Our new visual history of the Idler is a Tardis trip back to exciting days gone by, writes Tom Hodgkinson

Putting together our new book Thirty Years of the Idler: A Visual History was an intense experience, as it involved a lengthy trip down memory lane.

My first step was to make a timeline, as I’d completely forgotten what happened when over the decades. I knew that Gavin Pretor-Pinney and I had produced issue one in August 1993, but after that it got a bit hazy.

Looking at the nineties and noughties issues, it was striking how much fun we had, and how much we – meaning Gav, Victoria, me and our wider group of colleagues and mates – felt we could do anything we wanted.

Ideas that started as a conversation in the pub would often become real. Start a magazine? Done. Put on raves? Done. Start a literary festival featuring underground artists? Done. Host debates on work? Done. Print t-shirts? Done. Create a Krazy Golf course with holes made by modern artists? Done. Start an absinthe-importing company? Done. Start a series of books with the first word “crap”? Done. Go to a French castle for a month’s retreat, working on the magazine in the morning and in the garden after lunch? Done. Write books? Done. Attempt to correct the country’s grammar? Done. Start a ukulele orchestra? Done. Move to the countryside and keep chickens? Done.

I’m not saying that these things were always done well, but we did at least try. Victoria and I even fulfilled our dream to run a bookshop and event space in London (though closed it after five poverty-making years).

We even made a TV documentary about Action Man, which was shown at 3am on a short-lived Channel Four strand called 4 Later, though that didn’t make it into the book.

And that’s been the difficulty with the book – knowing what to include and what not to include.

As far as the nineties go, this was the era before digital photography so there are just not many pictures around. Nowadays everything is obsessively photographed and archived, but I just don’t remember seeing many cameras at nineties parties and raves. But we found a few pics.

The book brought back memories of an excellent series of parties we held at the Tardis studios in Clerkenwell. This was an extraordinary venue and working space which spread out beneath the tube station at Farringdon Road.

George and Howard who ran it had been involved in a charity called Warchild, and started to rent the space from TFL, or whatever it was called then, at a very low rent, as I think even then London Underground knew the venue’s days were numbered (now there is no sign the Tardis was ever there).

Yes, the nineties were fun. Things seemed easier then, I don’t know why. I suppose that for my generation, they were the pre-kids years.

What about you? Tell me your memories of the nineties.

I tell the whole story of the Idler and its associated activities in the introduction to our new book, Thirty Years of the Idler.

To get yourself a copy, order it direct from us here.

We’re only printing 500 copies and that’s it, so do hurry. It’s a lovely hardback A4 book with one of those ribbons.

PS: “A Drink with the Idler” is back – see what’s coming up here. Plus, subscribers can watch or listen to recordings of previous drinks in their account here. Non-subscribers, you can watch clips on our YouTube channel.

SELECTED COMMENTS

These comments were mailed to us after an earlier version of this piece was sent out as a newsletter. We like to publish a selection and reserve the right to edit them for clarity. Feel free to drop us a line with your thoughts.

Sir: This was such a lovely email to get – I remember the era you describe, and I was so impressed by the wonderful things you and Victoria made happen, always with grace and apparent ease … I’ve been so glad that your fabulous endeavours have continued – gone from strength to strength in fact – and I often dream of joining one of those beautiful Italian retreats. I will certainly buy the book. Congratulations, and thank you for still being there, doing inspiring things!
Natalie

Sir: Fond memories of an Idler party playing pinball under the Chihuly in the V&A lobby. Will Self and Miranda Sawyer talking about leisure maybe? Or was that later than the nineties?
Alan Fricker

Our November/December issue is available in Waitrose, Waterstones, Smiths Travel outlets, select Smiths high street branches and around 100 indie stores. Click here for your nearest stockist.