In my mind they were something peculiarly British. Just before Christmas (the yuletide madness really did start later in the 1970's.... it certainly didn't encroach upon the shelves in September as is the case now!) a rash of Annuals would appear in shops like Woolworths and W.H. Smiths. These were slim hardbacked books based on popular magazines and comics of the day. For a number of years I could count on receipt of the Beano or Dandy annual and a Shoot! annual each Christmas. Annuals were hugely popular, an inexpensive gift option taken up by millions of Aunties and Uncles up and down the country who would otherwise be stumped for ideas.
Music annuals were also produced for the benefit of relatives with no idea what to buy. But here is the thing, they were always hopelessly our of date. This 1979 one carries a publication date of 1978 meaning that it was probably printed in the summer of 1978 in readiness for the 1978 Christmas market. This schedule in term meant that the content was compiled six months before that..... hence in the Stranglers' feature below the text only takes the story up to 'No More Heroes'. The pictures were ok though!
No comments:
Post a Comment