In the beginning…
Plus One Magazine was first brought to life in the city of Nottingham in 2003. It started out as a free, monthly, black and white, paper zine. Album reviews, live reviews and artist interviews were the staple content, and distributed for free around the city’s venues and music related businesses.
The venues within this fair city provided a broad range of emerging and established artists to go and see live. Nottingham’s legendary Rock City club virtually became our second home. Its sister venue around the corner, The Rescue Rooms another regular haunt. Along with The Bodega Social, these three venues would become lovingly familiar as we watched and reviewed bands playing live on a weekly basis.
Junktion 7 was a small and intimate independent venue for up-close-and-personal local, national and international artists. At the other end of the scale, The Arena attracted bands who would play in front of thousands. Nottingham really did have it covered when it came to hosting live music.
From paper to online…
Zine-producing life was incredibly difficult to maintain, time and costs the overwhelming factor in its demise. Switching to an online blog became the way forward and although spare time was still devoted to uploading, writing, updating and maintaining the web site, the relatively inexpensive cost and regular access to bands recordings and shows via our network of pr companies became hugely rewarding.
The web site company that provided our little space of internet creativity was called Moonfruit. This was the case until 2014 when Plus One switched to the ever-popular Blogger and the ‘Moonfruit years’ was kept as an archive. Sadly, Moonfruit called it a day after their twenty one year existence and those archives are no longer available. (2005 - 2014)
Amongst the many bands we caught live those twenty years ago included Electric Six, Linking Park, Jet, Deftones, Biffy Clyro, The Mars Volta and many many more. A reunited, classic favourite in Jane’s Addiction. And a fierce and wild new American band supporting The Distillers named The Bronx who we’d go on to see over the next twenty years somewhere between thirty and forty times.
From Nottingham, to Leeds…
After seven glorious music-fuelled years In Nottingham, it was time to hit the M1 North back home to Yorkshire, and the city of Leeds became our hub. A major location once again on the gig circuit and a local scene that produced some fine and noisy artists that we have grown to cherish. Pulled Apart By Horses, Blacklisters, Hawk Eyes and more recently Yard Act and Thank.
The Brudenell Social Club is legendary and needs no introduction. Other venues of varying sizes across the city include The Wardrobe, Hyde Park Book Club, Seven Arts, Headrow House and The Arena.
We continue (albeit sporadically) to review bands new and old, on record and in a live capacity from our base here in Leeds.
A thank you…
Over the course of Plus One Magazine’s twenty years, we have a lot of people to thank for their help and contribution. Firstly, our long list of writers and photographers who have contributed to the magazine, who you can find here
All contributions throughout the existence of Plus One have been done so without any form of payment. A lot of our writers used the experience to further their journalism studies while at university. Others joined purely out of the love for discovering music and the ability to craft a well written article or a dab hand behind the camera. Somewhere around thirty different people have come and gone through the doors in this time.
A huge thank you goes to the network of various pr companies we have worked with over the years, many who are still in operation today. Gone are the days of promo cds arriving thick and fast in the post on a daily basis. In this fast-paced digital era, we now receive albums in advance and guest lists to review artists in a live setting, all via email.
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| Joe |
Thoughts on 2024 onwards…
We currently have 3 regular contributors to Plus One Magazine. Joe - based in Bristol and regularly reviewing new album releases. Mike - outskirts of Leeds and often to be found lurking in any number of Leeds’ finest venues reviewing bands. And Pete - chief in charge, residing near Wetherby and trawling through dozens of Emails weekly in search of exciting new things.
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| Mike |
We would love to hear from anyone who has the credentials to join our small team of writers. Music obsession is a must. An ear for something new, different, exciting and a knack of putting together a well-written article is desired. It isn’t paid work (we do this for the love of music) but you will have access to new music, guest list at shows and often the possibility of an interview with the artist.
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| Pete |
Please contact Pete via email if you think you have what we’re looking for at
plus1magazine@gmail.com
Thank you to anyone and everyone who has found our articles of interest. We sincerely hope creative, new music excites you as much as it does us.
Plus One Magazine
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