Recommended buy: Scarred for Life vol.1

[sixtyten]

Bought this superb book recently. Only available by mail order from Lulu, but well worth it,
all the things that stuck in our memories from the 70’s
gory PIFs, banned comics, scary TV
it’s a great book

however, I noticed. Not for the first time, quite a few pics seem to be from this very forum


Scarred For life vol.1 by Stephen Brotherstone & Dave Lawrence

[George 1978]

Re: Recommended buy: Scarred for Life vol.1

I wonder if the 1980s will feature as volume two? It doesn't seem to be a parody of a Look In annual back then so it looks (no pun intended) promising - one might put this forward as a candidate for this year's Christmas presents list.

I grew up in the 1980s although a lot of the 1970s stuff was still being shown back then. But apart from tasteless fashions which even in the mid 1980s looked scary (brown flares ahoy), was there anything more scarier than the average PIF back then?

After reading the now defunct Cult TV magazine I found out about the Charley Says and Charley Live videos which I managed to get from a Peterborough based company that sold videos in the late 1990s that weren't available in the shops (the PIFs featured on the video were over 20 years old, almost the distance of time between the late 1990s and now, ironically enough!) I am certain who would enjoy those would enjoy that book. Some of them were still being shown in the late 1980s usually on weekend and holiday mornings.

There was a programme presented by Jeremy Clarkson in around 2000-2001 which dealt "ironically" with clips from old PIFs, and there was an ITV programme from around four or five years ago which did a similar thing, even though some Pathe stuff from the 1940s was in there as well. The "polish the floor and put a rug on it - you might as well set a mantrap" PIF from 1974 featured on quite a few of them - cue Jonathan Ross on It's Only TV But I Like It making Bruce Forsyth jokes in relation to the rug.

A year by year book would be great - I would easily go for the 1978 edition for obvious reasons, even if it is full of detail about test tube babies, Jim Callaghan, the Smurfs and John Travolta, although if it is a set between 1970 and 1989 that doesn't have too ironic detail inside, I would get the lot if I could afford it and put them all in a bookcase.

[George 1978]

Re: Recommended buy: Scarred for Life vol.1

I also suppose that all these dangers that we (the public) were needed to be reminded of back in the 1970s, as well as a hot summer was one reason why there were probably more deaths than births back in 1976, according to Wikipedia anyway.

[ericthecavalier]

Re: Recommended buy: Scarred for Life vol.1

An excellent read

[del37]

Re: Recommended buy: Scarred for Life vol.1

Hi, I'm one of the writers of the book. I'm glad you've been enjoying it!

[akb48fan]

If you were one of the people that bought the superb Vol 1 of Scarred For Life, you'll be glad to know that Vol 2 which covers 80's television is coming out on the 28th December. I'll definitely be buying that.

[sixtyten]

Can't wait! Recommended reading