Issue 4 appeared of Gwladys sings The Blues appeared in March 1995. The cover predicts the climax of the season as Everton would beat Manchester United 1-0 with a goal from Paul Rideout and a string of saves from Neville Southall. Strangely this is one of only a small handful of mentions of the FA Cup in the zine.

The name? Well we can only assume that someone was a Deacon Blue fan otherwise ‘Fergus Sings the Blues’ might forever just be a great 80s pop record (yes, I checked, it was released in 1989!) . There is a fantastic Richard Davis photo of Everton fans outside Goodison which subtly records the reason Fergus is substituted. Part of the sign also adorns the cover of on the cover of Dan Gray’s fantastic new book ‘Fanzine’. More on that later (BUY IT NOW!!)

Editor James Corbett would have been about 17 at the time he started the fanzine and it shows in a passionate but rambling editorial about life, the universe and everything. I’m sure the wine glass comment was just a naive joke.

Having said all that when I was researching this fanzine this article appeared on the BBC website from a supposedly serious journalist, Phil McNulty. Sometimes you wonder if it wasn’t better when journalism was just in the gutter and not a vapid exercise in clickbait and fans would just put their sodding phones away once in a while.

There is a letter complaining about Everton’s coverage on Sky’s highlights show which shows how myopic fans can sometimes be…Why were you only on the telly for 5 minutes, well this blog from someone at the game might give you a clue; “We knew from hearsay the Bristol C had a bad pitch, but after a very bad week of weather it was as bad as a playable pitch can be. The sand was not much problem – the divots were. At 3pm the pitch looked like Anfield would after 2 successive rainsodden derby matches – covered in holes, divots, stamped down cut up chunks etc. The bounce was almost non-existent.” It was apparently a terrible game played via aerial bombardment with one goal, 5 minutes seems generous and something to be grateful for.

The Tottenham game had 5 goals and a Spurs side including Popeescu, Sicknote Anderton, Sheringham and Jurgen Klinsmann…Everton had Andy Hinchcliffe, who wasn’t rated too highly by the lads themselves, partly because he was from Manchester. Great caricature though and as well as the writer Glenn Hoddle would grow to like him, he won seven full England caps whilst with Everton.

More derision fro Manchester comes via this article which is remarkably about the Antiques Road show and a collection of Manchester United fanzines…Is this real?! We’ll never know.

There is a handy guide on how to survive as manager at Everton.

The question about a player being black/Scandinavian is reprised in a piece about racism. It’s their fanzine and they raise a few good points but as I’m from the “punch a fascist” school of though I think it’s a little weak and certainly far less strident than most fanzines were at the time, again probably part of the youthful and perhaps naive nature of the fanzine.

They also mention in the reply to a letter that they don’t want to be the same as other Everton fanzines competing as they are with the already great When Skies Are Grey. The comment “Don’t forget you are an Everton fanzine” is one that intrigues me. In my view fanzines that tended to focus on their own club with the exclusion of all others soon became stale and predictable. Thankfully James knows there is life outside of Everton.

I have the readers survey mentioned as the copy of the fanzine I have contained one that was filled but clearly not sent off to the fanzine. For balance the correspondent names Andy Hinchcliffe as player of the year! Evertonians who remember 1994-95 see if you agree.

The news page is a mad riot of epherma…Mike Bernard followed speedway and not the antichrist, signings from Worcester, plus the very unfortunate appearance of both Jim’ll Fix It AND Stuart Hall.

As if all that isn’t enough there is news that subscribers can now get a discount on the Legend Art series of products…you’re desperate to see them now aren’t you…

My goodness me…at least it’s hand drawn and better than the AI slop that floods the internet nowadays.

It’s hard not to really admire GSTB, produced by tenagers still at school and up against a behemoth like When Skies Are Grey as it was. Some of it is a bit raw and over exuberant because of that but in context it is a superb effort. It’s also funny how aggressive it is and yet hardly raises much in terms of hope indicating that they believed that Everton would win the cup that year. Perhaps Phil McNulty is right and Evertonians never had the capacity to celebrate!!