Blues & Soul is a British music magazine,[1] established in 1967 by John Abbey. The Independent has noted Blues & Soul as being the equal of magazines such as NME and Q. Billboard magazine has called Blues & Soul "a respected publication."[2][3]
 | |
| Editor | Pete Lewis |
|---|---|
| Categories | Music |
| Publisher | Claire Tyler (Daniell) |
| Founder | John Abbey |
| Founded | 1966 |
| First issue | October 1967 |
| Company | Blues & Soul Limited |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Based in | Croydon |
| Language | English |
| Website | www |
| ISSN | 0959-6550 |
As of 2024, Blues & Soul has published some 1100 issues and is still based in Croydon, London. The publisher is Blues & Soul Limited.[4] It publishes five issues per year in both print and digital format, edited by Pete Lewis. The publisher has a growing online archive of back issues and images published by the magazine.[5]
History
editJohn Abbey, a devotee of American R&B music, established a magazine entitled Home of the Blues in 1966. This came about while Abbey was working for a travel agency in London. The magazine went on to publish its own musical charts, cover events and clubs and feature reviews, interviews and other musical articles. Blues & Soul's R&B charts were compiled via a poll record sales throughout Britain. The publication soon gained further popularity in the UK and Europe covering genres of music such as soul, R&B, Funk, dance, jazz, hip hop, reggae and world music. With issue number 12 the magazine's title was changed to Blues & Soul.
In addition to Abbey's contributions, material was provided by writers such as former Motown press officer Sharon Davis and British soul fan Dave Godin. Within a June 1970 column of Blues & Soul, Godin went on to coin the term "Northern soul". The business gradually expanded and Abbey set up an associated record label called Contempo Records,[6] which released the UK's first 12-inch singles. Abbey moved to Atlanta, Georgia in the mid-1970s and established Ichiban Records,[6] while the editorship of the magazine was taken over by Bob Killbourn in 1979.[7][8][9][10][11] Another important contributor, David Nathan, began writing for Blues & Soul in the early 1970s, first in London, then from 1975 as the magazine's principal New York correspondent.[12]
Blues & Soul's charts, from the start of such, became increasingly popular within the UK.[13] During 1979, DJ Pete Tong started being a journalist at Blues & Soul. Within the following year, he became the features editor of the magazine.[14][15] Fellow UK publication Black Music was also absorbed in April 1984 by Blues & Soul.[16] Blues & Soul has also, from its inception, bestowed awards to artistes based upon an annual readers poll.[17][18]
By 2006, the magazine had published 1000 issues.[7] The magazine returned in printed form in August 2010 with a special vintage edition.
In July 2011, Blues & Soul was relaunched as an in print twice-monthly magazine alongside its ongoing presence online, helmed by then editor Lee Tyler plus assistant editor (and long-time contributor) Pete Lewis.
References
edit- ^ "Blues and Soul Music Magazine - About". www.bluesandsoul.co.uk.
- ^ Gallivan, Joseph (19 May 1993). "Media: They're going to 'Touch' you for a pound". The Independent.
- ^ Label Founders Boast Diverse Musical Backgrounds and Teamwork. Vol. 107. Billboard. 8 April 1995. p. 28.
- ^ "Companies House". gov.uk. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- ^ "Blues & Soul Archive". Blues & Soul. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- ^ a b Gregory, Andy (2002). The International Who's Who in Popular Music 2002. Psychology Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-85743-161-2.
- ^ a b "Bob Killbourn, "Picking up the reins"". bluesandsoul.com. Blues & Soul. Archived from the original on 2013-03-23. Retrieved 2024-05-06.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Meadows, Eddie S. (June 10, 2010). Blues, Funk, Rhythm and Blues, Soul, Hip Hop, and Rap: A Research and Information Guide. Routledge. ISBN 9781136992568.
- ^ Richardson, Clive (November 11, 2015). Soul Citizen - Tales & Travels from the Dawn of the Soul Era to the Internet Age. Lulu Press. pp. 76–82. ISBN 9781291246735.
- ^ Brewster, Bill (January 19, 2018). "Interview: Dave Godin". redbullmusicacademy.com. Red Bull Music Academy.
- ^ Johnson, Phil (October 20, 2004). "Dave Godin: Esperanto-speaking vegan who became an apostle of soul". independent.co.uk. The Independent.
- ^ "David Nathan", Rock's Backpages (Retrieved 11 June 2015).
- ^ Simpson, Dave (August 6, 2009). "The scenes that time forgot". The Guardian.
- ^ "Pete Tong". thevogue.com.
- ^ Ramsamy, Gemma Kappala (March 26, 2011). "Pete Tong: Soundtrack of my life". The Guardian.
- ^ "Black Music". rocksbackpages.com. Rocks Back Pages.
- ^ "Blues & Soul". rocklistmusic.co.uk.
- ^ O' Brien, Lucy (March 1, 200). "This soul is organic". The Guardian.