A beautiful female extraterrestrial (Shirley Kilpatrick) – dressed in a skintight metallic suit with high heels, lipstick, and jet-propelled eyebrows – lands in the Sierra Madre mountains and goes around killing by touch and glowing mysteriously (thanks to her “deadly radium ray”). Throw in a couple of wiseguy gangsters (Kenne Duncan and Ewing Brown), an [...] The post Astounding She-Monster, The (1957) first appeared on Nostalgia Central ..read more

The rock and roll magazine Trouser Press first appeared in 1974 in New York as a mimeographed fanzine by Ira Robbins, Karen Rose and Dave Schulps under the name Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press (a reference to a song by the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band) and featured British bands and musical artists. The first issue even contained [...] The post Trouser Press (1974 – 1984) first appeared on Nostalgia Central ..read more

Founded in 1926 by Leicester-born composer and music publisher Lawrence Wright, Melody Maker was one of the earliest British weekly music newspapers. The publication mainly covered jazz until Chris Welch and Ray Coleman applied deeper perspectives to American-influenced local rock and pop groups as the 1960s progressed, bolstered by classified ads for musicians and reviews of [...] The post Melody Maker (1926 – 2001) first appeared on Nostalgia Central ..read more

First published as Fabulous in January 1964 (with The Beatles on the cover) and aimed squarely at the teenage market, the magazine’s big selling point was the full-page colour pin-ups not yet found anywhere else. At its peak, Fabulous enjoyed the biggest market share of its type, with a circulation of 250,000. Fabulous gained its “208” [...] The post Fabulous 208/Fab 208 (1964 – 1980) first appeared on Nostalgia Central ..read more

First published in 1958, Disc (renamed Disc and Music Echo in 1966) focussed on the music charts and was the first British music newspaper to feature colour covers. Penny Valentine reviewed singles (or “45s”), and superstar radio DJ John Peel had a regular column. Disc dropped the name Music Echo from its title in 1972 and [...] The post Disc (Disc and Music Echo) (1958 – 1975) first appeared on Nostalgia Central ..read more

Launched two years after the NME, and founded by former Weekly Sporting Review editor Isidore Green, Record Mirror never attained the circulation of its rival, though it published the first UK album chart in 1956. By the end of 1960, circulation had fallen to 18,000, and Decca Records (the main shareholder) replaced Green with Jimmy Watson, [...] The post Record Mirror (1954 – 1991) first appeared on Nostalgia Central ..read more

British music paper Sounds appeared in 1970 with a weekly colour centrefold and robust rock music coverage. Sounds came early to the punk scene thanks to John Ingham and Giovanni Diadomo. Other significant contributors included Garry Bushell, Sandy Robertson, Mick Middles, Phil Sutcliffe, Mick Sinclair, Alan Moore (aka “Curt Vile”), John Peel, Edwin Pouncey (aka “Savage Pencil”), Jon [...] The post Sounds (1970 – 1991) first appeared on Nostalgia Central ..read more

Los Angeles group The Beethoven Soul formed around 1966 and released their sole (self-titled) album in 1967 – a glorious collection of baroque-tinged sunshine pop. The band broke up in 1970, with bassist John Lambart, keyboard player Dick Lewis and woodwind player Otis Hale all joining Pollution, a late ’60s LA-based rock band with jazz [...] The post Beethoven Soul, The first appeared on Nostalgia Central ..read more

Richard Buronn plays Episcopal minister Reverend Laurence Shannon, who is drummed out of his little church in Virginia after only one year of active ministry for going from the kneeling position to the reclining position with one of his parishioners and informing his flock of their hypocrisy. As a bus tour guide in Mexico, he [...] The post Night of the Iguana, The (1964) first appeared on Nostalgia Central ..read more

Based on the Sinclair Lewis novel, which blew up a storm of controversy when it was published in 1927, Elmer Gantry stars Burt Lancaster in the title role as a hard-drinking appliance salesman in the Mid-West who turns revivalist preacher – although his yen for wine, women, and money is reflected in his many conquests in violation [...] The post Elmer Gantry (1960) first appeared on Nostalgia Central ..read more