Book review - "Pop Life: Inside Smash Hits Australia 1984-2007" (2011) by Marc Andrews, Claire Isaac, David Nichols

Smash Hits has a special place in my heart because in the years 1985-86 it was my Bible - a terrific, well informed, expertly written fortnightly magazine that seemed so witty and clever. I'd read Countdown magazine before hand but it always seemed a bit unsatisfactory. Smash Hits was perfect - right price, it came out plenty of times, well respected, funny, good pictures, a bright style.

It was a great time to be reading it too because in hindsight the mid 80s could be seen as the end of the glory days of pop/"80s music" - Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Ultravox, Live Aid, etc. I can't remember when  I went off it exactly but I do recall by 1987 I wasn't reading it. I saw a copy the following year and it seemed to be so much younger. I'm sure this was partly me but also consider the big acts around that time - Bros, Kylie Minogue (that's pre-good Kylie), Rick Astley. You had more manufactured bands, less of the new romantic types who wrote their own songs.

The magazine went on for a fair amount of time after that: I was surprised to hear it was still going in 2007, fuelled by booms in the pop scene (the Britneys and boy bands of the late 90s, the talent shows of the noughties).

This is a bright, breezy account from three former writers on the magazine - Andrews and Isaac have the most vivid personality (both are still journos while Nichols, who didn't work for the magazine that long, is now an academic). Andrews places the magazine and pop in the context of the gay scene of the time - looking back so many pop acts were gay pioneers e.g. Culture Club; Isaac is a fan girl who made good.

The stuff about internal workings at the magazine isn't that interesting, but some of the adventures in the mag trade are - I loved stories like Jason Priestley drunkenly ranting about the Vietnam War and a pre-media savvy Kylie letting her guard down, plus the prejudice of the record industry and radio towards pop. A funny, breezy book befitting its subject - although part of me wishes they'd done it as a magazine.