CITY FUN: Vol. 2 No. 19

Salford: City Fun Publications, 1981. First edition. Very good plus.. Early issue (June 25, 1981) of this hugely influential Manchester-centric post-punk zine, under the editorial tenure of Carroll and Naylor. John Peel called CITY FUN the most important zine of the period. It is an indispensable reference for the Manchester scene and the bands and labels that grew around it: Joy Division and New Order, The Smiths and The Fall, Factory Records and the Hacienda nightclub, etc. Founded by Andy Zero and Martin X in 1978, CITY FUN increasingly expanded its reach beyond the local music scene to the larger cultural landscape after its takeover by "classic feminist children of punk" (Fletcher) Naylor and Carroll. Contributors include Ray Lowry, Bob Dickinson, Brian Mills, Ruth Cowley, Catherine Miles, James Martland, Ian Todd, Mick Dando, and Gill Bradley; among the issue's highlights is a painstakingly critical letter to the editors: "Perhaps it hasn't yet got through to the youth of Manchester that sarcasm is the lowest form of wit: City Fun certainly reeks of the stuff." 12'' x 8.5''. Original pictorial self-wrappers. Offset in black-and-white throughout. 19, [1] pages. Moderate edgewear, faint soil to wrappers.