Melody Maker Magazine 6 June 1998 Ian Brown Placebo Smashing Pumpkins Embrace NP002

Original Melody Maker Magazine dated 6 June 1998, with Ian Brown as the main front-cover feature.

The cover is dominated by a large portrait of the former Stone Roses frontman, with the headline:

“Hero or homophobe? IAN BROWN”

and the subheading:

“King Monkey comes out fighting”

This is a particularly distinctive late-1990s Ian Brown cover and would be of strong interest to collectors of Ian Brown, The Stone Roses, Britpop, indie music and Melody Maker memorabilia.

The cover also promotes a wide range of contemporary music features, including:

• Ash
• Placebo
• Smashing Pumpkins
• Embrace
• Lo-Fidelity Allstars
• Theaudience
• Asian Dub Foundation
• Jurassic 5
• The Jesus and Mary Chain
• Denis Leary
• Ellen

A top-cover headline also asks “Spice Girls Split?”, placing the issue firmly within a major period of late-1990s British pop culture.

The supplied contents image confirms that the Ian Brown material continues inside, with a major Ian Brown feature on pages 24–25. The contents text describes the piece as looking at his status as a major figure of his generation and addressing controversy surrounding comments attributed to him.

Other clearly visible features include:

• Asian Dub Foundation – Chandrasonic selects favourite Rebellious Jukebox tunes.
• Lo-Fidelity Allstars – feature covering the band during the 1998 festival season.
• Oh Man! It’s Exam Time! – music-related exam/revision feature.
• Theaudience – review section including singles by Pulp, The Montrose Avenue, Gorky’s Zygotic Mynci and others.
• Charts
• News
• The Knowledge
• Orbit
• Live
• Albums
• The Works
• Mr Agreeable
• Out! listings section

The contents page also shows competition material relating to Garbage, adding further late-1990s alternative music interest.

This is a strong period issue from 1998, combining Ian Brown with a broad mix of Britpop, indie, alternative rock, electronic and hip-hop-related coverage.

Magazine / Item Details

• Publication: Melody Maker
• Item Type: Magazine
• Full Date: 6 June 1998
• Issue: Issue 23, Volume 75
• Main Cover Star: Ian Brown
• Associated Band: The Stone Roses
• Main Cover Headline: “Hero or homophobe? Ian Brown”
• Subheading: “King Monkey comes out fighting”
• Other Cover Features: Ash, Placebo, Smashing Pumpkins, Embrace, Lo-Fidelity Allstars, Theaudience, Asian Dub Foundation, Jurassic 5, The Jesus and Mary Chain
• Additional Cover Names: Denis Leary, Ellen
• Cover Price: 90p
• Era: 1990s
• Music Focus: Britpop, indie, alternative rock, electronic and hip-hop
• SKU: NP002

Condition

Pre-owned vintage condition with visible age-related handling and storage wear.

The front cover shows noticeable creasing, surface rippling and handling wear, especially around the outer margins and lower section. There are visible horizontal and diagonal creases through the cover image and border areas.

The left-hand edge/spine area shows more pronounced wear, including visible folding, compression and small splits/roughness along the edge.

The right-hand edge is slightly uneven and wavy, with some light fraying and age-related wear to the thin paper stock.

The corners are softened and show light bending, particularly around the lower-left and lower-right areas. The bottom edge also has some waviness and storage wear.

There is visible age-related toning/discolouration to the pale margins, together with general handling marks.

The supplied interior contents page also shows light creasing, waviness and edge wear. The outer edge is slightly uneven, while the paper shows normal age-related toning. The text, photographs and printed colours remain clearly visible and readable.

No obvious major large tears, heavy staining or writing are visible in the supplied photographs. Condition assessment is based on the two supplied images, so unseen pages and areas cannot be fully assessed.

Packaging & Postage

The magazine will be carefully and safely folded and packed inside a protective cardboard box for posting.

It will be packed securely to help reduce the risk of bending, crushing and general transit damage while on its way to the buyer.