December 25, 1980 - January 7, 1981

(click on the image to see the full issue)

Cover: Joe Strummer
Centrespread: Boomtown Rats
Back cover: Siouxsie
Interviews: Clash; Beatles; Robert Palmer
Lyrics: Land Of Hope And Glory – Madness; That’s Too Bad – Tubeway Army; Landlord – Police; News Of The World – The Jam; Johnny Was – Stiff Little Fingers; Twist And Crawl – The Beat; Bang Bang – Squeeze; Hammer Horror – Kate Bush; Wild West Hero – Electric Light Orchestra; With A Little Help From My Friends – Beatles; Love Is The Drug – Roxy Music; New Face In Hell – The Fall; Diamond Dogs – David Bowie; Whizz Kids – Undertones; I’m Just Looking – Dexy’s Midnight Runners; Contact In Red Square – Blondie
Bitz: The Wit And Wisdom Of Ronald Reagan (Stiff); Status Quo tour; Phil Collins; The Beat, Anti-Nuclear Campaign; Led Zeppelin; Boomtown Rats tour; personal file: Jona Lewie; John Lennon; Madness, Chris Foreman, Lee Thompson, Moinul Islan; all time top ten: Hugh Cornwell; Bruce Springsteen; Echo & the Bunnymen; Debbie Harry, Union City
Independent Singles (Red Starr): Colour – Delta 5 (Rough Trade); Eugene / Tame The Neighbour – Essential Logic (Rough Trade); At Last I’m Free / Strange Fruit (Robert Wyatt); This Is Love / Yanks – The Gist (Rough Trade)
Other: Strange Tales From A Music Paper