History

Burnt Offering was a punk/new wave fanzine in Northampton, UK that lasted for 9 issues in 1979. It had a small circulation mainly sold at local gigs for ten pence a copy by the contributors. It had a mixture of gig reviews, record reviews, and interviews of both local and national artists.

We were teenagers inspired by earlier punk fanzines and frustrated that at that time there little information on national or local bands playing at the gigs we could get to. So just like the bands we followed we put our own fanzine together using old typewriters, scissors, glue and a double sided photocopier, which may or may not have been at Lings somewhere.

The venues in and around Northampton at the time were The Nag’s Head in Wollaston, The Paddock in Harpole, The Roadmender Club, The Racecourse Pavilion, The Bantam, The Five Bells, And the County Cricket Ground (where most of the national bands played) plus occasionally Nene College (hosted the UK Subs), and the Guildhall (where Bauhaus supported Magazine).

Martin ‘Tich’ Kirkaldy, led the project, initially we were a team of four, like a band. Tim ‘Gobbing Thistle’ Murray; Mark ‘Rebel Trouser Press’ Simpson, and Mark ‘A-Real Automatic’ Earl (Mark quit after Issue 4). Then joined by Phil Sick and later Dids (Phil Hayes). We would also get reviews sent in the post.

We sold the fanzines for 10p each to mates, at gigs, and via shops in Northampton: Acme, Memory Lane, Harlequin, they were also sent further afield and sold at Rough Trade and Criminal Records, and all over the country via post. Overall we sold 1,760 copies, some completely selling out.

The first issue came out in February 1979, the first eight were monthly, but then there was a gap of 3 months before the final issue went on sale on 21st December 1979. Sadly we had lost interest in the fanzine by then, and even though, allegedly, we had material for Issue 10 it didn’t happen. Thankfully other fanzines such as NN4 9PZ were on the scene.

In the early 2000s the fanzine appeared in an exhibition at the Liverpool Museum of Popular music, The Isaws used the name and logo for their CD released in 2003; intermittently popping up in other exhibitions including in London, that I’d only find out about after the event via a review in a newspaper.

In 2023 the Burnt Offering featured with other artificacts and memorabilia at the Punk and New Wave Exhibition at the Museum of Northampton.

The fanzine features in a number of books and articles about the Northampton music scene. All 9 copies are printed in full (with our permission in a very comprehensive book that covers the bands, gigs, and Northampton Punk/New Wave scene).