David Bowie, as we are often reminded, is among many other things a master of reinvention. It seems more than a little appropriate then that he’s on the cover of this month’s issue.
We have a new look, after all – nothing quite as gaudy, let’s say, as Bowie in his high-glam period, decked out in a sparkling Yamamoto leotard with only one trouser leg and a single sleeve.
How many Uncut readers, I wonder, were so smitten by the musical brilliance of Ziggy Stardust and the startling make-over Bowie affected for its launch 40 years ago that they were soon cutting an outlandish dash in surely quite comical attempts at sartorial emulation. For my own part, by the time I saw Bowie a week into the Ziggy tour, at Bristol’s Colston Hall, on June 13, 1972, I had thoroughly discarded what the typical teenage art student of the era was more than likely to wear. Out went the loon pants and granddad vests. In came the Mary Quant boots, blouses from Dorothy Perkins, an occasional hint of my girlfriend’s mascara, sundry pairs of what I thought were uniquely fetching polka-dot hipsters, tight enough to cut off the circulation below the waist, and velvet jackets with shoulder pads that wouldn’t be as fashionable again until Dynasty.
Anyway, back to our new look. The changes we’ve made to Uncut may feel initially a bit strange, like walking into a familiar room and finding the furniture’s been moved around, not everything where it was the last time you looked and one or two pieces missing, replaced by things you’ve never seen before. I don’t think you’re going to need a satnav system, however, to find your way around or discover, for instance, that My Life In Music has moved to the back, that other favourite regulars are in some cases further into the features section than they were previously and there’s a new front section, Instant Karma!. As promised last month, the biggest change to our content is a major overhaul and expansion of our reviews section, for many readers the reason you buy Uncut. Music reviews are now split into two sections, with more detail than ever, to guide you through the month’s new releases and to help you negotiate the sometimes mind-boggling multi-format reissues of classic albums – as is the case with Pink Floyd’s The Wall, reviewed in this month’s issue.
We’re looking forward to hearing what you think of the new Uncut – and also the revamped www.uncut.co.uk. You can email me at the usual address: allan_jones@ipcmedia.com