Back in the dim and distant past, before magazines had a sense of humour, there was Your Sinclair. Ostensibly a publication about the Sinclair Spectrum computer, by the end of its lifespan (1993, making it the longest-lasting Spectrum mag) it had become a repository of extremely odd, but very funny, semi-surrealist humour.

The Editors: Matt Bielby, Andy Ide, Andy Hutch, Linda Barker, Jon Nash

Matt Bielby, the charming, slightly sleazy editor of your Sinclair, was one of the magazine's most recognisable personalities. He displayed a love of intelligent readers and an open disdain for those who moronically mocked the mag. On one occasion, he responded to accusations that the competitions were too easy by offering the correspondant's reward for getting his letter printed (a YS badge) as a competition prize on the letters page. The question - "What is the capital of France?" The address - "Paris competition, Your Sinclair, Future Publishing..."

He left the magazine after apparently going completely hatstand¹ and declaring himself to be "Gadgy the mutant ninja duck".

Andy Ide, his replacement, was a hippy. There isn't much else to say about him except that when he left, he became the European Minister for Green Matters.

Andy Hutchinson followed. Readers generally did not like him, as he was the first person to come from outside the magazine into the editorship. The ex-member of EMF was a skateboarding fan, and eventually left to design a skateboarding park at Alton Towers, mailing a letter to the YS team saying that "Linda can be editor but she can't have my chair. Just wrap it up and send it to me."

Linda Barker did indeed become editor, having been in charge of the tips section for many moons. By this time, however, the magazine was in its melancholy dying days, and the slightly twee Barker, who now manages a shareware company, was only editor for about four issues before jumping ship (apparently vanishing into thin air during a seance), leaving the last three issues in the hands of...

Jonathan Nash (nee Pillar), who let the magazine gently down into its grave. Not particularly noteworthy except for the fact that he went on to write the very surreal 'It Was A Time Of Darkness' for Arcane magazine, which survives in another computer magazine somewhere....

The Staff

Rich Pelley, current writer for Arcade magazine, was famous for having the widest flares in the history of time. He eventually had his mum take them all in.

Jonathan Davies was the owner of the flatulent beast Farty the Warthog. The magazine once had a competition to let a lucky lady win a date with him. Two people entered, and the mag made a Bunty-style photostory up about it.

Duncan 'Mad Dunc' Macdonald was most famous for being the creator of the April Fool's game 'Advanced Lawnmower Simulator', which was rated at 90% and then given away free with the mag a few months later. Totally hatstand.

David 'Whistlin' Rick' Wilson once recorded a single called "Hold my Hand Very Tightly (Very Tightly)", which actually got played on Radio 1 and the lyrics printed in Smash Hits. Spook!²

Kati Hamza was fairly nondescript except that she was quite sweet and fairly attractive, according to many of the male readership.

Sal Meddings, bearer of the 'Shed Sprog', was Art Ed until she went off to have her kid. She was replaced by Art Assistant Maryanne Booth, a candyfloss-lover.

There were also several columnists, such as Jon North, Craig Broadbent, Adam "Spec Tec" Waring, amongst others.

Other Information

The magazine was apparently put together in a shed. Don't ask why, it's a very, very long story.

Important features of the magazine included 'Psst!', a sort of introductory section which was basically an excuse to have a small amount of games news and a very large amount of elaborate set-piece humour items; 'Madame Pico'/'Bud Pico's How To Do It'/'Femto Pico'/'Soya Pico', a series of columns featuring verious members of the ficticious Pico family; 'Joystick Jugglers', a section which introduced each of the writers by asking them to, for instance, write a poem, or explain what they should do with the drunken sailor, and so on; 'Dr. Berkmann's Clinic', where current broadsheet TV journalist Marcus Berkmann answered specific problems readers were having in games (including the annoyingly helpful Rich Swan) and many others.

Truly, Your Sinclair was magazine of champions. It is mourned still.

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¹ AYS word meaning 'mad' which has entered into the wider English language
² This is another YS-ism. It means "gosh"