Fanzines are an essential part of fan culture. I remember going to games as a kid and picking up issues of Red Issue, United We Stand and Red News. Sure, my eyes were a bit young for some of the content in those mags, but I loved it. An abundance of stories from fans who go above and beyond for Manchester United and follow the team across the globe.
Looking back, I’d argue I got some of my best education from United fanzines. That is why I hate hearing that we could potentially lose another this summer after Red News set up a new campaign welcoming subscribers to help save an important voice for Manchester United fans.
In 2015, Red Issue creased publication because it had enough of modern football. It produced 295 issues over 26 years, often touching a nerve with their satirical takes on United as well as rival clubs.
To ensure we don’t lose another fanzine, I want to invite you all to subscribe to Red News ahead of next season.
Editor and gentleman, Barney Chilton, has answered a number of questions for Stretty News to explain the important of fanzines and more.
Thanks for agreeing to answer a few questions for Stretty News, Barney. I always enjoy our chats even when they are brief. Congratulations on 36 years of RedNews, which has been seen as a critical voice of the fans throughout my lifetime. What inspires you to keep doing what you do as editor of a brilliant fanzine?
Barney: “Er, stubbornness and a fetish for getting soaked for three-quarters of the season! I still love doing it, the content comes in now more than ever which is really good, and with all the changes in the world its nice to have constants of then, here and now – we’ve sold at over 1130 matches in the same spots, we’re still there. We’re a visual reminder to the powers that be that we give Reds a voice at games, and we have a community which remains an antidote to a lot of the bullshit around.”
We want our readers to subscribe to Red News to keep it alive for another season. Why should they?
Barney: “That’s kind, thanks Dale. Well we know technology is heading towards the short form. So what better way to question that than longer reads! 240 characters can be fun, but there’s more to life and Utd than that. And we encourage the diversity that is great and flourishes about Utd. I often say you won’t always agree with the content in the mag, as I don’t, and that is healthy in a world which seems to only want to listen to its own side of an argument. And this latest mag; a detailed Tom Cleverley interview on his regrets say of TC23, a Utd fan trying to listen to a game on a dodgy radio as he’s being shot at, whilst Pete Shaw rants about everything. It’s like Utd fans, an eclectic mix. We’re not afraid to ask difficult questions nor take the piss out of everything, including ourselves.”
At a time we could see another takeover at Manchester United, with geopolitics at a forefront, how important is Red News and, of course, United We Stand?
Barney: “I think fanzines should prod and poke; ask the difficult questions. I don’t think Reds or readers would want anything else. We’ve shone a light on the background and practices of the owners for 18 long years, on information that wasn’t elsewhere, and we’ll continue to do that, whatever the future. We’re a fanzine!”
Read the full interview via Stretty Newsletter.
