Back Issues

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Established 1979
Free! Fortnightly! Fun!

These are the back issues of Red Rag. They'll be posted here every two weeks on or around the anniversary of their original publication. We're currently reissuing 1982; the latest issue is dated April 18th (scan / txt); the next one is due out on May 2nd.

Red Rag, or Reading's only newspaper, had a noble tradition of misspelling, mixed metaphors, wrong facts, confused political judgements and a dedicated readership by now of over 750. It aimed to publicise and encourage a wide spectrum of subversion and culture in Reading; it kept people in touch with an events diary which spanned the activities of groups as diverse as organic gardeners and anarchists, anti-nuclear activists and civic planners, wild-eyed liberals and woolly communists; it contained news and views and details of things to do in and around Reading which the local press couldn't or wouldn't touch. And it was free.

Red Rag's biggest ever issue (scan / txt) carries six pages of replies to last time's article about the Women's Centre, explains the Malvinas crisis clearly and concisely, notes that brewing a cup of real coffee can be quite an eye-opener and so gives clear instructions which may or may not look familiar to current readers. The women arrested at Greenham last month (uhm, did we report that?) go on trial, a new peace camp is to open at nearby Burghfield, the Queen pays a visit, Raiders of the Lost Ark plus support is on at the ABC, Gladys Knight and the Pips play at the Hexagon (why oh why didn't I go to that one?) and Amazulu are down to headline for Mayday.