I used to buy BSH regularly in the early nineties, but found less and less in it of interest. Then I got cross with them when they asked to shoot my Shovel at great inconvenience to me (we were moving to Australia literally the next week), then never published the feature.
Since coming back to the UK a couple of years ago, I have got to know Blue a little bit who – as anyone who knows her knows – is a lovely woman with a penchant for traditionally-styled custom bikes. As a result, BSH's content has been improving dramatically; and this latest issue is the best I can remember in a long, long time.
Superb cover. So nice to see two great bikes (and blokes) on the cover instead of a bird draped over a bike that looks like the back of a washing machine. Plus there is good coverage of the Hot Rod Hayride (thanks for the photo Blue... I think!), and a number of feature bikes I would gladly have welcomed to GKM.
But it was amusing to read Stu's report on the Baron's latest build at the end of the mag, where GKM and DicE get a namecheck, but starts: "There can be no debate about what cultural trend happens to be flavour of the month at the moment. It might not have an all-encompassing name... but... devotees of the latest fashion don't really need one."
Funny.
This "latest fashion" is something that BSH completely ignored over 15 years ago, when magazines like Iron Horse were featuring SoCal-style Panhead choppers and as-found Indian bobbers. This current "cultural trend" must have been what inspired me to build my rigid Shovel... 13 years ago. Perhaps that's why BSH dropped it back then... it just didn't meld well enough with their well-established GSXR-chopper/Reliant trike content.
So, how interesting to see the great British custom bike mag starting to get it... but still not get it at all.
8 comments:
bet it still appeals to the mob in the previous post though mate!
It would interesting to know what those trikers think about the Stockers boys' bikes... and if BSH went too much into GKM/DicE territory, would they lose their core audience?
On the second point, I'd say almost definitely, don't think there's a lot of crossover in the readership.
There's them that watch the Tuttle show and there's thems that don't.
Really for BSH its a no win situation, the whole custom bike thing is so big and diverse there's no way they can please everyone. Personaly i would like to see less photos of drunk blokes dressed in tu tu's in a muddy field and biker fiction is surely way past its sell by date.
The features on the latest custom bikes from Scandinavia are always good but most of the "world championship" horrors leave me cold. Like you i love the traditionally styled (not old school!)stuff... but thats just me.
two cool bikes, two cool guys, well done my stocker friends
Spot on Guy...and big hugs to Leight and Eddie for the feature (complete with a namecheck)!
We don't go too far into GKM/DicE territory (much as I'd like to) because what's the point? Guy, Matt and Dean are already doing it, and doing it exceptionally well.
Thank you for the kind personal comments, Guy - much appreciated. And I too was mightily vexed by the 'latest fashion' comment. There's a lot about BSH that vexes me still, but I can either sit on the sidelines complaining, or try and do something about it (which is why I took the job in the first place, although I've not always felt I belonged at the magazine). But it is like turning an oil tanker round.
And I get it. Sometimes, though, the fact that I do is more frustrating than if I didn't...
Some things are done out of pure commercialism , some things out of pure love and passion . If you really put your heart and soul into something (a magazine , a business , a band ) you might get to keep your integrity and make a living from it . But I doubt you`ll ever get rich .
I might break the habit and buy this copy of BSH , if it has the Barons latest in it plus the always excellent Stockers .
I don`t mean any direspect to Blue ( or anyone else who works at BSH ), I`ve enjoyed her work since the AWoL days , but reading this makes me think of when EMI signed the Pistols . You don`t need to understand , or even like , the `latest fashion ` or `flavour of the month cultural trend` to want a piece of it .
theemissinglink
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