A Blast from the Stacks: An interview with Bob Dickinson
As part of our archival research for the People’s Papers project, we were very excited to find a copy of Bob Dickinson’s 1997 book, Imprinting the Sticks: the Alternative Press beyond London, in the library stacks — and even more so to have him visit and get to chat with him about it!
Drawing from his own experiences writing for some of these papers as well as in-depth interviews with a range of different projects, Bob’s book traces the development and evolution of Greater Manchester’s underground and alternative press scene from the late 1960s through to the 1990s (complete with a “family tree” of their connections!). Over the course of nine chapters covering such topics as “going underground,” “counterculture over the counter” and “listing the city,” he provides an insightful and reflective reference point for understanding the fundamental dynamics and networks involved in producing these papers as well as the broader social and political context of Greater Manchester over this time period. Almost 30 years later, we have a vastly transformed media, news and information ecosystem (primarily online!), yet many of the same themes and questions raised continue to intrigue and resonate.
Below we have an interview with Bob, discussing more about his book and what we can learn from these papers and this history today.
Can you share a bit about your background and how you came to write this book?
At 16, I started a kind of underground newspaper, printed on a Gestetner machine belonging to a friend’s dad. We sold it at school, until the school banned it, and threatened me with expulsion. I moved to Levenshulme in 1977, and started writing for a fortnightly events magazine called New Manchester Review, which was politically left wing and published news as well as interviews and features. But it went bust in 1980, when times were very tough in Manchester and there was very high unemployment. So, I started writing for the post-punk fanzine, City Fun, which was based in Higher Broughton. We reflected the music scene of the time but also the fraught political situation – there were riots in 1981. In parallel, I worked short term contracts on job creation schemes at Manchester Poly, in which we were involved in oral history, tape recording elderly people on their memories of Manchester in the early twentieth century. Much later I started thinking about compiling a history of Manchester’s alternative press using a similar kind of approach, by finding people who’d worked on those publications and interviewing them. What I found fascinating about these interviews, and my own personal memories of working on alternative publications, was the importance of group dynamics – the rivalries and the alliances within editorial groups; the tensions between people as well as the solidarity of the group responsible for bringing a publication to the public.
What was the process like in writing this book?
The book was written as an MPhil thesis at Manchester Metropolitan University, in the mid 1990s. The research took place within what was called the Manchester Institute for Popular Culture, run by Steve Redhead and Justin O’Connor. Great supervisors, very supportive. I already knew some of the people I interviewed for the research, but I had to track down many others. By this time, also, I was a full-time producer in BBC Network Radio, so I did all this research in my spare time, but I had to learn how to write and think academically and analytically about the material. Now, 28 years later, I am working towards producing an updated version of the book, tracing the story of Manchester’s alternative press from 1997 to the present.
Can you share more about the different papers/projects covered in the book? (How did they come about, what different types were there and what purpose did they serve? How did Manchester compare to other places?)
One of the things I realized was that Manchester was at the heart of a network of alternative publications in the 1970s and early 80s, which included everything from political underground papers like Mole Express to community magazines like Rochdale Alternative Press and Tameside Eye, to semi-commercial fortnightly events mags like New Manchester Review, to punk and post punk zines like City Fun. I think outside London, the north west was probably one of the busiest areas for alternative publishing. Everybody knew each other, but relationships were not necessarily always friendly! However, alliances existed, especially because lots of publications depended on others or learned from others, especially the operations that owned their own printing facilities, like RAP, for instance, in Rochdale.
How did the social/media environment change over this period, and since then?
In the early 1970s, the underground press in Manchester was very hit and miss. Publications like Grass Eye and Mole Express were also very divided by personal and political rivalries. Somehow, due to sheer investigative doggedness and determination, Mole Express kept going. But there also evolved a belief that it was possible to publish a successful events magazine, and New Manchester Review succeeded in this for six years, later followed by City Life – which depended on selling advertising. At the same time, community papers really flourished especially in the 1970s and 80s, reflecting the changes that happened in places like Moss Side, Tameside, Salford and Rochdale, because of the impact of demolition and rehousing. Here, too, there was a big interest in issues like government mismanagement, corruption, and policing. Generally speaking, alternative publications in the 70s and 80s reflected the first phases of deindustrialisation. Since then, Manchester and Salford have changed almost beyond recognition, and local communities have been transformed because of urban regeneration and political devolution. Online alternative voices like the Mill are trying to address this, I think.
What do you think we can learn from or take away from these papers today? Is there anything in particular you’d like to have remembered about these papers or this time period?
What was important about working on these publications was the experience of labouring long hours with others towards a common purpose, without the promise of being paid any money! It was done purely because you believed in it, and that you could learn a few skills, like writing, researching, graphic design, printing, balancing the books – and somehow creating and engaging with readers. Which all sounds very idealistic. But there’s always a need for social change and for certain publications to dig deep and expose the stuff that needs criticising. And to engage with readers, to find a way to look at the world differently.
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To learn more about Bob’s work or read more of his extensive (and ongoing!) writing, you can go to his website: https://www.bobdickinson.co.uk/ His own personal archive, including copies of the papers he was involved with, is now held in the British Pop Culture collection at the Ryland Library: https://www.library.manchester.ac.uk/rylands/special-collections/a-to-z/detail/?mms_id=992987565262001631