The Burrow - Gordon Houghton's Zzap!64 pages

GO = BACK TO THE=20 C64 PAGE
I've made a = terrible mistake.=20 I didn't mean to come here: I don't know what came over me. What is = Zzap!=20 anyway? Some brand of constipation cure?

GO BACK TO THE = BURROW
The mistake is = worse than I=20 first realised. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a fan of the C64 or = its=20 associated magazines. I have a life, you know. And a job. And lovely = hair, too.=20 So leave me alone... And by the way, I'm not going to buy your novels<= /A>=20 either, so don't bother putting in that hyperlink.

= = THE ZZAP!=20 107 PROJECT
Leave it = out—I've got=20 every single issue lovingly preserved in maroon binders, and the last = time I=20 counted (this morning at 3.13am), there were only 106 issues, including=20 Commodore Force. So don't think for one minute you can fool me into = believing=20 there's now a 36-page special tribute issue available.

THE=20 ZZAPTIONNAIRE
The answers = to the=20 questions you always wanted to ask, but forgot because you lost your = memory in=20 that incident with the... um...

WHERE=20 ARE THEY NOW?
The = pantomime horse=20 takes a break from his global two-man Dick Whittington tour to guide you = through=20 the bewildering number of locations that ex-Zzap! staffers have fled to = in their=20 desperate desire to forget. Please don't ask me to repeat = that.

THE=20 SCORELORD RETURNS!
The man in black = is back=20 on track with a cracking pack = of... er...=20 high scores from C64 emulators.

IN= SIDE=20 ZZAP! TOWERS
What was it = really like=20 in Zzap! Towers? Former Zzap! staff reveal all... Read Ch= uck's=20 intro, or go straight to P= age 1=20 (Me, Kati, Steve J, Wayne Allen), P= age 2=20 (Paul Glancey, the Harlequin, and Phil King), or P= age 3=20 (Warren Lapworth).

= = THE ZZAP!=20 GALLERY
Sample pages, = cartoons, logos,=20 and photos from my own private collection. Ice creams are available in = the=20 foyer.

ZZAP!WORLD
Lloyd Mangram crawls from his coffin to reveal = the truth=20 about Zzap!'s multiformat Italian cousin, and discovers a new online = version of=20 the magazine to boot.

= = ZZAP!=20 LINKS
So... this site = isn't good=20 enough for you, eh? Well, try one of these, then. Go on, I dare you. =

SIGN MY GUESTBOOK...
...And I won't=20 send the Scorelord round to your house armed with a bottle of bleach, a = wire=20 brush and a polecat.

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<= IMG=20 align=3Dleft height=3D119=20 src=3D"http://www.the-burrow.freeserve.co.uk/zzap/zzaped.gif"=20 width=3D121>=20

Welcome to my Zzap! = pages.=20 Zzap!64 was a computer games magazine which covered the C64 scene = from May=20 1985 to March 1994—106 issues in all. At its height it was = the top-selling=20 magazine of its type in Britain and had a sizeable fan base around = the=20 world. This was = in part due=20 to the staff's evident enthusiasm for Commodore software; but = Zzap! also=20 had a personality and charm absent from its rivals, and plenty of=20 innovations in magazine design and content—the most obvious = was that every=20 game was reviewed by three people. Above all, Zzap! had a uniquely = gifted=20 workforce, including an innovative and talented leader in Roger = Kean and a=20 wonderful cover artist in Oliver Frey.

A dull=20 sub-heading

I was a reader and = fan long=20 before I worked for Zzap! (for me the Gary Penn / Julian Rignall=20 stewardships were the best), and I remember desperately waiting = for each=20 new issue to arrive—which is one of the reasons why, when I = left college,=20 I applied for a job at Newsfield. I got lucky, and following a = miserable=20 couple of months on CRASH, I joined Zzap! as a staff writer in = Issue 36=20 (April 1988). After Jaz left to work for EMAP I was promoted to = editor, a=20 job which lasted eleven months (issues 40-50); and along with Kati = Hamza,=20 Paul Glancey, Maff Evans, and Paul Rand, I helped create a more = zany,=20 colourful and informal Zzap! than before. Some people liked it, = others=20 hated it—but we had a lot of fun.

And = another

That's what these = pages are=20 intended to be: fun. They're not a detailed history, or a = catalogue of=20 reviews, or a comprehensive collection of interviews: there are = plenty of=20 other sites which do that already, and do it very = well—you'll find them in=20 the Links section. What you will get is a personal insight into my = time at=20 Zzap!, including the answers to some frequently asked questions, = and the=20 return of an old friend. In addition, a few of the staff reveal = their=20 thoughts about what it was like to work on Zzap! (check out the = Towers=20 section), and I've also scanned in some sample pages and pictures = to give=20 you a flavour of the mag (check out the Gallery). And of course, = there's=20 the all-new Zzap!107, a special tribute issue produced by fans = from around=20 the world... Finally, if you have any questions about Zzap!, or = you'd like=20 to see something on this site that isn't here or in the links, = email=20 me.

—Gordon=20 Houghton

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