As it is Non League day today we take another fanzine dip down the leagues with the 50p, 32 page issue 19 of Basingstoke’s amalgamated fanzines from October 1993, great detail on the cover lads. The cover also reveals a late bid to host the 1996 euros in roundabout town, a joke with great potential that they decline to take any further inside the zine.
GLO stands for Get Lawrence On! a previous blues fanzine and the lads from that zine are still responsible for the travel info, a lovely throwback to the days before sat nav with the pages including the ever present fanzine legal disclaimer.
Both fanzines had distributions of about 100 or so and were largely to raise funds for the club with about £1,000 being donated over the few years they ran. Editor John Gray would do on to be press officer and PA announcer at the club for 20 years.1 A lovely story of the gentler way of the world in non league football and their fanzines.
Editor John Gray appears with player of the month Clive Holmes, an appearance which tells you a lot about 90s fashion and haircuts and will be important for a later article.
John and some friends have decided to go and watch a premier league game (UGH!) and arrange to do that via the medium of fanzines. Reports of such meet ups are sprinkled throughout fanzines at all levels, usually including drink being taken and 5 a side being played. Not much of that here but again it is a lovely and thoughtful story of the non league ethos, fanzine swaps, being surprised at floodlights, plus great stories of players, managers and even a chairman actually caring about the fans.
The back cover reminds us of the role that even non league fanzines played in getting the message out that racism would no longer be tolerated. Sadly, in a week when Ipswich allowed a knuckle dragging racist to use their club for cheap publicity, we still need to keep pressing on with this.
Continuing with GLO’s travel contributions and a lovely report of a trip to Hendon that could describe the trips many of you will have taken today, traffic, grumbles about prices that would make a Premier league fan froth at the mouth, club shops, pitch improvements and the brother of a big star not quite living up to his sibling’s achievements. Tremendous and whats is heartening to see is a report of an absolute battering not filled with violently angry invective and calls for heads to roll. Defeats happen, even 6-0 ones and praising the oppositions flowing football (even if their replica shirts are a rip off) isn’t a crime lads.
There is a fanzine quality action shot photo that just about captures the action but for sure captures the beauty of grounds down the ladder and could easily feature in #FloodlightFriday
Finally, there is a great op-ed about why you should ditch the Premier league already, a piece that should probably be distributed today as it perfectly describes what is wrong about the money men and right about life down the ladder. I wonder if anyone still has one of those T Shirts and even more, if it still fits.
Hope you enjoyed your day as much as I enjoyed this fanzine. If anyone knows John or his whereabouts, please pass on my thanks.
Football Fanzine Culture 
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