Marketing gurus search for ages and get paid millions to come up with a catchy name or slogan. (Although the famous stories of the Chevy Nova in Spanish speaking countries and the Rolls Royce Silver Mist in Germany would suggest otherwise.)

Fanzine producers less so but as we’ll see they were and are equally creative so this blog is dedicated to the fanzine names themselves and related stories behind some of the fabulous names that appear on the first comprehensive list of all fanzines that existed over the past 60 or so years.

Plain or Pun?

Obviously, there were some “utilitarian” names, Non-League Football Fanfare , NI Soccer, Manchester Wolves being a few there were also many, many fantastic names, so many meanings.

Like a pun? Well, have we got great news for you. Leyton Orient had and still have some great fanzine names; The Leyton Orientear, Cheery O’s, Pandamonium and Into The O’s Zone…simple but effective puns and all from one club!

Sort of familiar names, puns or otherwise are also plentiful. Everyone’s fingers are crossed that the future of Morecambe will be secured so, as we approach D day for the club as a whole, let’s look back at another important part of the club’s history, it’s fanzine Gazzetta de la Shrimp. I’ve struggled to discover any copies of this fanzine but it did exist and what a name, far better than its Italian namesake.

‘Shrimp’ will be famously remembered for getting into a row with Jim Bowen in 2003. Yes, THE Jim Bowen. Bowen had been appointed president of the club at the time, a publicity stunt to attract attention to the club that he graciously agreed to. But Accrington born was a lifelong Rovers fan and when he admitted “I am an out-and-out Rovers fan. My heart is in Blackburn.” the shrimp went on the rampage. It said: “The charge — treason. You are a traitor and a closet Blackburn Rovers fan and not fit to be associated with this club.”[1] I’d like to think this was a bit tongue in cheek (Do shrimps have tongues? – Ed). Who knows and any help tracking down copies of this fanzine and its creators would be appreciated.

Names could be more literal, perhaps too literal so“Sick in the Basin” was a popular Partick Thistle fanzine that took its name being a reference to the proximity of the canal to Firhill. Lovely image. Along similar lines, Reading had a fanzine called The Whiff named after the notorious ‘Whitley Whiff’ smell from the sewage work in Reading.

Classic Tunes

One of my favourite names has always been Dial M for Merthyr so I went in search of the story. Was it the creator’s love of Hitchcock? Some obscure connection he had to Merthryr? Was it filmed on location there? (As I researched this I saw that Sir Anthony Hopkins was seen in Port Talbot fish and chip shop in January this year[2]!!

Well not quite, sometimes it’s all a bit more straightforward. The story is told on the fanzine’s still active and well worth reading blogspot[3]  and there’s no need for me to edit such a great story; “Mark Evans, (Wolvesy) came up with the name. It was Walsall v’s Sunderland in ’88 and we were talking with the Editor of the new Sunderland Fanzine, Wise Men Say..’So, what’s your called then?’ Asked the Mackem…’Dial M for Merthyr’ replied Wolvesy. The guy laughed. I laughed. He turned to me and said, ‘I just made that up’. ‘It’s good mate. Not sure how many people on the Wank Bank will be aware of Hitchcock’s brilliant suspense masterpiece but it’s better than my idea for the name’. (I was all for ‘You sexy Merthyr F*ckers’ as Prince was big with the song at the time). And so that was it, ‘Dial M for Merthyr’ was born.

Dial M is still loud and proud, go and find them on twitter at @dialm4merthyr

I’m Sorry, What?

Rotherham’s “Moulin Rouge” was named due to the likeness of Rotherham and Paris… OK, it was because the Moulin Rouge was started by a Rotherham fan (Stop this now- Ed) or maybe the windmills on the club badge and above the famous French establishment.

Funnily enough the windmill, referring of course to Millmoor and the area’s history of flour milling wasn’t introduced on club badges until the 80s.  Apparently early badges displayed the date 1884^[4] but Rotherham United weren’t formed until 1925 when Rotherham Town (founded 1899) and Rotherham County (founded 1877 as Thornhill FC) merged. So why was 1884 the year mentioned. Well, it was the year that the Rotherham and Bawtry Railway Act was passed and was also the year Dr John Harvey Kellogg patented Corn Flakes. What I’m trying to say is that one knows why this happened and we’ll speak of it no more (moor? – Ed) 

As a further aside to get the word count up on this blog, issue 7 contained the news that the original GOAT, Shaun Goater had been voted player of the year by the fanzine, with a magnificent prize sent his way.

As with all things fanzine, wry humour was also to the fore. The wonderfully named “Flipping Heck Ref, That Was Surely A Foul” was a fanzine from Waterlooville FC.

An important local story and a topical local theme came with “More Dead Wood Than The Mary Rose” a Portsmouth Fanzine along with some strange, some would say disturbing artwork on the cover.

Finally, commemorating all the trees cut down to create the wonderful world of fanzines[5], The Old Dead Tree is a very recently created Salford City fanzine. It’s editor Kev Smith explained the story behind the name “It is quite simple, Salford walk out to Dirty Old Town by The Pogues one of the lyrics is I’ll chop you down LIKE AN OLD DEAD TREE, and paper comes from old trees… To be honest I was a bit disappointed it wasn’t after the Paris based progressive death metal band of the same name but it’s a lovely fanzine and you should seek out a copy via their twitter account @OldDeadTreeSCFC .

The Final Whistle

Creativity is defined as “the use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness”. A lot is spoken of in terms of creativity in art, television film and in books but as we have seen, just the names behind fanzines is as rich an area of creativity as any other form of inventiveness.

It is an important part of our social history and something we here at FanzineFC towers are determined to document as fully as we can.

Join us next time as talk about adverts in fanzines, or more names, or another Subbuteo connection, or more music, or food, or an editor, or printer or whatever takes our fancy over the next week. See you then I hope.

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[1] https://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/5885953.rover-jim-bowen/

[2] https://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/24927076.sir-anthony-hopkins-seen-port-talbot-fish-chip-shop/

[3] https://dialmformerthyr.blogspot.com/ 

[4] https://whatsbehindthebadge.com/index.php/rotherham-united/

[5] A boring but important fact from an old papermaker, paper producers plant more trees every year than they use