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''Q'' was a British
popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
magazine. It was founded in 1986 by broadcast journalists Mark Ellen and
David Hepworth David Hepworth (born 27 July 1950) is a British music journalist, writer, television presenter, and publishing industry analyst. He was instrumental in the foundation of a number of popular magazines in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Along with the j ...
, who were presenters of the BBC television music series ''
The Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music series broadcast by the BBC. It was devised by producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough, and aired on BBC2 from ...
''. ''Q'' was published in print in the UK from 1986 until its final issue was published in July 2020. In 2023, ''Q'' was revived as an
online publication Electronic publishing (also referred to as e-publishing, digital publishing, or online publishing) includes the digital publication of e-books, Online magazine, digital magazines, and the development of digital library, digital libraries and cat ...
, but this closed in May 2024.


History

''Q'' was originally published by the
EMAP Ascential (formerly EMAP) was a British-headquartered global company, specialising in events, intelligence and advisory services for the marketing and financial technology industries. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until it was ac ...
media group and set itself apart from much of the other music press with monthly production and higher standards of photography and printing. In the early years, the magazine was sub-titled "The modern guide to music and more". Originally it was to be called ''Cue'' (as in the sense of cueing a record, ready to play), but the name was changed so that it would not be mistaken for a
snooker Snooker (pronounced , ) is a cue sport played on a rectangular Billiard table#Snooker and English billiards tables, billiards table covered with a green cloth called baize, with six Billiard table#Pockets 2, pockets: one at each corner and ...
magazine. Another reason, cited in ''Q''s 200th edition, is that a single-letter title would be more prominent on newsstands. In January 2008, EMAP sold its consumer magazine titles, including ''Q'', to the
Bauer Media Group Heinrich Bauer Publishing (), trade name, trading as Bauer Media Group, is a German multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Hamburg. It operates worldwide and owns more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations, ...
. Bauer put the title up for sale in 2020, alongside ''Car Mechanic'', ''Modern Classics'', ''Your Horse'', and ''Sea Angler''. Publication ceased in July 2020 as
Kelsey Media Kelsey Media Ltd is a magazine publisher and trade fair company based in Yalding, England. Founded in 1989, it has bought and sold many publications over the years, including former Bauer Media Group magazines ''Sea Angler'', ''Car Mechanics'' ...
decided to buy a number of non-music titles from Bauer (''Sea Angler'', ''Car Mechanics'' and ''Your Horse''), making the 28 July 2020 issue (Q415) the last to be published. The end of the print version of ''Q'' was blamed both on lower circulation and advertising revenue caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, as well as being "a symptom of an expert-free internet age." After the sale of the brand to Empire Media Group, ''Q'' was soft launched as an online publication in November 2023, posting new content along with articles from their archive. It was officially relaunched in January 2024, with a new editorial team spearheaded by US Editor Andrew Barker in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
and Oxford-based UK and Europe Editor, Dominic Utton. In May 2024 the magazine ceased operations. Six full-time journalists were laid off.


Original print magazine

The magazine had an extensive review section, featuring: new releases,
reissue In the music industry, a reissue (also re-release, repackage or re-edition) is the release of an album or single which has been released at least once before, sometimes with alterations or additions. Reasons for reissue New audio formats Reco ...
s, compilations, film and live concert reviews, as well as radio and television reviews. It used a star-rating system from one to five stars; indeed, the rating an album received in ''Q'' was often added to print and television advertising for the album in the UK and Ireland. While its content was non-free they hosted an archive of all of their magazine covers. Much of the magazine was devoted to interviews with popular music artists. According to
Alexis Petridis Alexis Petridis (born 13 September 1971) is an English journalist. He is the head Rock music, rock and pop music critic for ''The Guardian'', and a regular contributor for ''GQ''. In addition to his music journalism for the paper, he has written ...
of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', it was originally set up after the success of "rock’s old stagers" at
Live Aid Live Aid was a two-venue benefit concert and music-based fundraising initiative held on Saturday, 13 July 1985. The event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia, a m ...
, which co-founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth had co-presented, to focus on long-established acts that appealed to an older music market, such as
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
,
Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...
,
Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...
,
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
, Genesis, and
Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
. It also compiled lists, ranging from "The 100 Greatest Albums" to "The 100 Richest Stars in Rock", with a special edition magazine called "The 150 Greatest Rock Lists Ever" published in July 2004. ''Q'' also produced a number of special editions devoted to a single act/artist like U2 or
Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
, but these magazines stopped in 2018, with its sister magazine, '' Mojo'' (also owned by Bauer) continuing to produce specials devoted to artists like
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
. Promotional gifts were given away, such as cover-mounted CDs or books. The January 2006 issue included a free copy of "The Greatest Rock and Pop Miscellany … Ever!", modelled on '' Schott's Original Miscellany''. Each issue of ''Q'' had a different message on the spine. Some readers tried to work out what the message had to do with the contents of the magazine. This practice (known as the "spine line") has since become commonplace among British lifestyle magazines, including ''Q''s sister publication ''
Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
'' and the football monthly ''
FourFourTwo ''FourFourTwo'' is an association football magazine published by British company Future. Issued monthly, it published its 300th edition in May 2019. It takes its name from the football formation of the same name, 4–4–2. Future acquired the ...
''. The magazine had a relationship with the
Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
, producing both a free daily newspaper on-site during the festival and a review magazine available at the end of the event. That was first started as a '' Select'' magazine spin-off, although as ''Q'' moved its focus to the
Britpop Britpop was a mid-1990s United Kingdom, British-based music culture movement that emphasised Britishness. Musically, Britpop produced bright, catchy alternative rock, with significant influences from British guitar pop of the 1960s and 1970s. B ...
and
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
stars of the 1990s, it was decided that EMAP did not need two monthly titles (and '' Raw'' magazine as well) covering the same genre of music; ''Select'' was shut in late 2000, with ''Q'' continuing. In January 2008, '' Mojo'' was launched by EMAP as a rival to '' Uncut'' and focused on all the rock stars, now viewed upon as being heritage and classic, that ''Q'' originally featured in its pages in 1986. In late 2008, ''Q'' revamped its image with a smaller amount of text and an increased focus on subjects other than music. In February 2012, Andrew Harrison was recruited as editor, replacing Paul Rees during a difficult period when on-line publishing had led to a 17% decline in the magazine's circulation in the first half of 2012. It had fallen to 64,596 units; a reduction in volume described by ''The Guardian'' as "the worst performance of any music magazine in the period".Cardew, Ben.
Q editor Andrew Harrison steps down
. ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 11 April 2013. Retrieved 17 January 2021
Directly reporting to Publishing Director Rimi Atwal of
Bauer Media Group Heinrich Bauer Publishing (), trade name, trading as Bauer Media Group, is a German multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Hamburg. It operates worldwide and owns more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations, ...
, Harrison's brief said to "refocus" and revive the magazine and to that end he took on a number of new journalists launching the magazine's iPad edition, but decided against a rebranding. Under his tenure, ''Q'' was named "Magazine of the Year" at the 2012 "Record of the Day" awards. He left just 14 months later, according to ''the Guardian'', "as print music magazines continue to endure torrid times" and even free titles were failing to compete against blogs and platforms dependent on
online advertising Online advertising, also known as online marketing, Internet advertising, digital advertising or web advertising, is a form of marketing and advertising that uses the Internet to promote products and services to audiences and platform users. ...
. In July 2020, Bauer published a Special Collector's Issue of the magazine (Q414), which it had intended to be the last edition before deciding to attempt to sell the publication to another media group. This issue was more of a 'throwback' publication, similar to what '' Mojo'' had been doing, and featured articles and acts from 34 years of ''Q'' magazine. With other firms, such as Long Live Vinyl's owner Anthem Publishing, ending the publication of a number of monthly music magazine titles, a buyer could not be found for the title, with editor Ted Kessler announcing that issue Q415 would be the last, on 20 July 2020.


Notable articles

In the early days of publication, the magazine's format was much closer in tone to that of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' (though with some of the characteristic humour of former ''
Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...
'' staff shining through), with Tom Hibbert's "Who The Hell..." feature (including interviews with people like
Jeffrey Archer Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English novelist and former politician. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Louth (Lincolnshire) from 1969 to 1974, but did not seek re-election after a fina ...
,
Robert Maxwell Ian Robert Maxwell (born Ján Ludvík Hyman Binyamin Hoch; 10 June 1923 – 5 November 1991) was a Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak-born British media proprietor, politician and fraudster. After escaping the German occupation of Czechoslovakia, ...
, Ronnie Biggs and
Bernard Manning Bernard John Manning (13 August 1930 – 18 June 2007) was an English comedian and nightclub owner. He gained a high profile on British television during the 1970s, appearing on shows such as '' The Comedians'' and '' The Wheeltappers and Shun ...
) and film reviews. After EMAP started to publish a new magazine called ''
Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
'' in 1989 (the idea being that ''Empire'' would be 'Q with films'), the movie reviews migrated to the new publication, with ''Q'' becoming a magazine focused on music (one found for sale alongside ''Select'' and '' Vox'' in various magazine racks). In the 1990s, former ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' staff writers, such as Andrew Collins, Danny Kelly, Stuart Maconie, and
Charles Shaar Murray Charles Shaar Murray (born Charles Maximillian Murray; 27 June 1951) is an English Music journalism, music journalist and broadcaster. He has worked on the ''NME, New Musical Express'' (''NME'') and many other magazines and newspapers, and has ...
joined
Paul Du Noyer Paul Du Noyer (born Paul Anthony Du Noyer; 21 May 1954) is an English rock journalist and author. He has written and edited for the music magazines ''NME'', '' Q'' and '' Mojo''. Du Noyer is the author of several books on the music industry, ro ...
and Adrian Deevoy at ''Q''. Music coverage in IPC's 'inkie' indie weekly was becoming more serious after ''
Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...
'' closed down and so writers like Maconie felt more at home at a publication that would still run
tongue-in-cheek Tongue-in-cheek is an idiom that describes a humorous or sarcastic statement expressed in a serious manner. History The phrase originally expressed contempt, but by 1842 had acquired its modern meaning. Early users of the phrase include Sir Walte ...
articles such as "40 Celebs About Whom We Only Know One Thing" and "Do I Have To Wear This, Boss?" (Du Noyer's feature about every band having a member who looks out of place in the line-up). In 2006, ''Q'' published a readers' survey, "The 100 Greatest Songs Ever", which was topped by
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentLive Forever". In the April 2007 issue, ''Q'' published an article listing "The 100 Greatest Singers", which was topped by
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...
.
Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...
posed topless in a shoot for the April 2010 issue of the magazine, which was banned by stores in the United States due to the singer revealing too much of her breasts.


Other Q brands

After a few years as a radio
jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that plays a user-selected song from a self-contained media library. Traditional jukeboxes contain records, compact discs, or digital files, and allow user ...
, Q Radio launched in June 2008 as a full-service
radio station Radio broadcasting is the broadcasting of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based rad ...
with a complete roster. Shows and presenters include ''Drivetime with Danielle Perry'' and ''Q the 80s with Matthew Rudd''. The station was transmitted on the
digital television Digital television (DTV) is the transmission of television signals using Digital signal, digital encoding, in contrast to the earlier analog television technology which used analog signals. At the time of its development it was considered an ...
networks in the UK and online.
Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...
were involved with the launch of the station by giving an exclusive interview on Q's flagship programme ''QPM'' on the launch day. It was based in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
alongside the now-closed Kerrang! 105.2 after moving from London in 2009. The station was closed in mid-2013 after owners Bauer Media decided to use the station's bandwidth on various platforms (DAB, Digital TV) to launch Kisstory, a spinoff of their
Kiss A kiss is the touching or pressing of one's lips against another person, animal or object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely; depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sex ...
brand. There was a '' Q TV'' television channel in the UK, which launched on 2 October 2000 and closed on 3 July 2012. ''Q'' held a yearly awards ceremony called the Q Awards from 1990 until 2019. The Q Awards came to an end along with the publication itself.


Criticism

According to the global business magazine '' Campaign'' in 2008, ''Q'' had been criticised for "playing it safe" with its album reviews and cover mounts. In its early years it was sneered at as "uncool and lacking edge", with
Steven Wells Steven Wells (10 May 1960 – 24 June 2009) was a British journalist, author, comedian and punk poet born in Swindon, Wiltshire. He was best known for ranting poetry and his provocative, unapologetic music journalism. In June 2006, he wrote in ...
from ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' calling it "the magazine that says 'Hey kids, it's alright to like
Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). Th ...
'". In a 2001 interview in ''
Classic Rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...
'',
Marillion Marillion are a British neo-prog band, formed in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, in 1979. They emerged from the post-punk music scene in Britain and existed as a bridge between the styles of punk rock and classic progressive rock, becoming the mo ...
singer
Steve Hogarth Steve Hogarth (born Ronald Stephen Hoggarth, 14 May 1956), also known as "h", is an English musician. Since 1989, he has been the lead singer of the rock band Marillion, for which he also performs additional keyboards and guitar. Hogarth was f ...
criticised ''Q''s refusal to cover the band despite publishing some positive reviews. In 2005, after winning the Q Legend award at the Q Awards, New Order bassist
Peter Hook Peter Hook (born 13 February 1956) is an English musician. He was the bassist and co-founder of the post-punk band Joy Division and its successor New Order. He often used the bass as a lead instrument, playing melodies on the high strings wi ...
criticised the magazine for being "two-faced" as it had given New Order bad reviews.


References


External links

*. * {{Authority control Music magazines published in the United Kingdom Bauer Group (UK) Bauer Radio Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1986 Magazines disestablished in 2020 Defunct music magazines published in the United Kingdom 2020 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Magazines published in London Companies disestablished due to the COVID-19 pandemic 2023 establishments in the United Kingdom 2024 disestablishments in the United Kingdom