Lies Magazine
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| Lies Magazine | |
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 Several Lies Magazine covers |
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| Type | satire |
| Format | Quarterly magazine |
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| Owner | {{{owners}}} |
| Publisher | Lies Magazine |
| Editor | Matthew Dean & John Hodge |
| Founded | October 1991 |
| Political allegiance | green/left/anarchism |
| Language | English |
| Ceased publication | 1998 |
| Price | A$2.50 |
| Headquarters | Fremantle |
| Circulation | up to 10,000 copies last issue |
| ISSN | 1320-7083 |
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| Website: http://www.liesmagazine.net | |
Lies Magazine - the Aussie comedy and satire magazine 1991-1998
Lies was a satirical magazine produced in Perth (and later Melbourne) between 1991-1998. The emphasis was on comedy and social satire, and the form it took was fake ads, spoof articles, cartoons, plus parodies of other magazines, books, government literature and popular culture. Issues were A4, typically 32 pages, with spot colour covers, and black only pages of text and graphics. The magazine had real paid adverts amongst the spoofs, often from local businesses in the Fremantle area.
The magazine arose from the live stand-up comedy scene in Perth in the early-mid nineties which centred around the Laugh Resort Comedy Club. Several of its writers are/were comic performers, and it was partially funded by regular benefit gigs by Laugh Resort performers. Ten issues were produced in Perth – and later in Melbourne - on a nearly-quarterly basis. Although it was independently produced, it sought to reach a mainstream audience through a range of distribution points including newsagents, campuses plus book and record shops.
[edit] History
The magazine was started in 1991 by Matthew Dean, at the time writing and producing radio comedy, who found there was no outlet for written comedy. He cut and pasted together an A5 zine containing comedy and some poetry in his Fremantle flat, photocopied several hundred and launched 'Lies' in October 1991 with a comedy cabaret at the FTI in Fremantle.
For the third issue in August 1992, John Hodge - a contributor in the earlier issues - became co-editor, writer and layout artist. This issue was 'launched' with a benefit comedy gig, which became the regular pattern for the next three years. Issue four - published in April 1992 - featured cartoons by Alex Manfrin, a Perth cartoonist/comedy performer, and from that point he was centrally involved. With this team of three Lies maintained a quarterly schedule for the next three years. Other major contributors included Mar Bucknell and Terry Kane took on a significant role in later issues.
A system of newsagency and self-distribution in Perth gave it a presence in news-stands, bookshops and campuses across the city. The regular comedy shows, including the 'Lies Aid' benefit gigs helped give the magazine a public profile, particularly in Fremantle and Northbridge. The editing team appeared regularly on 6RTR-FM, 100FM, in local papers like the Fremantle Herald, and got a publicity boost after being featured on the Perth edition of the ABC current affairs programme 'The 7.30 Report' in July 1993. But despite the fact that later issues were mostly being distributed outside WA via newsagent distributors Gordon and Gotch, Lies could not replicate its Perth profile in other Australian cities.
Issue ten, released in April 1995, was the last produced by the original team. Beginning to tire, both editors took breaks - Matt to Melbourne, John to the UK, but neither returned to Perth - effectively ending the magazine. Matt became a Melbourne-based comedian, including writing and performing on radio station PBS. With the outlet of Lies gone, he did several issues of 'The Battler' and Alex Manfrin did another publication in a similar vein in Perth called 'The Cornet'; in 1998 Matt did an eleventh and final issue of Lies from Melbourne.
All three continue to write - Matt is currently in Liverpool UK making a film/book about his grandfather, the famous Everton footballer of the 1920-40s, Dixie Dean. Alex still publishes cartoons and satirical postcards, as well as for many years being Australia's number one John Howard impersonator. Since 2000 John has been a writer, cartoonist and editor at SchNEWS, a Brighton UK based political publication.
For more information, and a range of freely downloadable pages in pdf format, see http://www.liesmagazine.net
