[gazbo]

If you possess a high-tech digital televisua-scope, you can see repeats on E4:

Mar 18th @ 12:20
Mar 19th @ 00:30

[undisco_me]

I thought the comments Neil Tennant made about Kate Thornton - making it all 'girly' as 1 of the reasons it went downhill - came from this documentary, so I was a bit disappointed. I can quite believe this, though. On Gina G's I Beling To You single there is an interview with Thornton that is cringeworthy in how contrived it is reagrding how lightwieght and ingratiating it feels - surely SH was too smart for that. Marilyn was the best moment - his obvious disgust for the chubby competition winner was hilarious.

[vasilios]

Awww Boybitch, I wanna see that after your comments!
I agree that making Smash Hits Girly was it's downhill, I remember all my male mates buying it in 8th grade, no one was beaten up and all, but the later issues with "wooooaahhh Mark Owen is fit" and free lipsticks only cleared the path to it being Heat with no heat. Sob, again.

[octoberrust]

I did watch the original airing in 2003 but just had to watch the 'revised' version and all it did was further my wish that I grew up with 80s popstars

[flufff]

I thought I was imagining things when I saw Mr PJ on my tv. I got very exciteted.

I found some of the commentators' remarks about how terrible it is for youngsters to have liked Steps for example really wanky.

It's so tedious isn't it? I'm sure they were sorry for kids being forced to like S Club 7. Poor little kiddies having good quality, fun pop from good looking pop stars who sing and dance and have a fun tv series on CBBC. Someone send them down a mine to escape from it all!

They also liked to blame the demise of Smashhits on Pop Idol which is equally stupid.

I was watching something last night that showed you how professional scammers operate. Inbetween demonstrating pick pocketing they set-up a fake management company and got crap wannabies to part with £500 for a demo they'd never get to record. Apparently the only reason people fall for that is because Pop Idol has showed the gullible public that it's really easy to get famous and so they will now believe that if a stranger tells them they are going to make it big they'll believe them and part with cash. Because that's just how it happens when Simon Cowell says he likes you!

[Lukey]

Repeated on E4 right now and E4+1 at 13.20.

[Fax Mactor]

I watched it on E4+1.

I expected peter (of the robinison kind, not the burns or waterman) to look different.

[Lukey]

He was alot younger than i thought.

[Poptastic!]

flufff said:

I found some of the commentators' remarks about how terrible it is for youngsters to have liked Steps for example really wanky.

It's so tedious isn't it? I'm sure they were sorry for kids being forced to like S Club 7. Poor little kiddies having good quality, fun pop from good looking pop stars who sing and dance and have a fun tv series on CBBC. Someone send them down a mine to escape from it all!

If only I could genuinely believe that in the future people will be saying the same about the music kids have to listen to now. Under 10 and you're force fed the likes of Chico and Crazy Frog, accepting it because you know no better, over 10 and you're suddenly expected to like the music that is considered to be cool, yet the decision of what is cool is made by people 3 times your age, so how likely is it to reflect their real taste? In the past there has been a stage between novelty singles and 'grown-up' music, where kids of perhaps between 8 and 14 used to like the kind of acts which are celebrated here and in SH - acts who are fun with catchy songs which fit in with modern sounds but aren't necessarily cutting edge, they just sound good and reflect the tastes, priorities and experiences of people that age. I really think people in that age group now are missing out.

Jessica

[PeterJ]

I think the acts that would be suitable for aforementioned age group are around - they just don't have any success (perhaps those so celebrated on this very site would be suitable?)

[Poptastic!]

There are acts in existence who would be perfect for that age group, the problem is the media almost doesn't allow them to like them. From such a young age we are fed with instructions on what it's cool to like and what's not cool, so now being cool is important at an earlier age, I think, than it used to be. Bands like Steps and S Club did well because the people who liked them didn't care about being cool, but now 12 year olds definitely do care and a 2006 equivalent of those bands wouldn't work. I think there is a similar attitude of not caring if it's cool on this site, which is what I've always liked about it - it's just a shame that more people can't see past the brainwashing. Of course the young, impressionable minds of pre-teens (I don't mean this in a patronising way, but I know from experience that it's true and I'm SO glad I had SH when I was that age) are going to fall for it.

Jessica

[Fax Mactor]

I agree about kids being pressured into being cool, my niece is 12 year of age and rips the piss out of me when i have Girls Aloud on full-wack in my house.

What kind of 12 year old girl doesent like Girls Aloud? Apart from the Rosie Webster goth types that is.

[Poptastic!]

Exactly, 12 year old girls should be the biggest audience for GA and a few years ago they would have been. It just saddens me a bit, cos I know that transition into becoming a music fan was such an exciting time for me and I can't see that younger kids, especially girls, are going to be so keen to get into music if it's all so dreary and aimed at 30-year-old men, simply because they are the ones who seem to have the power in the music industry these days. In fact it seems the public have lost most of their power to clever yet greedy businessmen, who are clearly not going to influence music towards styles that they don't like.

Jessica

[gazbo]

But on the other hand, being "denied" pop music as a teen does kind of open up a glorious revelation later in life. I speak from experience: I was always into hard rock/punk, right up until I was about 22. Warts and all - I'd happily preach about how pop music wasn't real music because they didn't write it themselves etc (yes, I used to be even more of a pretentious cunt than I am now).

Then when I grew up enough not to worry about image, I was just blown away by what was available to me.

So sure, pop bands won't sell as much, but don't feel too sorry for the teens, as they've plenty of time to make up their own mind later in life.

[vasilios]

Sadly all 9-13 year olds now like r&b or Green Day. What can you do?

[Poptastic!]

I just feel lucky that I had ace pop music when I was growing up, which is why I think it's a shame kids don't have it now. It definitely makes me a jollier person, especially in comparison to my friends who like rock and are way more grumpy and stressy than me. Maybe it's cos they are that way alreayd that they like that music, but I do think that the music you listen to effects your temperament a lot. My younger sister, for example, started liking rock music about a year ago and sicne then she's been pretty moody and mean to my parents. However, she recently started listening to some calmer rock like Evanescence and No Doubt and she seems loads calmer herself. It must make a difference.

Jessica

[vasilios]

Bullying is to blame. I bet kids wanted to like Pop! or Rachel but after a few bashings and money stealing, they all went "ooh Green Day/Queens of the stone age/Eminem is really good" THAT'S what I like, please don't beat me up.

[Poptastic!]

You're probably right, even I shut up about some of the bands I liked when I was 12/13. Now I have no shame, although I must admit I didn't stick up for ABBA recently when people were trashing them in philosophy, but it was good to know that although most people in that class are cleverer than me, I have better taste in music than them.

Jessica

[Devil In Your Car]

Mr PJ made a valid point in the updated part of the programme about the magazine shooting itself in the foot by not being able to cover current indie bands that have a huge teen following. This also seems to be happening at the other end of the spectrum: it has been a while since the NME ran big features on anyone like Madonna, the Spice Girls or Destiny's Child, while poor old Mojo has never been forgiven for once having put Abba on the front cover. Magazines today just cannot afford to risk confusing or embarrassing their readers, regardless of whether they are wearing Converse or Hush Puppies.

Apart from the fantastic writing, free badges and Kipper Williams, one of Smash Hits' greatest strengths was the broad spectrum of acts that it covered. You might have been devastated to read about the Smiths splitting, but that was OK because you had Mel n' Kim on the cover wearing pyjamas to cheer you up.

[vasilios]

"You might have been devastated to read about the Smiths splitting, but that was OK because you had Mel n' Kim on the cover wearing pyjamas to cheer you up."

I can't put it better. When I was read Smash Hits in 1988 -89 everyone in my class did so: The pop people for obvious reasons, the fat girls for the Jason posters, the goths - yes we had them too - for pieces on Morissey and Wonderstuff, the dance kids for D-mob and Black Box, the boring ones for Dire Straits lyrics. My brother was 22 and while he didn't buy it he looked out to read mine.

The last issue of Smash Hits were aimed at the thin and not that ugly sk8er girl/goth that used to like Busted but seeing Chantelle wanted to dye her hair blonde. Just.