Following Steve Mick's editorial efforts in issue 9, issue 10 was a bit of a reassertion of control for me.
I'd sacked Steve for bringing his new girlfriend to one of our editorial 'meetings'! It was all a bit silly with me acting like some sort of dictator, starting to believe my own press perhaps. Poor Steve, he suffered because my ego was too big to accept a couple of suggestions from his friend. I was such a wally back then. Took us years to become friends again.
Anyway, for issue 10 I gave Danny a seat at the top table (he wrote the editorial) and attempted to bring some urgency back into the whole enterprise. The cover's brilliant, with Jill nicking an idea from Chalkie White's NME cover of the Clash and making an even more iconic image out of it. Apart from an excitable 'Clash at the Rainbow' review, the rest of it is a bit pedestrian with articles on Step Forward band Chelsea (good PR job by me) and the wonderful Johnny Moped from Danny.
As Jon Savage said at the time in the Sounds music paper, we were still the leaders but things were slipping. In my list of priorities at the time the fanzine was coming in third, behind Alternative TV and Step Forward. Just 2 more issues and that would be it. Not sure I knew that at the time but the writing was on the wall.
Best quote from this issue - "The first record to be thrown from our third floor window. We'll let you know what type of crud picks it up!" - Danny Baker in his review of the Count Bishop's 'Baby Your Wrong' single. DB definitely getting into the swing of things.