Bury F.C now exist as an 8th tier pyramid club way down in the Northern Premier League Division One West, but there are signs of hope. They are back at Gigg with a fan ownership model, the dark days of Dale (Steve, not Roch) are over. Perhaps they’ll never see the likes of Where Were You At The Shay, FA cup wins (1900, 1903) and a Football World Championship[1] (1904 ) win again or Colin Bell, Luther Blisset and errr Lee Dixon in their colours but at least there is stability and hope.
Football World Championship? Yes it really was called that though the papers called it a “friendly” match between the champions of England and Scotland. In any case, The Shakers beat Rangers 4-1 on aggregate over 2 legs with the first leg was played on Christmas Day in 1903 with a £374 gate. In fact, Bury are STILL the holders of the title as the games vs Rangers were the last time this happened as by that point leagues had more members and games to fit in and believe it or not, foreign travel was becoming a favoured close season activity for leading clubs. In addition, interest in football was rising across the world so it was no longer deemed appropriate to describe an exclusively British event as a ‘World Championship’. MLB Baseball World Series should perhaps take note.
Back to the future though, despite Bury latterly being a stalwart of the lower divisions they had a few fanzines, 4 according to our research with Bury Me in White, Dead and Bury(ed) and The Hatchet joining WWYATS in the print zine history of the club. To put this in context here is a chart, everyone likes charts and this one is of fanzines for club in the ‘North West” (come on, how else am I going to categorise Carlisle and Barrow?) Bury nestle in lower mid table which probably describes much of their history.
However, in the latest of our fanzine questionnaires, we catch up with Craig Clarkson to find out more about the Bury and the Where Were You At The Shay fanzine sold in the mid 90s outside Gigg Lane. The fanzine ran between 1993ish & 1997 and was edited for a long time by Craig Clarkson.
These were the glory years in recent terms, with stan Ternent as boss, two successive promotions happened in the mid-1990s. In 1996, third place in what was now the fourth-tier Division Three, followed by the third-tier Division Two title in 1997, Bury were back to the second tier for the first time in 30 years….The last printed Where were you at the Shay? was a celebration edition following Stan Ternent’s championship in 1997. Craig explains; “It was never meant to be the last one, it just sort of happened that way. We’d laughed and moaned through several seasons and when all of a sudden you’ve been to Wembley and then had two consecutive promotions it seemed a little churlish to keep complaining.”
As I catalogue fanzines, I make notes of what is in them to help with future blogs and this is the list from the 4 issues of WWYATS; Bad language, disabled access guide, Porno paskin, Bradley Hardacre! You are the ref, beer guide, tactic trauma, Beer guide update, great long ball letter, treatment of the disabled fan, Eastern European football, rock lyrics, hero worship, survival of the fattest. A vivid, panoramic view of what being a supporter is about. I think you get the picture and talking of pictures this terrifying one of then manager Sam Ellis appeared on the front of issue 24..
This certainly makes it sound more interesting that this review from Manchester United fanzine Voices from the Devil issue 5 in 1993 made out. The photo is a fanzine classic, that really is as good a scan as I could get (Reviews of other fanzines will at some point be another blog)
Issue 20 of the fanzine was typical in reporting the often-appalling treatment disabled fans received in the 80s and 90s. What constituted a riot to this yellow jacketed knobheaded I don’t know. Good on the chairman Bradley Hardacre for sorting it out though.
Numbers 1 to 26 are in British Library with further copies on Craig’s shelf and for the statos; Friday 3rd May 1985, Halifax 2 Hereford 1 att 1,629. Take it away Craig (watch out for the sporting cock – Ed)
Why did you start your fanzine?
I didn’t join until issue 4, but it was a reaction to us not having a zine and wanting to have a voice, not be left behind.
What’s the story behind the name?
When Bury won promotion in 1985 we had been nip and tuck with Hereford for the last few weeks. They had to win at Halifax on a Friday night before we played on Saturday. Halifax themselves were fighting to stay out of the re-election spots (remember that?!) So many Bury fans went to Halifax to watch the game which went our way, we secured promotion without playing. Since then, when discussing loyalty or matches missed came the question “Where were you at the shay?”
What was most important thing to the fanzine and its team at the time?
Definitely the humour, some of it was described as surreal, we just wanted to be a part of the wider movement.
What was your favourite article/campaign?
We had a spoof chairman’s column. Our chairman at the time, Terry Robinson, looked like Tim West who played mill owner Bradley Hardacre on the famous TV Brass. So we called it the Bradley Hardacre column & sent up events in the club as if the character was dealing with them.
We also had a gossip column called listening in with Pat & Pauline, they were the kit ladies and didn’t like being mentioned.
What sort of criticism did you get/ what’s the oddest complaint you ever had?
Pat, mentioned above, once snarled “its people’s jobs you’re messing with”
What is your funniest recollection?
Aforementioned chairman Terry Robinson coming out and buying 3 or 4 copies to read his own column and give out to his boardroom pals.
Then there were the York fans complaining that the title was disrespectful because Halifax had lost their league status the week before we sold vs them a few seasons later on. (Halifax were re elected in 1985)
Still going? How have you persevered for so long?
No, we finished on a high after winning the old division 3 in 1997. There wasn’t much to complain about around then so the fanzine stopped
What role do you see fanzines as having today?
Hopefully still campaigning, safe standing, sensible pricing, fan involvement but of course, still winding up the opponents with a smile.
Do you still have old copies in the loft somewhere? Go on, admit it.!
Yes, but not all of them. They’re on a shelf in the office.
How many times a week did you get asked “Is that the programme mate?”
Every time we sold, and we usually had to give some old boy his money back when he realised his mistake.
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Football_World_Championship
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