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Post by rockingrev on Jan 23, 2024 11:59:56 GMT
Lapsed Fan Club member here - but this weekend I was sorting some stuff in the loft and came across my old Fan Club mags. A nice bit of nostalgia. I do enjoy something physically printed to read and thought about re-joining, but then looked at the Fan Club website and saw that it's £26.50 - for TWO magazines a year!!!! If you take out post, it's about £12 an issue. I could buy a decent paperback book for that price.
Does anyone still belong to the Fan Club? What else do you get for that money, surely not just two mags?!
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pg
Queen Mab
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Post by pg on Jan 23, 2024 12:22:40 GMT
I too am lapsed (I think she'd just gone down to 3 issues a year at that point), so cant answer the question, but I suspect you get a tenner off a convention ticket or something, plus there's a members-only area of the website (no idea what's back there)
Your underlying point is valid though - how she keeps it going, with a website, huge amounts of correspondence, and organising the convention and makes a living at it is a miracle. I remain surprised that the re-emergence of Queen as a touring entity from ~2008 onwards hasn't instigated a reversal of the previous decision to defund it. I'm sure she could be re-integrated with QPL, she probably has some good merch ideas too.
I suspect she'll retire within 5 years, and that will then be that.
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daga
Tatterdemalion
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Post by daga on Jan 23, 2024 17:55:02 GMT
I still pay, and international shipping is even more expensive. There are no more competitions and discounts.  |
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Post by Brian's Wig on Jan 23, 2024 20:30:26 GMT
Frankly, unless you're a convention goer, it's not worth the money.
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BrƎИsꓘi
Administrator 
They called it paradise, I don't know why...You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.
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Post by BrƎИsꓘi on Jan 23, 2024 21:49:39 GMT
Frankly, unless you're a convention goer, it's not worth the money. and in this day and age completely anachronistic |
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merplot
Dragonfly Trumpeter
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Post by merplot on Jan 24, 2024 2:37:37 GMT
Frankly, unless you're a convention goer, it's not worth the money. and in this day and age completely anachronistic I'm not a fanclub member but kind of tangentially-related, I'm the owner of a few of those old Japanese teenager-run fanclub magazines from 1974-1975 before there was an official international fanclub, and it's fascinating to read about their (the kids') exploits and see ads in the back for penpals and such. The kids got an interview with Brian just by talking to and befriending some of the road crew and a Japanese music exec. Good old-fashioned legwork. It's easy to forget how different life was before the Internet-- now you dont need zines to stay involved as a fan. |
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Post by snakecharmer on May 15, 2024 16:22:06 GMT
I am also a lapsed Fan Club member from around 1979 through until the late 80's. As I remember at that time you got four magazines each year , each had a printed letter from one member of the band. You could buy merchandise and even send in your postal orders in to buy tickets for concerts ! My first ticket to see Queen play at Birmingham NEC 1979 cost me £5 ! I don't know how much tickets were for the recent "Rhapsody Tour," as I not been able to go to concerts due to ill health. A bit more than £5 I expect ! Did anyone ever go to the Club Conventions , I bet they were good fun back in the day ?
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pg
Queen Mab
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Post by pg on May 15, 2024 21:34:06 GMT
Did anyone ever go to the Club Conventions , I bet they were good fun back in the day ? I went from 1989 to (about) 2008. There were some very silly experiences, and some massive hangovers, and some other things that we can't discuss.... And some of that was Queen related! I remember a team quiz that got me on the telly, overpaying in the auction, bad puns as fancy dress, cold chalets, netball competitions and professional snooker players, Gareth Gritter, having to guess the answer to the quiz question "what is spike edney's first name" - to his face, filling fridges with beers on arrival, the most repetitive joke in history, making up the numbers in the snooker and getting further than I expected, making Jim J think he was going to run out of questions, singing the RT part of the Ogre Battle intro, not copping off, refilling fridges on day 2, fluking an extra copy of the Bo Rhapsody purple vinyl, taking a VCR to record QTV the first year there was nothing worth recording, driving down behind someone to win a bet I wouldn't overtake and arriving first anyway, trying to carry something impractical on the train from Camber Sands, turning down the chance to hold the Red Special... |
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Post by dragonkiller on May 16, 2024 11:08:26 GMT
Did anyone ever go to the Club Conventions , I bet they were good fun back in the day ? I went from 1989 to (about) 2008. There were some very silly experiences, and some massive hangovers, and some other things that we can't discuss.... And some of that was Queen related! I remember a team quiz that got me on the telly, overpaying in the auction, bad puns as fancy dress, cold chalets, netball competitions and professional snooker players, Gareth Gritter, having to guess the answer to the quiz question "what is spike edney's first name" - to his face, filling fridges with beers on arrival, the most repetitive joke in history, making up the numbers in the snooker and getting further than I expected, making Jim J think he was going to run out of questions, singing the RT part of the Ogre Battle intro, not copping off, refilling fridges on day 2, fluking an extra copy of the Bo Rhapsody purple vinyl, taking a VCR to record QTV the first year there was nothing worth recording, driving down behind someone to win a bet I wouldn't overtake and arriving first anyway, trying to carry something impractical on the train from Camber Sands, turning down the chance to hold the Red Special... Brilliant round-up of your experiences....apart from the last bit....."turning down the chance to hold the Red Special" One of a Queen fan's life quest!!!! |
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pg
Queen Mab
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Post by pg on May 16, 2024 22:11:35 GMT
Brilliant round-up of your experiences....apart from the last bit....."turning down the chance to hold the Red Special" One of a Queen fan's life quest!!!! There was no point, in my mind, if I couldn't plug it in. 20 ish years later, I remain entirely comfortable with that. |
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Post by dragonkiller on May 17, 2024 12:47:21 GMT
Brilliant round-up of your experiences....apart from the last bit....."turning down the chance to hold the Red Special" One of a Queen fan's life quest!!!! There was no point, in my mind, if I couldn't plug it in. 20 ish years later, I remain entirely comfortable with that. Fair do.. not been able to pluck the old lady's strings would be a hell of a letdown. |
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itsmeskc
Tatterdemalion
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Post by itsmeskc on May 18, 2024 7:43:58 GMT
Yeah I'm lapsed by about 30 plus years and someone mentioned how it wasn't worth it unless you are a convention goer...
well sounds like it's run the same way as far as what they put in the content of the magazine because that's the reason I stopped paying.... back then it was four issues a year one for each season I joined in 1975 or 76 and I went up until shortly after Freddie died, but i had been questioning whether it was worth it long before that. Even back then there was starting to be way too much coverage on the convention stuff and about some person I didn't even know who won the best impersonation of whatever and the best rendition of this song or the the best hacky sack player .... stuff that didn't interest me that's all I know. I could care a less that the best billiards player was from Leeds.I did enjoy the white elephant page and I also liked reading the message from the individual band members depending on the issue it was (Freddies were always short and began and ended with either dears or darlings; Brian's we're usually long and polite and thoughtful; Roger's informed what was going on with the band while throwing in his usual wit or sarcasm; John was always straight to the point and matter of factly). I'm just thankful I grew up in the 1970s and saw all those great concerts (Queen with Freddie a dozen times original Sabbath Purple w/Gillan Alice Floyd Animals and The Wall Sab w/Gillan Ozzy w/Randy twice Danzig and a gang of others to) and all them great albums when they first came out,... Back in the day when Mom and Pop record stores were on the corner and some had old issues of ciracus raves hit parader creem all those great magazines you could buy and the bootlegs etc...Now it's 2024 and I'm on the way out!!!! But yeah,go treat yourself to a nice meal or something or use it to buy a couple of old issues that you don't have on eBay .....
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Post by rockingrev on Jun 6, 2024 9:08:08 GMT
I went from 1989 to (about) 2008. There were some very silly experiences, and some massive hangovers, and some other things that we can't discuss.... And some of that was Queen related! I remember a team quiz that got me on the telly, overpaying in the auction, bad puns as fancy dress, cold chalets, netball competitions and professional snooker players, Gareth Gritter, having to guess the answer to the quiz question "what is spike edney's first name" - to his face, filling fridges with beers on arrival, the most repetitive joke in history, making up the numbers in the snooker and getting further than I expected, making Jim J think he was going to run out of questions, singing the RT part of the Ogre Battle intro, not copping off, refilling fridges on day 2, fluking an extra copy of the Bo Rhapsody purple vinyl, taking a VCR to record QTV the first year there was nothing worth recording, driving down behind someone to win a bet I wouldn't overtake and arriving first anyway, trying to carry something impractical on the train from Camber Sands, turning down the chance to hold the Red Special... Brilliant round-up of your experiences....apart from the last bit....."turning down the chance to hold the Red Special" One of a Queen fan's life quest!!!! Oh then we definitely crossed paths (probably going to/from the bar). I was there from 1998 until 2012. I just missed out on the real glory years, although the last few at Prestatyn were still good (anyone remember the year we shared the site with a bunch of netballers?). For anyone who didn't go back then, you really missed out. It was a wonderful event - a whole weekend before social media ruined things. No-one on their phones, just people drinking and making merry to Queen all weekend. It was like its own little world where time didn't matter. The Prestatyn site was so big that the bands in the evening were fantastic with a proper big and high stage. And many will remember the legendary chalet parties that took place well into the early hours of the morning (I seem to recall walking back from one at 6am!) Sadly the numbers dwindled and it's become a bit of a joke now. I saw some footage of last year's, of the Convention staff doing a cabaret - proper Hi-de-Hi type stuff in a room that looked barely full, and with loads of people talking whilst they did it. I remember that they used to do this way back when I went, but it always seemed better, more polished. Or perhaps it was just because we were much younger then so it was more fun. Perhaps they need to do what the Americans do with theirs - hold it in a hotel ballroom. Less of a programme, but it makes it classy. In the 80's (and just about in the 90's) holiday camps were ok, but these days it makes the Convention just seen cheap and naff. I have some great memories of the old conventions - some I definitely can't say  but I think I was right to let it go. It's very much a thing of the past. Any other Convention memories.........? |
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pg
Queen Mab
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Post by pg on Jun 7, 2024 15:11:41 GMT
The netball year was also the "snooker pros" year.
I may be diverting attention...
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tyzer
Tatterdemalion
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Post by tyzer on Jun 8, 2024 17:05:42 GMT
I’ve been going to the conventions since the early 90s, it’s still decent. Currently it’s on a haven site which is massively better than pontins. Me and my mates go just to enjoy the weekend get merry see some quality tribute bands and guest speakers.
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but I think I was right to let it go. It's very much a thing of the past.