I'd no idea it had ran that long. I only even became aware of it (at it's peak?) with the Gail Porter era.

Who would pay for boobs these days?


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This? Oh, just some guy doing all Tekken's impossible moves for real | GamesRadar
http://www.gamesradar.com/oh-just-some- ... oves-real/

It's nothing to do withn a culture being dead - it's the fact people don't buy magazines any more.
Any fool can see that.


For anyone interested an article in the Telegraph by my friend Martin Daubney who used to be editor of Loaded

FHM was a bible for normal men. It will be missed (even by those who campaigned for its death)

If people weren't buying it, then it will hardly be missed. Whatever influence it ever had would have been on the wane for years. As for it being 'a bible for normal men' as a 'normal man' I can tell you that was very, very far from ever being the truth. It was an amusing diversion but more fool you if you took it seriously.

I'm sure your friend is proud of the work he did and, as a magazine, I always did think Loaded was well designed and interestingly produced. But excuse me if I don't think he's rather overblowing the current significance of that kind of media somewhat.

Two great male icons died this week - FHM and Jonah Lomu. In reality, only one of those will actually be missed.

Jonah Lomu is an icon for every rugby fan.

You stated that 'lads culture' (whatever that is) is dead. No it's not dead and if you had read the article you will know why. The rise of decent home internet meant that people did not need to buy magazines anymore which I stated in my original post.

As for 'overblowing the current significance' - if you knew Martin and his work at all you would know he regularly writes articles on what is going on in the world and society as a whole. As he worked in the medium himself then yes it was highly likely he would write an article on it.

Comparing the 'death' of a couple of lads magazines to the death of an internation Rugby player... hmm is that the best you can come up with? It strikes me as childish at best.

Ah, I apologise, I didn't mean to imply Lomu's appeal wasn't universal because it certainly was. The point I was more considering is that Lomu was (is? Will remain?) a role model to men, well outside those who knew or followed rugby. Rugby has a habit of being.. a bit crass and testosterone heavy. A bit 'laddish' you might even say. Lomu was plainly as masculine as could be, but he never (as far as I know or heard) got involved with any of that. He was just 'a good bloke'. He was a great example to follow as a person, and frankly a world away from what the likes of Loaded used to portray as the ideal to aspire to (although I believe they did interview him at least once to be fair).

I don't think you can directly equate the existence of the internet with 'a culture'. The internet is too.. formless and dispersed. The point is that the liked of Loaded and FHM were a focal point for 'a culture' and that focal point has now gone. You don't get 'a culture' by having a hundred different websites saying a hundred different things, you just end up with 'cultural white noise'. You get it from one or two identifiable sources providing something like consistency. You don't have a culture if nobody can agree on what that culture is and a culture or movement needs something to solidify around, be that a way of painting, a style of music or a way of behaving.

That is why I believe that 'lad culture' is now gone. if someone were to ask me what 'lad culture' was, I would have been able to say 'go read a copy of Loaded'. Now? where could I send someone? Any one of a few dozen web sites that push clicks using pics of semi naked female celebrities and not much else?

There's also a possible argument to say that 'lad culture' no longer exists because it's been absorbed into the mainstream over time. I'd be sympathetic to that to be honest.


Can't argue with that at all but I wasn't referring to your friend as a person, just to the genre of magazines. I'm glad he's continued to prosper as a journalist. As i said, I always found Loaded a technically accomplished piece of work, even if the content's appeal waned.


See my response to TheFrenchun on the point. Both Loaded/FHM and Jonah Lomu were.. I want to say examples but that's not the right word... 'influencers' maybe? - to men. I personally believe the man will be remembered longer than the magazines.

I always thought those magazines put a tremendous pressure on men to perform.It seems very hard to be a 20 year old male if you are not bother with massive boobs.

and there's still XFM's replacement for these kind of things.

I read FHM once, I think. I thought it was a load of tosh and never bought it again.

Why staring at screens is making us feel sick | Technology | The Guardian
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/s ... -feel-sick

The tone of that article makes it sound like a common problem

I've only ever known one person who got motion sickness like that - we were playing Alien Trilogy on the Playstation lol.

I just get a sore neck from using my smartphone. Probably one of the reasons I tend to use my desktop or laptop most of the time and only use the smartphone when I have to.

http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/555/cpspro ... expsni.jpg

A 19yo had those in Armagh lol

Dodgy ads
http://www.theguardian.com/media/galler ... n-pictures