From John Lydon to Clare Grogan

The Smash Hits podcast is for fans of Smash Hits UK which covered everyone from PIL to Clare Grogan in its heyday.

The Eighties Revisited Online
This is not the Eighties most people remember. In the world of Smash Hits, it included Morrissey and his vegetarian menu – and flexidiscs from XTC.  As the go-to source for lyrics, Smash Hits was really the paper worldwide web, 40 years ahead of its time. Below: Public Image by Public Image.

The Giddy Carousel Podcast

The Giddy Carousel of Pop @GiddyPopPod is a Smash Hits appreciation podcast with two hosts and a long shelf of magazines to wade through. The Smash Hits Interview Bot is also on Twitter – answer the same questions that Mark Ellen and David Hepworth used to pose to the stars @smashhitsbot.

Finding Smash Hits Online
You can pick up many years of back issues online at Etsy (scanned, ready for PDF viewing) or buy the real paper thing at eBay. Flexidiscs also appear on eBay from time to time, though check quality. They were given away free on the cover of the magazine, promoting Squeeze or XTC album tracks.

And Paul Weller on George Orwell
Smash Hits, a junior NME for the Eighties, was likely the only place at the newsagent you could find Paul Weller on George Orwell – but also buy Jam shoes in the classified advertisements at the back. The podcast is available across all major apps.