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Smash Hits returns to pay tribute to Jacko

By | Published on Monday 6 July 2009

Smash Hits is back. But only for one week. And only because Michael Jackson is dead.

Yes, the legendary pop mag has been resurrected for one edition to commemorate the life of the king of pop, a staple for the magazine in its eighties hey day. In fact if I remember rightly, many an edition of Smash Hits back then was dedicated with continuing the manufactured ‘pop war’ between Jackson and Prince. A ridiculous ‘war’ with hindsight, I wonder if they’ll mention that in the special edition?

Anyway, Bauer Media, who inherited the by then defunct Smash Hits brand when it bought EMAP in 2008, has got one of the pop mag’s former editors, Barry McIlheney, in to produce the one off special, which will look back at Jackson’s career, his eighties peak, and Smash Hits’ coverage of it all. It’s one of a number of rushed-to-press Jackson tribute magazines that will be propping up the news-stands this week.

If the Smash Hits one gets all you eighties pop fans feeling all nostalgic and in need of another hit of the magazine, well, you’ll presumably have to sit in there and wait until Madonna, Prince or Kylie bite the dust. Possibly Jason. Or maybe Whitney. She was pretty big news back then too wasn’t she?



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