Back Issues

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Established 1979
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These are the back issues of Red Rag. They'll be posted here every (usually) two weeks on or around the anniversary of their original publication. We're currently reissuing 1984; the latest issue is dated June 10th (scan / txt); the next one is due out on the 24th.

Red Rag, or Reading's only newspaper, had a noble tradition of misspelling, mixed metaphors, wrong facts, confused political judgements and a readership of 4000. It printed pretty well everything it got sent ("unless the Collective judged it racist, sexist, right wing, supportive of oppressive religions, or boring"). It aimed to provide a decent alternative coverage of local news and issues from a radical non-aligned position; to promote subversive and creative initiatives; to provide a forum for unorthodox views; to allow some sort of co-existence between a huge variety of interests. And in four and a half years it had never sold a single copy.

In this issue (scan / txt): Four miners from Rose Heyworth colliery in South Wales are in Reading to help organise local support for the miners' strike; nobody dares oppose something so obviously wholesome as "Care in the Community", and every time someone says, "Of course I support it but..." they have wrong-footed themselves and it's the government that looks as though it has its heart in the right place; Knockabout Comics have been acquitted on all charges at the Old Bailey - will this mean that Acorn is due an easier ride through the courts? - and please ignore the "cancelled" stickers which some mindless vandal's been pasting over the fly posts around town.

The Government is attempting to starve the miners into submission to give up this fight. Should we stand by and let this happen? For if the Government can destroy the strength of the miners the success of future struggles for jobs, peace, democratic rights, civil liberties and economic recovery will be weakened.