It's not just Top of the Pops that celebrated turning sixty this month. Iconic British teen magazine Jackie has also hit the big 6-0! It was back in January 11th 1964 that the first issue of Jackie went on sale and changed the lives of many a teenage girl and made its mark on popular culture. Not only that but it served as the precursor for many of the subsequent British magazines that followed in the magnificent footsteps of Jackie and dominated the teen market.
It was probably coincidental that Jackie was launched just ten days after the first episode of the cultural phenomenon that was Top of the Pops aired but the two, Jackie and Top of the Pops, went together hand in hand so perfectly well for its influence on youth culture and fashion, and also for giving a platform to both established and up and coming artists. What a fabulous time January 1964 must have been for the youth of that time! But little did Sixties British youth realize that they were witnessing history in the making, and experiencing two phenomenons that many of today's generation barely know about - and both are still so sorely missed...
But while I was - and still am - a massive TOTP fan and made it my mission in life, when I was younger, to be in front of the telly at 7pm on a Thursday night, I unfortunately missed out on being a Jackie girl. That might come as quite a shock to a lot of people as Jackie did exist during my lifetime (I'm sadly not that young!) and everyone who knows me knows that there wasn't a TV, music, fashion, women's or teen magazine that I wasn't spending my money on. But by the time I got bitten by the magazine bug and started spending virtually all of my pocket money on magazines - much to my parents' annoyance - Jackie was sadly on its way out with the last issue being printed in 1993.
There's no doubt in my mind though that had the plug not been pulled on Jackie, I would most definitely have been an avid reader and a Jackie girl for sure! I would have been one of those teen girls who - from what I heard - would eagerly await the latest copy to hit the stands before rushing down to the newsagent to grab it before anyone else did. It wasn't solely because you were worried about missing out on that week's issue but you needed to be the one to get all the news before anyone else did. You didn't want to hear it secondhand from your classmates - you wanted to be the one proclaiming the gospel according to Jackie before 'Miss' came into the classroom to take the register, and then again over lunch in the school canteen.
You wanted to know what the latest fashions were; where were the best places to shop. You wanted to know how to style your hair with just the right amount of bounce. You wanted to know how to do your make up so that you could pass for Twiggy's little sister. You wanted to collect all the free gifts that Jackie had to offer (shimmery lip gloss, girls?) And most importantly you needed that final part of the three-part poster in order to complete your David Essex poster. How else were you going to practice the kissing tips so generously given by Jackie? To have an incomplete poster would have been a fate worse than death and definitely something worth writing in to Cathy and Claire about!
The sixtieth anniversary of the launch of this groundbreaking teen magazine means that there are articles and interviews appearing everywhere; where those who remember Jackie all too well reminisce about what the magazine meant to them. I've heard stories from the ladies who were blessed to have worked on the magazine while still in their teens. Who better to write a magazine aimed at teenagers than teenagers themselves? When I was a teen girl myself (only last year, of course!) I dreamed of becoming a journalist and working for one of the magazines I was so keen to spend my money on. I did become a member of the Press Pack (I'm sure that's what they were called) for Fast Forward magazine (remember them?) but sadly never saw my name in print due to me never sending my work in on time! Tut, tut!
One of the ladies who gave up her place at uni to work for Jackie in its hey day described it as 'being at the university of Jackie' and talked about the fun environment and camaraderie among the staff there. That definitely sounds like my kind of university, and definitely a lot better than the one I actually did go to (although I did meet my girls there so there were some good points. Well when they're not bullying me that is. Only joking, girls!) However I doubt my parents would never have allowed me to give up my university course. And worse still they wouldn't have paid for my ticket to travel up to Dundee so that I could work at Jackie Towers (No that's not what it was called. But I reckon it should have been!)
I think it's what is known as anemoia or sehnsucht. No not the Rammstein album (although I'm sure it's pretty good) but that longing and nostalgia for a time that you have never lived in. I've made no secret of the fact that I wished I could have been a teenager in sixties or seventies London. While I'm sure life wasn't perfect for everyone back then or ever for that matter (it never is) I picked up on the sentiment that there was a vibrancy and a zest for life; an enthusiasm for all that was new and exciting. Youngsters had real optimism and zeal for the future. These are all the things that I see summed up in Jackie. So do I wish I could have been a Jackie girl? You bet!
I was, however, a Just Seventeen; Mizz; Sugar; It's Bliss and Shout kind of girl. So I still had the same interests, habits, future hopes and aspirations as most Jackie readers. Half the contents in my chest of drawers were made up of cosmetics that were given away as free gifts. I still put posters up on my walls but it was Jordan Knight from New Kids on the Block I dreamed about and not David Cassidy. While I like standing out from the crowd now and being my own person, as a young girl, all I wanted was to fit and and be accepted by my peers - show me one teenager who doesn't! Whether you're in the Sixties, Nineties, or twenty-first century, just pick up any magazine aimed at teens, turn to the letters or problem pages and you will find tons of people of your own age group who are just like you; who have the same worries, fears, concerns that you do. Those who are seeking resolutions and are hopeful for a better future.And many of those teens can't wait to grow up and experience freedom as an adult and imagine, through the pages of such magazines just like I did, of what adult life would be like. Only to realize when we get there, how overhyped adulthood is! So you see - regardless of the decade or magazines that I was reading, I wasn't so different to the Jackie crowd.
And furthermore if it wasn't for Jackie, a magazine that revolutionized media for teenagers, I don't think I would have been reading magazines like Sugar or Shout as unless someone had the bright idea somewhere further down the line, I very much doubt they would have existed. Jackie was to British teen magazines what New Kids on the Block are to boy bands (the jury's still out on whether that was a good or bad thing! Not because New Kids were awful - because they're NOT - but because many of the subsequent boy bands that came along were! However others may beg to differ!)
But while I may never have had the seemingly, totally care-free existence of a typical teenage girl in the Jackie era whose biggest catastrophe was figuring out how to get the Paul McCartney lookalike at school to notice her, I feel I share more in common with the girls (now ladies of course) of that generation who came long before me than those who came long after me. I could be wrong but it seems to me that adulthood is creeping up on youngsters earlier and earlier these days. Childhood and teen years are fleeting and go by so quickly. So kids and teens should enjoy and relish this period. However with us, even though we were in a hurry to grow up (careful what you wish for and all that!) the difference is that we weren't made to grow up too soon (or at least I don't feel we were.) Perhaps that's one of the reasons why I have a fondness for such times. And things like Jackie, whether I experienced it or not... well it takes me back to more care-free, simpler times.
So happy sixtieth, Jackie. I may not have been a 'Jackie girl' or known you personally, or have you educate me on the fine art of kissing; getting attention from the boys, or the benefits of taking my make-up off at night. I may not have had the lovely Cathy and Claire to advise me through every tumultuous situation I ever encountered. But I do feel as though I've known you all my life. You made a generation of girls - and the ones who came along afterwards - very happy. Thank you x
With love and thanks to my brother from another mother, JM, for most of these pics. x
Photos: Angel Noire and JM
Blog graphics: Angel Noire
