Lunchtime For The Wild Youth
by Russell Barker
£1
A5, black and white, 24 pages
The concept behind this zine is simple – Russell sets out to
revisit albums that were loved in his teenage years, and not played since.
Russell’s enthusiasm for music is infectious. The zine
will have those that were there at the time – in the mid to late 1980s - scrabbling
to their shelves, storage units to dig out CDs and vinyl, or to eBay to re-buy
their past.
And those who aren't quite old enough to remember will discover
something new. It is a project born out of a love for the lost tangible joys of
record buying – bunking off school to be the first in line at the local record
shop on release day, the zines and community built through exchange and
bootlegs. But it is a zine that gains
from being able to listen to almost any album in minutes through the magic of
Spotify. Reading LFTWY had me compiling a list of albums and songs that sounded interesting and playing
them as a kind of soundtrack to the zine.
Lunchtime For The
Wild Youth is smartly executed - straddling the divide between youth and
adulthood by removing technology from the process. The zine was written on a
typewriter, produced on a photocopier, nothing fact checked using the internet.
The artwork, drawn by Russell's daughter Robyn is a
charming addition, and a reminder that music has a power that transcends
generations.
This is an infectious zine that
will have you itching to do the same with your own wild youth.
