If you’re interested in the history of skateboarding in Britain, this site contains original vintage UK skateboard material from the eighties and nineties which originally appeared in R.a.D Magazine. It is an exercise in skateboard nostalgia for old school skaters and a glimpse of the roots of British skating for historians and people researching street culture: part of the Long Tail for skateboarding in the U.K. There are also hints of what life was like producing magazines in the days before desktop publishing.
If it strikes a chord with you, please feel free to add your comments and or encouragement (but you will need to register first). R.a.D existed before widespread use of the Internet, but was as interactive as we could make it at the time. If we could have used channels like this at the time, R.a.D would have been very different indeed.
The original plan was to post one page per day until every issue of the magazine is available but, like so many blogs, the pace has slowed down! For practical reasons I am working my way through one issue at a time, but I aim to jump around the years rather than do each issue in chronological order so that different generations of readers get a chance to see some of ‘their’ issues without having to wait too long.
Tim responded on 24 Nov 2005 at 11:59 am #
As you can tell, this is very much in test mode.
The idea is to publish some of the pictures and stories from R.a.D magazine in a format which allows anyone who wants to wax nostalic to add their own comments.
My first thought is to try posting a few things from one particular issue and then move on to another issue. The obvious plan would be to concentrate on one issue per month, but I doubt if there’s enough time to do that.
It also seems like a good idea to add a few “where are they now” posts about the skaters featured in each issue (and the people working on the magazine).
chelsea responded on 28 Nov 2005 at 6:54 pm #
tim…
phil burgoyne looking in this is good stuff
i have a challenge for you… i believe this is before rad in an action bike
you did a calandar poster thing with a great picture of me at swansea
in the woods… quite possibly the best picture of me i remember… made worse by the fact i only ever saw it on dickies bedroom wall in ware…
working in epsom and still living in sydenham with frank wheeler
regards
phil
timlb responded on 28 Nov 2005 at 7:07 pm #
Hi Phil,
That sounds like maybe it was in that “Skate Action” supplement we did in Action Bike. (Funny to think how that name ended up on a rival magazine.)
I’ll try to dig it out the Action Bike magazines to check.
Of course, the real challenge would be see if I could find the original picture. Please do NOT hold your breath on that part of the project!
By the way, there’s a quote from you about the Preston competition which will appear here in a couple of days (I’m trying to get ahead on posts and schedule them so that one appears each day).
Tim
oldskaters responded on 28 Nov 2005 at 8:07 pm #
Hey Tim, great to see the site, it’s already helping me to forgive my Mum for throwing out my stack of mags all those years ago (familiar story I know…), I’ll be checking daily!
BOOMERDOG responded on 28 Nov 2005 at 8:45 pm #
hey tim great to see you doing this dude,i still have most of my collection of rad’s!…nick[ colchester pig shed ramp ]
timlb responded on 28 Nov 2005 at 9:23 pm #
Daily… Well, I have a feeling I won’t be able to keep it going at that rate all the time. That’s why I’m trying to build up a supply of pages now.
I also feel some of it’s going to be very boring. I went through a lot of the magazines with Winstan, doing scans for his film, and they seem very dated. The issue I’m doing at the moment, for example, seems very weak now — but it might be one which someone will find particularly interesting (got them into skating/ first time they were in a magazine etc).
I’m not really sure what to do with it, to be honest! But at least it’s a start. The real problem is the sorting out of the original material; scanning old magazines is painless in comparison.
timlb responded on 28 Nov 2005 at 9:27 pm #
Colchester ramp… I remember going there on a very, very foggy day and having the nightmare journey back. It somehow seemed like an epic journey, which is odd seeing as it was just down the road.
matt_sefton responded on 29 Nov 2005 at 12:03 am #
Right at the start of my journey back into skating thanks to the MAS guys after a 20+ year layoff. Really looking forward to reading through all the old material and becoming a regular down ‘memory lane’
Thanks for making this stuff available again Tim - this mid-life crisis lark is actually really good fun!
gix responded on 29 Nov 2005 at 8:38 am #
love it.be great to see some pics of morfa ramp(swansea)
timlb responded on 29 Nov 2005 at 8:44 am #
I’m not sure yet when particular things, like Morfa, will appear. At the moment I hope to concentrate on an issue from the relevant month (December in December), but I think I’ll jump about in the years. That way different eras can get a look in earlier on.
rick_hurst responded on 29 Nov 2005 at 9:40 am #
This is great to see. Some of the guys from middle-age-shred.com have started a similar project with old copies of skateboard magazine. see this thread on the forum for details:-
http://middle-age-shred.com/phpBB2_v2/viewtopic.php?t=4599&highlight=project
H-Boyz responded on 29 Nov 2005 at 9:54 am #
Good work Tim… am looking forward to seeing stuff from the old mags, will keep me occupied in the cold winter months.
taoski responded on 29 Nov 2005 at 1:25 pm #
Excellent, excellent, excellent!
Just seeing some of the RAD covers when I watched RollinThroughTheDecades the other week was enough to “take me back”.
Cool… very cool.
Hope to see the issue with Milton Keynes in!
huphtur responded on 29 Nov 2005 at 6:21 pm #
I used to run little ads for Rodolfo’s in RaD.
chall5 responded on 29 Nov 2005 at 7:41 pm #
Great idea, I still have about 2 boxes full of R.A.Ds. I’d love to see the whole of each issue online
falconneil responded on 30 Nov 2005 at 1:21 pm #
Hey Tim. Neil from Chicago here. I’m from merseyside originally, moved here in 1985. I picked up my fits copy of RAD in Oxford while on vacation: issue # 59. After taking it back to the states I wrote to you to congratulate you, and you were kind enough to give me a free subscription for a couple of years. I love teh magazine–I’ve still got all of them you sent to me. Yes it seems dated, but I love looking at those issues. It really encapsulate sthe feeling of the time, and it doesn’t talk down to you like Thrasher and Transworld could.
Thanks Tim for doing this.
toddtwist responded on 02 Dec 2005 at 3:38 pm #
Hi Tim,
Good to see this started up. Going to have to keep an eye on this site.
I’ve still got my full collection. The closest thing I have to a diary!
Good on ya, Sean Goff
Rich responded on 04 Dec 2005 at 5:32 pm #
Love to see the rad photo issue again
prolific responded on 04 Dec 2005 at 7:28 pm #
hi tim
good to see your doing this i,ve got most of my early nineties mags still it will be cool tosee the stuff i missed out on though
cheers
Crispin responded on 05 Dec 2005 at 9:08 am #
definitely would like to see this continued.
nice one.
huphtur responded on 07 Dec 2005 at 1:26 am #
tim: please add this line to the style.css file:
.post h2 {clear:both;}
it will make sure the headlines start on a new line.
tatsie responded on 07 Dec 2005 at 3:36 am #
Hello Tim..
My name is Leighton.. you did an article on our little scene in Newbury Berkshire, years ago.. maybe 1988.. holy smoke.. anyway.. wicked site man..
I’m living in New Zealand now as an art director.. keep up the good work,
regards, Leighton Dyer..
timlb responded on 08 Dec 2005 at 10:11 am #
Good point about the photo issues (there were two of them, though I think the first one is the one which most people will have in mind). I’ll include them in the mix somewhere. Eventually I hope to get the whole lot up here, though it would take several years to do it. My current idea is to jump around the years a bit, so that different generations get to see some of “their” stuff without having to wait too long. So Milton Keynes will show up at some point.
timlb responded on 08 Dec 2005 at 10:12 am #
Neil — good to hear from you. I’m intrigued by the international appeal of this (judging from the log files as well as your comment)…
timlb responded on 08 Dec 2005 at 10:17 am #
Hi Leighton! I remember that Newbury feature very well. In fact I remember chatting to you about what you were going to do in the future. I think some teacher had warned you off some career ambition or other on the grounds of “there’s no scope for that”, and I was pointing out that it’s surprising what you can do for a job (consider what I was doing at the time).
timlb responded on 08 Dec 2005 at 10:19 am #
Huphtur — thanks for sorting that out. I have to fit this in round other things, so help is most welcome!
ciaran responded on 21 Dec 2005 at 12:01 am #
Stoked to see this site. Rad (no. 79 i think, June 89) was my first ever skate mag - it had an article about a shower of lads called Team Dead Cow, showed them skating an old race track/bellodrome type place. That article and one a while later on taking one tube line (Northern?) through London were 2 of the ones that stand out straight away. Get them up here soon, heheh.
timlb responded on 21 Dec 2005 at 12:27 pm #
Hi Ciaran,
They’ll definitely appear one day. The Dead Cow cover was one of my favourites (MUCH closer than normal, although that’s not immediately obvious). The track in question was Brooklands! Northern Line story also stands out it my memory for all the context pictures of people climbing into places, or skating from spot to spot. I really liked that stuff, but we had to ration it.
nothing is cool responded on 21 Dec 2005 at 12:59 pm #
Tim - great site! I bought RAD religiously from about 1991 until the very end and used to read each issue cover to cover and back again about five times over. It was a total lifeline for those of us stuck a million miles away from London. Like many of the people above, I Watched Rollin Through The Decades last night and just had to see if RAD had been re-born online somewhere. Kudos to you for making it happen!
Would love to see as much Deathbox related stuff as you can dig up. Also, the Alex Moul ad for Bench’s Moleskins really needs to be seen again!
Cheers!
Dave
chris responded on 28 Dec 2005 at 12:40 pm #
Hi Tim,
Great idea to do this - I’ve spent a long time in my parents’ attic over Christmas trying to dig out all my old BMX Action Bike/R.a.D. magazines, only to find that most have been thrown out while I’ve been living elsewhere.
I was lucky enough to get a fair chunk of the Fairfields footage I shot into Winstan’s film: I’ve been trying to archive all the video stuff we filmed onto DVD, just to make sure it doesn’t die when the VHS cassettes stop working.
I’m also trying to get a personal archive of skate stuff in some order, just for the future. I’ll drop you a mail regarding some things I’d love to get copies of.
In the meantime, if there’s anything you need help with on here, just give me a shout. Your services to UK skating (and BMX) will never be forgotten!
I’d love to see that Skate Action pullout again - I vividly remember Rodney Mullen’s ollie over that crate…
Hope you had a good Christmas - Happy New Year!
Speak soon,
Chris Aylen
Ginger Lamo responded on 29 Dec 2005 at 12:18 am #
Hi Tim,
Tim H here great to see this stuff getting an airing, Mon told me about this site. I really am so happy to see this archive and am looking forward to see it grow, the Oxford scene lives on with SS20 and I see all the locals from back then, and some of the other faces from the UK scene.
I’ll keep checking in.
asliceofry responded on 29 Dec 2005 at 9:55 pm #
Look forward to updates.
I always remember reading R.A.D. and checking out the names of tricks and who was doing them: pressure flip to late flip etc etc.
Seem to remember an early issue that came with a free tyre valve for your BMX - it was a 2 finger salute - qualty. Also a ’skateborading is not a crime’ sticker that I cut up into an anagram and stuck on my board
Bring it on.
Might even have a few issues in my attic
piece_of_cake responded on 02 Jan 2006 at 2:36 pm #
Hey there !
I dig your work : )
It’s great to see all those memories & souvenirs !
Reminds me a language trip to Brighton during the summer of ‘91 and several issues of RAD in my luggages when I came back to France.
Thanks for linking http://pieceofcake.hautetfort.com
Ride on !
PY
timlb responded on 03 Jan 2006 at 11:57 am #
Chris, copies of anything are very difficult at the moment, although Rayman has offered to help with excavations at some point. Mike John was taken sick when he came round to try a year or so ago.
Skate Action might appear at some point (the original BMX Action Bike precursor to R.a.D, not the later magazine from Morecambe which used the same name), but it’ll be a long time coming.
Bottlehead responded on 06 Jan 2006 at 5:53 am #
Tim,
Excellent site, I know you have all your photos archived & ready to post, bust em out!!!
Mark Abrook
Dickie responded on 09 Jan 2006 at 3:31 pm #
Tim
It would be an amazing to get the legendary pages of RAD in a book to fit nicely on all our generic Habitat shelves. You gotta include the some of the m-zone ads! Some pages from Phat would ge great in there too!!! I’ve got a little design company in Brighton, anything i can do to help make it happen get in touch!
Dickie
stevebroomer responded on 10 Jan 2006 at 12:20 pm #
Excellent work fella. Keep at it.
timlb responded on 10 Jan 2006 at 7:07 pm #
Dickie: there’s already one M Zone advert on the site, and all the others will follow (provided I can keep going long enough). Phat will have to wait until afterwards — not sure I can ever face doing that one, to be honest!
There is a book planned as part of the R.a.D Magazine Exhibition project, but I don’t want to speculate about when that will ever appear.
tatsie responded on 12 Jan 2006 at 10:59 pm #
Thanks Tim.. amazing you remember that conversation. I want to go back to my old school and have a word about inspiration. However, i’m happy so it’s all good.
I still have that magazine in mint condition.
Keep up this site man.. it’s great. There’s a few english skaters over here in NZ who read this.
Happy new year, regards, Leighton Dyer.
oldskool responded on 14 Jan 2006 at 3:00 am #
Hey Tim.
Great to see this happening. I still have all my old copies of BMX action bike and R.A.D from the early eighties onwards. I kept them in prime condition so I can sneak into my loft and peak at them and remember the days when.
Every issue brings back such great memories. A few really stand out, I remember the issue that had Nick Phillip or Dave Curry (I think) doing a footplant on a fence that had fxck written on it. There was uproar about that! Seems funny now doesn’t it!
I was heavily into BMX (always hated that term), mainly ground freestyle and street riding. I did get to Romford skate park a few times (thanks to an older mate). The mag was so cool and a beacon for someone that lived in the country.
I remember covering myself in Swatch watches!! 4 on one arm 5 on the other and one on my ankle! I remember wearing Flintstones T’shirts and Bermuda shorts, then Vision street wear.
I remember being a bit miffed when the mag changed it’s focus onto the resurgence of boarders, but as BMX started to go “underground” it just made it cooler. It made me feel as if I was going against the tide.
I continued to subscribe to R.A.D. and ended up pulling influences from the skaters moves. Guys like Sean Goff and Don Brider were a revelation, you could take their moves on boards and apply them to a bike (or try!)
Once 1994 hit I was getting on a bit, I used to go out in the dead of night on my bike, find a street light and practice. It was like being a cycling ninja! Just trying to avoid people seeing me. The tricks progressed geometrically though. one minute we were all hopping, then Pepe Winder starting stringing tricks together and wam! Suddenly there were rolling balance tricks and a continuous flow.
I’m now a professional drummer, which is great but, I would give anything for just one of those days. I’m so heavy now I think the bike would have to be made of granite to survive!
Thanks for the memories.
unclesomeone responded on 19 Jan 2006 at 1:17 pm #
Super good work TLB. It’s fascinating enough looking through old magazines without the brilliant prospect of your thoughts on their creation.
A little story about the Northern Line article: many years later I found myself living in London, on the Northern Line, looking through that issue.
There was a line in the article about the places you didn’t have time to skate that day, which included the bowl in Talacre Gardens. I’d never heard of it but something made me check on the map and I found it just 10 minutes skate away from my house. I’d lived there for a few years and never knew about a bowl just around the corner. Unbelievable.
I immediately left the house and took my board to investigate. Upon arrival I couldn’t seem to find the bowl in the gardens so, after some frustration, I asked a dog walker who was resting on some fresh grass.
‘Do you know where the skatepark is?’ I asked.
‘You’re standing on it’ she replied.
It had been filled in that Spring.
***
Hi Leighton, I remember you coming to Southrop a couple of times…I’m sure Spence says hi too.
And of course great to see the extended SS20 family emerge on these pages. Hi all. Do you remember skating with Ed T at Mon’s ramp on a New Deal tour? (Okay maybe some proper vert skaters were there too…)
dave foldvari responded on 26 Jan 2006 at 8:23 pm #
this brings back a few memories..
anyone remember a comic called ‘aggression session’? i did that when i was 14. i think it was in one of the issues from 89 or 90, cant remember.
anyway, nice to see r.a.d. again.
dave
http://www.davidfoldvari.co.uk
steg responded on 27 Jan 2006 at 3:09 pm #
Tim,
I fondly remember a rainy sunday in Bury (possibly 89′) driving around in the back of the Split Skates camper van with you & Snoz, desperately looking for a dry school yard to skate. . . Halcyon days !
Great site and message board, good to hear from some of the old boys & girls.
I’m considering scanning all my R.A.D.’s & Skateboard! mags to preserve them for my as yet unborn offspring. Do you know if the material is still under copyright ?
Bye.
Phil responded on 30 Jan 2006 at 10:30 pm #
SIMON EVANS AT SOUTH BANK!!!!!!!!!!!!! HEY HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!! This takes me back some!! Woah - those were the days - best days of my life - Loved watching Evans style - loved the London atmosphere - why oh why did I have to grow up!
timlb responded on 03 Feb 2006 at 9:02 am #
Sorry if anyone feels offended that I seem to be ignoring a lot of comments here and elsewhere. Something has happened which means that I am not able to spend as much time on this as I had been doing.
I’m still around, and will try to get the flow of new (old!) material going again soon.
lukey d responded on 03 Feb 2006 at 7:41 pm #
hey tim
i don’t think we ever met but i used to skate with greg nowik, don b, the i.o.w boys and the like…i just stumbled upon the archive whilst trying to find some old photo’s…..i haven’t had a proper look yet, are you planning to archive all the old issues? the one with the simon evans interview?that interview turned a few lights on when i was a kid….anyway, i hope all is well, keep up the uploading…..if i can help in any way let me know. cheers
luke
http://www.myspace.com/lukedonovan
SgtPartridge responded on 02 Mar 2006 at 1:38 pm #
Wow! This is amazing! I’m SO pleased to have found this! I read RAD right from it’s emergence out of BMX Action bike right up to ‘93 and in the pre-internet world it encapsulated the skating universe for me. I remember, up until a mate of mine got a copy of Public Domain (on Betamax!) I had NEVER seen a vert trick other than in still images in the pages of RAD.
I have so many memories of RAD. My first heroes came about throught the photos in RAD. Gator at the Munster comp, Jason Jesse’s handplant into the lens at McGills by Daniel Sturt, Salba, Tony Mag, Natas, Danny Way (who if I remember from a profile I read when I was about 15, is the same age as me with the same years experience skating as me - shows what being brought up Southern Californa, as opposed to Harrogate, North Yorkshire can do for your vert skating propects…) Brits like Sean Goff doing a Slob Plant with a gnarly bit of visible testicle peeping out the side of the shorts, Pete Dossett, Rocker, all the Deathbox team (who made fantastic quality decks). I always loved the vert guys. Nothing beats a poster of a huge method or stalefish on an even huger vert ramp for the bedroom wall. Two walls of my bedroom were floor to ceiling with double-page pullouts from RAD and Skateboarding Magazine (and a couple of bits from Thrasher, too)
Incidentally, I’m a graphic designer now and I owe my career choice, in no small part, to RAD. Even as a kid, I loved the punky distressed graphic style and typography in the mag - and I always stuck the free RAD logo sticker on each board I had.
Ahhh, nostalgia IS what it used to be…
Sorry, I’m rambling now. Great days, great days.
Jeffski responded on 04 Mar 2006 at 2:16 pm #
Having been out of the scene for about ten years, imagine my horror when I made a conscious effort to get back into it last month - only to find that RAD is now defunct……if only I’d had the mind to keep the copies I bought……Bring back RAD!!! Bring back RAD!!!
joe millson responded on 09 Apr 2006 at 8:39 pm #
Bloody hell!!!! So there i am secretly having a nose around on the net for ramp plans for a wee backyard ramp that my wife might let me get away with and there’s a picture of my own finest beanplant from 1989!!!!! I can not tell you what a thrill that gave me and what memories it has brought back and how it has cemented my determination to re enter the world of backyard sessioning. Hello Tim. I for one have never stopped skating although work (actor) and family (2.4) mean it’s a once or twice a month event. The sketchy spirit of those sessions at sadgrove farm live on. your website is hugely important and appreciated as was your publishing my adolescent writings way back when, you weren’t alone, skate action published a short story later on. quick question; there was in one edition of RAD a picture of my out door ramp with the platform built on and through the roof of my dads car…..? or was that the skate action newbury article. anyway , i’m rambling. will treasure the pics and visit site often. Vinegar joe.
tatsie responded on 09 Apr 2006 at 10:01 pm #
Joe.. i’ve been trying to get hold of you brother.. do you have a new email address?
hit me back if you can.. on leighton.dyer@publicismojo.co.nz
James.knight responded on 10 Apr 2006 at 3:22 am #
Hey Joe,
Great to hear from you. Yeah your ramp got the “worst back yard ramp” in another issue I think. It could have been in that OTHER skate mag though. Good times, hey did you ever pay grant for that ramp? hahaha.
James.
timlb responded on 10 Apr 2006 at 7:58 am #
Hi Joe,
I’m fairly sure the ramp pictures did appear in R.a.D at some point, in which case they will make it on to this site if I can keep going.
When I checked the site this (Monday) morning in “suppose I’d better get this done” mode and found the flurry of posts from the Newbury diaspora it certainly encouraged me to keep working through the issues…
joe millson responded on 10 Apr 2006 at 11:04 am #
This is all too much, the two small children in my sole care today are being forced to go skating!!!!!! Leighton, i have a new address joseph.caroline@virgin.net i’ll get in touch. JAMES KNIGHT! great to hear from you man and you’ve said some amazingly decent things here. I pop out to LA now and then with work, lets get in touch. maybe we could all meet up one day for a skate, i still can’t really ollie so transitions please. Cheers again Tim, this is indeed rad.
joe millson responded on 10 Apr 2006 at 11:06 am #
P.S no, i never paid for the ramp. and the mini is still standing in that barn i believe , like some kind of stonehenge from our youth.
fergus@shred1.wannad responded on 10 Apr 2006 at 11:47 am #
Joe. (Tone) Fuckin rad dude. We must go shred some gnarley soon.Stace.x. P.S Love those Eighties Vans!
rogue responded on 21 Apr 2006 at 5:20 pm #
ive posted stuff on the other pages site already i know so sorry for hoggin all the post! but its so cool that rad had “risen” again:)
please post more of the old magazine, the scene needs things like this to keep it going o keep us on the ground of were we havecame from.cheers T.L.B.
martyn blackpool
rogue responded on 21 Apr 2006 at 9:23 pm #
ok ok ok orry but after ive read this pae questions keep coming up to me now. you once interview tony hawk before he was the great skate poobahh that he is now.how did you manage that because at the time to get an interview wth hawk was quite someting for an english magaznine. ok no more questions for a day or so now!
cbass responded on 24 Apr 2006 at 7:54 am #
Hey my man (The RAD guy)
Just a little note from an old school South-African skater. You might remember replying to a letter from a young (stoked on your mag) schoolboy back in the day asking why we didnt receive the freebies on your mag or something of the sort. Your reply was that you wished your magazine never even made it to our shores (SA) and that we were this and that racists, blah, blah etc. Well hopefully you changed your views, especially on kids who didnt even have a say on how their county was run back then.
Sorry for the rant but its been left unsaid for a long time.
Peace
Cbass
timlb responded on 24 Apr 2006 at 8:27 am #
I remember the incident, although I didn’t write the reply, and I think there was a lot of debate about that one. The exact text of that letters page should show up here one day and we’ll be able to discuss it more then.
My natural instinct would have been that we should not be hostile to individual skaters and I hope that the wording of the reply would have made it clear that the criticism was levelled at the policies of the goverment at the time. The skaters in the country would have suffered as a side-effect alongside participants in other sports affected by boycotts.
Have you any idea which issue the letter appeared in? It would be interesting to read the actual text of the reply.
blench responded on 20 Jun 2006 at 2:33 pm #
Ahhh, how great is this?
Hi Tim, Ben Blench here - we were in touch for a while in the early 90s. I wrote a couple of articles for RAD and Phat and pestered you about the internet a lot.
Now I work as a writer in an internet agency - so thanks for the career guidance!
Really good to see these old articles/ graphics/ skatey things here and cropping up elsewhere. Formative influences for me and plenty of others.
Keep on rocking!
Ben
Lemmy responded on 20 Jun 2006 at 8:43 pm #
Who’s running this site? I have RAD and Skateboard! I could contribute.
timlb responded on 21 Jun 2006 at 8:47 am #
Ben: thanks — it’s always interesting to hear from people who were involved in the magazine back in the day!
Lemmy: thanks for the offer of help. I used to produce R.a.D magazine, so I have a complete set to work from already (I hope…)
There’s a link over on the right-hand side in the “Skateboard Links” section to a similar project for Skateboard! magazine: they might be very happy to get scans of more of those issues.
Tim
Jesse responded on 27 Jun 2006 at 12:41 am #
Hi Tim,
No doubt you get hundreds of similar messages.
I used to skate Croydon with Rayman and Paul Shier. Also in Kent in Maidstone (where you once came to photograph some Law Court banks).
For years i’ve thought about the idea of you putting a book together of photos - you must have thousands. No doubt i’m not the only one to suggest this to you…
Just recently I bought about 25 old issues of A.B./R.A.D. from eBay. Cost me $$$… but worth every penny. Like many people who read this board I have many fond memories of those times, and your magazine was a huge influence on my life - one highlight being the M:Zone jam (big ups to both Charlies and Mark Burrows).
So in ending, i’d just like to thank you first - my life would not be the same without R.A.D.
Also, keep this up - you’re onto something here. There are many people like myself who greatly appreciate your efforts.
timlb responded on 28 Jun 2006 at 10:29 am #
Jess: thanks! I’m glad you enjoyed both the original and this. Of course, it’s embarassing that your comment has coincided with one of the gaps when I’ve been unable to add new posts for a few days. Sorry.
glossopboy responded on 23 Sep 2006 at 4:59 pm #
Just thought I’d add my ten pence worth…
Skated in Manchester circa ‘87-’91ish, mostly at the Manchester Evening News building with loads of others (including femi now and then) who turned up to session the 45 degree concrete banks - the closest we had to a skatepark, and it was undercover. Occaisionally skated at the ramps in Split Skates and Ardwick too. NatWest Bank steps on King street were good for a laugh as well, now an upmarket shopping centre…
I’ve still got copies of r.a.d and bmx action bike! It was my bible at the time and made me dream of skating at far off places like south bank, livingston and meanwhile.
Bought a new deck a couple of years back when I turned 30 (early midlife crisis?) and learnt to ollie all over again, madness. Then headed to the local ramp and nearly cripled myself. Started pulling off rock and rolls and smith grinds and the local kids had never seen anything like it - because the tricks were that old! They then proceeded to ollie kickflip the spine… I went home!
Anyone know where I can get hold of any Anarchic Adjustment clobber? I’m after a T-Shirt that had the words Heroin Satan F**k on it!
Great to see this has brought back good memories for many. Keep up the good work.
Cheers
Damo
timlb responded on 23 Sep 2006 at 7:37 pm #
Damo,
Thanks for reminding me of that shirt.
I have no idea where you’d find one now, but there are plenty of current Nick Philip T shirts on view at
Imaginary Foundation
Tim
Christian28 responded on 22 Oct 2006 at 12:04 pm #
Hi Tim,
Just a quick note to say that the site is absolutely great. I, along with thousands of others was a regular reader from about late ‘89 to the demise of the mag (including Phat), and have course have skated right on through. Although I have many old mags, I’ve lost the majority of my copies from 90-92, so it’s fantastic seeing those shots of Curtis et al again. Brings back so many good memories of skating in London in the early ’90s. Could you post up the Simon Evans interview again? Nice one….
ianjewell responded on 18 Dec 2006 at 12:11 pm #
This site just brings back memories!!! Big shout out to the old london bridge crew!!!!! I used to have a pic in a few RAD mags but ive not got copies. The pic that ive not seen for ages, i dont know which issue its in (Great huh) Ive seen the comp at Crouch End pics but would like to see another. The pic was taken at Harrow on the large bank and the caption was “Indie Stripey to Zero Sophitso.” The issue included the demo with John Cardel and the Infamous Gonz.
Is that Leighton Dyer from Benz in Newbury?
Thanks
Ian Jewell
leighton responded on 08 Jan 2007 at 10:20 am #
Hello Ian mate, yes this is Leighton from Newbury.. how are you bro?
I am in New Zealand with my brother Alex.. we are living here..
if anyone knows me, contact me on myspace.com/tatsie..
take care, good to hear from you Ian..
when you updating the site Tim?
regards, Leighton
scruff responded on 15 Jan 2007 at 12:50 pm #
Superb, loved looking at the Scans, nice to see Benny blasting the stairs at Central and Jim the Skin Crailslide at NEC.
Big Hello to any of the of old Birmingham Wheels skaters. Was still seeing a few old faces at Epic last few years (even Tipton Rob) and at Walsall (Stampy [!], Billy Local, Kev Masson, Lichfield Crew) but not skated myself since last summer. Need to change that soon.
Alex-
The Wyrley iz still reprazentin !
mattlowbridge responded on 15 Jan 2007 at 6:01 pm #
what a great find…..who emailed me this link, thank you.
Now i’ll never get any work done.
Hello to all brum skaters from when central could be skated and not just the steps by the fountain.
the wyrley is still rollin, on 2 wheels more than 4. my knees don’t like 4 unless it has suspension.
just one thing to say. Don B for president.
leey responded on 15 Mar 2007 at 8:20 am #
Tim
Great site Tim - good way of catching up on issues of RAD that I missed all those years ago…
You may remember me as the chinese rollerskater at the southbank in the late 80s - sneaked into the background of the Vallely RAD T-shirt advert… I have a quick request re putting some scansfrom RAD/BMXactionbike on a vert rollerskate site - http://www.adinfinitum.de/Rollerskate/ the scan include Mon’s feature from 87ish + Munster comps. If it is OK, we would of course credit yourself, or would it be RAD/BMXactionbike/When we was RAD ?
kind regards
Lee
Jesse responded on 08 Jul 2007 at 2:11 am #
Tim… question. Do you still have the original photos from your days at BMXAB/RAD?
You covered so many events with so many BMXers/skaters, both known and unknown.
timlb responded on 09 Jul 2007 at 8:45 am #
Jesse: Yes, I still have almost all the original pictures, including the out-takes. But in real terms I do not have access to them. They are boxed up and most of them in a self-storage cube. Doing something with them is a very long-term project for some time in some future. That’s why I have been doing this site: it’s the only practical way of dealing with requests to see any of that material.
cheeks responded on 15 Jul 2007 at 3:03 pm #
im trying to find an old rad article about skater addiction.there were a picture of a board mad eto look like a needle,i want to get it tattooed but need the pic!!! if anyone has any ideas please mail me at cheeks8112@hotmail.com
sam responded on 18 Jul 2007 at 11:16 am #
This is great, Tim. Thanks for making the effort to do it.
Sam
timlb responded on 23 Jul 2007 at 9:47 am #
Cheeks: sorry, no idea.
Sam: hello again. Good to hear from you. I hope you won’t mind when some of your stuff crops up, as it eventually will if I keep going. I normally try to track people down to ask when the time comes.
sam responded on 23 Jul 2007 at 6:01 pm #
I won’t mind at all. I’m very proud to have been involved, even in just a small way.
scott14 responded on 06 Aug 2007 at 3:31 pm #
Hey Tim or tlb as we used to say,
Am an old southbank local who was in the same crew as tony luckhurst, matt dawson and those young forest hill boys back in the 89/90s. I myself moved away to cheshire just when thing started to really kick off at southbank, thing like matt henlsey skating there and everybody just ripping it up. I was once in rad but only th eonce, it was a 89/90 issuse and we were skating in uxbrige I think, in a car park and you took a few photos of us and some of me skating a little rail, you published one which my mum was very proud off and the caption said, slide, grind its up to you the result is the same, of somthing like that. I losted this issue a long time ago and if you can remember when it was it would be great to try and find that issuse on ebay of somewhere.
Loved wistons movie about the old days, wish I was 15 again. Great site and all the best of luck.
Scott hayward - now 33 and feeling old!!!!
timlb responded on 14 Aug 2007 at 6:41 pm #
Hi Scott
I’m not sure which issue you mean. Sorry. Perhaps someone else can recognise it if you can remember a few more details. Can you remember who was on the cover, for example.
Trying to think back… Was this carpark an upstairs one, above shops on the High Street?
ianjewell responded on 19 Sep 2007 at 1:50 pm #
Hey Scott, Hope alls cool…
I remember the days of Mr Cheeky Dawson at South Bank and London bridge, those were cool days! I know what it feels like to be 33 now, Man i hurts when ya slam. Do you know what happened to Matt Dawson? I saw Kurtis many years ago DJing D&B in club UK? I will have a look for your pic as ive still got about 5 years worth of RAD. Ive got a few issues missing (Just the ones im in).
Give ya shout when ive had a look
Ian Jewell
randomonix responded on 22 Sep 2007 at 3:25 pm #
Great site Tim! Hope you are doing well! R.a.D was always full of the best stuff!!!!
scott14 responded on 24 Sep 2007 at 3:23 pm #
Yeah, matts doing really well. Hes married with two girls. He live in sevenoaks now. Go to Facebook and join the old time southbank rollers club, loads of old faces on there man!!!!
mockers responded on 16 Nov 2007 at 1:03 pm #
Great site, brings back the memories, sadly all my old copies got thrown out at some stage years ago.
I only appeared properly in the mag once, around 89 or 90 I think, it was when you came down to Southampton and photographed me Don, Mark and the rest on the streets (it was probably Greg Nowik’s first photo session if I remember). The photo in question had me doing a rather dodgy ollie to tail on a makeshift bank of plywood on some steps. I’d love to see that issue again.
There was another session in London, around the big white wall and some banks in a roundabout in Wandsworth i think? my memories a little sketchy. Again it was me Don and Marketc. plus all the IOW bioys, Ged, Jolliffe and the rest. I think there was a group photo of having a friendly chat with the old bill.
Keep it up.
lukecolson responded on 04 Mar 2008 at 10:56 am #
Can anyone help.
I appeared in R.a.D some 18 years ago and am desperately trying to track down the copy to show my kids!!!
The issue had an emptied out duck pond in Bishops Park (Fulham) on the cover, and featured similar places to skate inside. That was my manor and R.a.D phoned and told us they were coming, the photo of me is of a frontside Olli kick-flip up a bank with the sun shine coming from behind, shining through a statue. Caption says - Luke Colson kick-flips to order.
I would kill for a copy, better still I can pay!!
Help…. anyone?
Luke.
ked1 responded on 23 Apr 2008 at 3:00 pm #
Anyone interested in buying 20 mint issues of Rad mag from Oct 87 on and other assorted skate goodies… Check out my e-bay auction site and other sitems for sale too….
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/20-VINTAGE-MINT-CONDITION-RAD-SKATEBOARD-MAGAZINES_W0QQitemZ130217155316QQihZ003QQcategoryZ614QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
ked1 responded on 23 Apr 2008 at 3:33 pm #
Luke,
I tried looking for your issue but i don’t think i have it mate sorry….
tommyboy1977 responded on 12 May 2008 at 6:15 pm #
hey,
i am looking for a particular photo. it was a covershot of a friend of mine skating monks ditch, and was credited as unknown local.
i think he was doing a back smith. there was a feature in the issue about the ditch and other photos of him.
if you know what issue this was, and if anyone has a copy, it would be cool to give him a copy.
thanks
tom
tommyboy1977 responded on 12 May 2008 at 6:17 pm #
i am also looking for a rad sticker!
cheers
tom