The Birthday Party

In the early 80's NME ran a weekly column called 'Portrait of the Artist as a Consumer' where cult types, (generally), were offered the opportunity to share their taste in art and culture.

Back when the music press wasn't afraid of intellectualism, or of leaving you with your own research to do on your own reconnaissance.

NME became the most important music paper in the country. It released the influential C81 in 1981, in conjunction with Rough Trade Records, available to readers by mail order at a low price. The tape featured a number of then up-and-coming bands, including Aztec Camera, Orange Juice, Linx and Scritti Politti, as well as a number of more established artists such as Robert Wyatt, Pere Ubu, the Buzzcocks and Ian Dury.

However, sales were dropping, and by the mid-1980s, NME had hit a rough patch and was in danger of closing. During this period, they were split between those who wanted to write about hip hop, a genre that was relatively new to the UK, and those who wanted to stick to rock music.