Select (magazine)

UK music magazine

Select

July 2000 issue

Editor| Alexis Petridis[1]
Categories| Music tabloid
Frequency| Monthly
First issue| July 1990; 35 years ago (1990-07)
Final issue| January 2001; 24 years ago (2001-01)
Company| EMAP Metro
Country| United Kingdom
Based in| London
Language| English
ISSN| 0959-8367

Select was a United Kingdom music magazine of the 1990s. It was known for covering the indie rock and Britpop genres,[2] but featured a wide array of music.[3] In 2003, The Guardian called Select "the magazine that not only coined the word Britpop, but soon came to define it."[4]

## History

[edit]

The magazine was launched under United Consumer Magazines in July 1990,[5] intending to be a rival to Q magazine.[6] Its first cover star was Prince.[6][7] Its first issue sold 100,000 copies.[6] Between July and December 1990, its circulation hovered around 75,000.[8] In April 1991, Spotlight sold Select to EMAP Metro.[6][9] Under the editorship of Mark Ellen, the magazine began focusing on the baggy and Madchester scenes.[6] The magazine soon became known for its coverage of Britpop, a term already in use in the music press by writer like John Robb but with an added new context in the magazine front cover by Stuart Maconie in its April 1993 "Yanks Go Home" edition,[10] featuring The Auteurs, Denim, Saint Etienne, Pulp and Suede's Brett Anderson on the cover in front of a Union Flag. Several publications have called the April 1993 cover an important impetus in defining the movement's tone and opposition to American genres such as grunge.[11][12]

Later, John Harris stepped down as editor, and was replaced by former Mixmag editor Alexis Petridis.[13] Under Petridis, the magazine's image moved back towards its coverage of an eclectic array of music, aiming to reach what Petridis described as "a wide range of music fans".[3] The magazine folded in late 2000, amid competition on the internet.[14] Periditis later stated of its closure: "No matter how many features we did on Destiny's Child, people still thought we were a magazine about Oasis. We were forever associated with a music [genre] in decline."[6]

## Tagline

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* Pop Babylon! (circa 1994)
* You Love it (circa 1995/6)
* Music and Beyond (circa 1998)
* Music for Tomorrow (circa 2000)
* Total Stereo[1]

## Contributors

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* Andrew Perry, deputy editor[1]
* Harry Borden, visual contributor[1]
* Giles Duley
* John Harris
* Andrew Harrison[15]
* Graham Linehan
* Steve Lowe, contributing editor[1]
* Dorian Lynskey[1]
* Stuart Maconie
* Sarra Manning
* Caitlin Moran
* John Mullen, contributing editor[1]
* Sian Pattenden[1]
* David Quantick[1]
* Miranda Sawyer
* Cass Spencer, art editor[1]
* Roy Wilkinson, reviews editor[1]

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Select (credits list)". Select. EMAP Metro. July 2000. p. 6.
2. ^ Hodgson, Jessica (14 December 2000). "Melody Maker axed". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
3. ^ a b "Music magazine Select names editor for relaunch". Campaign Live. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
4. ^ Jones, Dylan (6 October 2003). "Why Dennis is a Menace to Q". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
5. ^ Fielder, Hugh (30 June 1990). "Select Magazine is Launched, Right on Q" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 102, no. 26\. p. 75. Retrieved 3 May 2024 – via worldradiohistory.com.
6. ^ a b c d e f Gorman, Paul (2022). Totally Wired: The Rise and Fall of the Music Press (2023 paperback ed.). UK: Thames & Hudson. pp. 306–311, 355. ISBN 978-0-500-29746-9.
7. ^ "A Brief History of 90s Britpop..." Dangerous Minds. 24 March 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
8. ^ Anon. (16 February 1991). "New glossies on target" (PDF). Music Week. p. 3\. ISSN 0265-1548. Retrieved 3 May 2024 – via worldradiohistory.com.`{{cite magazine}}`: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
9. ^ Anon. (13 April 1991). "Emap scoops up Select in music titles sell-of" (PDF). Music Week. p. 3\. ISSN 0265-1548. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023 – via worldradiohistory.com.
10. ^ Shaw, Magnus. So It Goes. Lulu, 2014. ISBN 978-1-3260-7550-7
11. ^ "Britpop: 25 years ago today Britain taught the world to play guitar". The Independent. 21 April 2018. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
12. ^ Ewing, Tom (1 October 2010). "The Wardrobe". Pitchfork. Retrieved 3 May 2024.
13. ^ Bailey, Jemimah (3 December 1999). "Select plucks chief from mixmag". PR Weekly. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
14. ^ Perry, Keith (15 December 2000). "Melody Maker pensioned off". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
15. ^ Cardew, Ben. "Q editor Andrew Harrison steps down". The Guardian, 11 April 2013. Retrieved 16 January 2021

## External links

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* Select magazine archive

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz label

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