hot topic fanzine

the greatest fanzine in the galaxy

[hottopiczine]

hi, welcome to the official hot topic fanzine blog!

i’m going to be using this blog as a place to post old articles (some outdated) that were never published in hot topic as well as new articles that may or may not be included in upcoming issues. i’ll also be archiving past issues here eventually <3

find me on instagram for more frequent updates and links to physical copies @hottopiczine <-

[hottopiczine]

Tina Bell and the Origins of Grunge

Word Count: 420

Note: This article was first featured in the second issue of Hot Topic (released 23/03/22) and has since had minor edits made.

Looking back at grunge, it may appear that it was largely male and white; with the most acclaimed bands of the genre including Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden, however, Tina Bell would disprove that. Many claim that Tina Bell and her band, Bam Bam actually invented grunge with their album ‘Free Fall From Space’ which was recorded in 1984.

Tina Marie Bell was born on the 5th of February, 1957 in Seattle, Washington. In 1983, Tina and her husband Tommy Martin, formed Bam Bam and at the time, the band had ax unexplainable sound, it wasn’t quite punk rock, but something new and interesting. On stage, Tina was a dynamic performer, bassist Scott Ledgerwood described her as “This firecracker. This explosive rock and roll goddess”, which people who saw the band perform would agree with wholly. Not a great amount is known about Bam Bam’s time as a band other than in 1984, they released an EP called ‘Villians (Also Wear White)’ which is considered the first grunge record made at Reciprocal Recording studio, a Seattle studio which would later be used by Nirvana.

Despite being known and respected in the local scene, the band didn’t find the success they hoped for during the huge rise in popularity of the Seattle grunge sound and decided to relocate to Europe in the late 1980s. However, this did not last long and the band were eventually deported back to America from the Netherlands. This, among many other things, contributed to Tina eventually leaving the band in 1990. They were simply not getting the recognition they deserved and Tina was facing racial abuse often while performing. The remaining members of Bam Bam decided to continue as a three-piece instrumental band but split soon after.

A Bam Bam reunion was planned for 2012 with bassist, Scott Ledgerwood and Tina even working on new music together. However, in October of 2012, Tina passed away due to cirrhosis of the liver after struggles with depression and alcoholism. When her son, director TJ Martin, arrived at her apartment after her death, nearly all of Tina’s belongings had been thrown away. This included lyrics, poems, diaries and Bam Bam music which made sharing and archiving her work incredibly difficult. The way that Tina has been explicitly “written out of her own story” is clear and obviously down to blatant racism and misogyny. Despite this, she has had influence on bands such as Big Joanie, Nova Twins and Skunk Anansie and of course, the grunge movement as a whole.

Listen to Bam Bam’s 1984 album ‘Free Fall from Space’ here:

[hottopiczine]

stereolab ads in nme

my scans, feel free to save <3

[hottopiczine]

poly styrene: punk pioneer

word count: 686

marianne joan elliot-said was born on july 3rd, 1957 in london. born to a british mother and a somali father, marianne was raised by her mother in brixton. growing up, marianne had a difficult childhood, dealing with abuse, poverty and feelings of isolation and unsettlement all contributing to struggles with her mental health. this resulted in her rebelling and running away from home between the ages of fiteen and seventeen, spending a year touring music festivals.

“my mother never fully made peace with her identity, she was constantly searching for a sense of belonging in a world where she had always felt an outsider.” – celeste bell

when she was young, marianne had experience in theatre and loved to dress up, she also made some of her own clothes which would later show in some of her unconventional, diy stage outfits. marianne had always loved the idea of being famous. on her 19th birthday in 1976, marianne would attend a sex pistols gig, inspiring her to start her own punk band. so, she put an ad in melody maker and eventually found enough people interested to form a band, x-ray spex. she quickly adopted the stage name poly styrene which tied in with the band’s lyrical theme of consumerism and man-made materials discussed in songs such as ‘the day the world turned day-glo’. ‘oh bondage! up yours!’, the first x-ray spex single, was released in 1977 and is one of the band’s songs to deal with feminist topics.

“a call for liberation. it was saying: ‘bondage? forget it! i’m not going to be bound by the laws of consumerism or bound by my own senses’” – poly on ‘oh bondage! up yours!’.

poly has had a huge influence on many punk musicians that came after her, including many key figures in the riot grrrl movement. kathleen hanna of bikini kill stated that “if her work wasn’t there, i’m not positive riot grrrl would exist”. the following year, in 1978, the first x-ray spex album, ‘germ free adolescents’ was released. many have praised poly for her “ahead of her time” song writing on topics such as identity and consumerism. i think the album is and likely always will be considered one of the most important and influential punk records of all time, it showed that punk didn’t all have to sound the same and all be made by men. the music is danceable and colourful but angry and powerful at the same time and something that no one has been able to recreate with such impact. in 1979, poly left x-ray spex at the height of their popularity due to mental health struggles which led to a misdiagnosis of schizophrenia which greatly affected her wellbeing and career. in 1980, she released a solo album titled ‘translucence’ and later joined the hare krishnas (a branch of hinduism that focuses on meditation), living in a hare krishna temple between 1983-1988, it was during this time that poly’s daughter celeste bell was born. poly’s first solo album has a quieter, more jazz influenced post punk sound than her previous work with x-ray spex. this album would be followed by an EP, ‘god’s and goddesses’, in 1986, a 2004 album titled ‘flower aeroplane’ and her final album, ‘generation indigo’ in 2011. in 2008, poly played with x-ray spex for the last time at the roundhouse in london to an audience of three thousand, a live album being recorded of the gig. poly styrene passed away on the 25th april, 2011 after dealing with metastatic breast cancer. poly has inspired so many and her influence will continue to encourage so many girls to be more confident and get into music and politics themselves. her legacy will be treasured by fans for years to come and poly’s story has been carried on and retold, particularly by her daughter celeste. in 2018, a biography titled ‘day-glo: the poly styrene story’ co-written by zoe howe and celeste bell was published in the uk. a documentary, ‘poly styrene: i am a cliché’ about poly’s career and her life was released in 2021, co-directed by celeste and paul sng.

[hottopiczine]

stereolab in nme, 1993

my scans, feel free to save <3

[hottopiczine]

adverts for stereolab’s 1994 album ‘mars audiac quintet’ and singles from the album

my scans, feel free to save <3

[tweehearts]

early twee band dolly mixture in 82!

[bonadrug]

SARAH RECORDS on melody maker!  

[hottopiczine]

hi, welcome to the official hot topic fanzine blog!

i’m going to be using this blog as a place to post old articles (some outdated) that were never published in hot topic as well as new articles that may or may not be included in upcoming issues. i’ll also be archiving past issues here eventually <3

find me on instagram for more frequent updates and links to physical copies @hottopiczine <-

[hottopiczine]

i made a side blog for my zine, writing stuff etc… <3