Depeche Mode - BONG Magazine & Newsletters | dmremix.pro

Depeche Mode BONG Magazine & Newsletters

demoderus

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Bong Magazine
In late 1987, the Depeche Mode Fan Club became a magazine later known as "Bong", which settled into a routine of being issued quarterly. Its final issue (number 52) was published in June 2002. With the exception of a few magazines (28, 29 and 30), here are all the notable articles and images from the entire run of the British edition of Bong Magazine.
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Bong Newsletters
Occasionally it was necessary for Bong Magazine to send out newsletters in addition to the regular magazine to publicise special events. Here is a small selection of these newsletters.
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BONG was an official Depeche Mode fan club magazine which ran from 1988 until the closure of the club in 2002. The magazine was previously distributed as a newsletter format publication known as the Depeche Mode Information Service, which ran from 1981 through early 1988.

Prior to 1988, BONG magazine was distributed as a newsletter format publication known as the Depeche Mode Information Service, which ran from 1981 through early 1988. Initial production of the newsletter was managed by Joanne Fox (then-girlfriend and first wife of Dave Gahan), Anne Swindell (then-girlfriend of Martin Gore), and Deb Danahay (then-girlfriend of Vince Clarke) until December 1981, when Clarke's departure from Depeche Mode prompted Danahay's departure from the publication. Fox assumed primary responsibility for the production of the newsletter upon Swindell's departure in June 1983 and oversaw its publication through August 1985, when Depeche Mode tour merchandiser Bravado's took on production duties. During Fox's tenure, the newsletter was published on a monthly basis from 1981 through August 1985[1], after which it transitioned to a bimonthly release upon the change in production duties from Fox to Bravado's.

In late 1987, the newsletter began to introduce a series of changes to herald its transition into a magazine-style publication. Among these changes were a new mailing address, a fan contest to design a new logo to be used on the front cover of future issues, and a temporary title change to "The Depeche Mode Fan Club". The evolving nature of these changes were often jokingly summarised by writer Jo Bailey, who referred to the publication as "The Magazine With No Name" prior to the adoption of the BONG moniker in its fourth issue.

The newsletter saw its first release as a magazine in January 1988, and would conclude its run in its fifty-second issue, coinciding with the closure of the Depeche Mode fan club in 2002.
[1] With the exception of the April/May 1983 issue

 
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demoderus

Well-known member
Administrator
BONG NEWSLETTERS
Summary: Occasionally it was necessary for Bong Magazine to send out newsletters in addition to the regular magazine to publicise special events. Here is a small selection of these newsletters.
Many thanks to Michael Rose for kindly supplying photocopies of the newsletters.

[1] - c. January-February 1993 Announcing the pre-release listening party for Songs Of Faith And Devotion at the Ministry of Sound, London, 12th March 1993.
[2] - c. February-March 1993 Cover letter sent with tickets to the Songs Of Faith And Devotion listening party, with further information. \
[3] - c. June 1995 Brief announcement on the departure of Alan Wilder.
[4] - c. February-March 1997 A draw for tickets to the Ultra launch party.
 
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