Blah Blah Cafe, the Jean-Michel Jarre forum

[plate of chips]

Off Topic

Speaking of, I always thought the Bob Moog Foundation logo looked suspiciously familiar https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Moog_Foundation

CONDUCTOR OF THE MASSES - Issue 2 - 1990

There's a resemblance for sure. Wouldn't surprise me Bob Moog being a fan of JMJ, Moog foundation took cues from this JMJ COTM logo.

[Richard-Eastham]

These are the issues of COTM that I contributed to:

- Issue 7 – Winter 1991/1992 – I get a credit on Page 2. I think this was because I wrote to Mark earlier that year, suggesting ideas for the format, layout and branding of the fanzine.
- Issue 8 - Summer 1992 – Page 23 – I get a letter published about t-shirts ... which reading back all these years later is rather cringe-worthy!
- Issue 10 - Spring 1993 – Pages 28 and 29 – I get a letter published, that is critical of both the Swatch The World and Lost City shows.
- Issue 15 – Spring 1995 – Pages 30 and 31 – My article reviewing four Oxygene remixes.
- Issue 18 – Page 12 – My article speculating about the new album, that would become Oxygene 7-13.

I recall writing another article, about the Europe In Concert tour, analysing the different venues but I don’t think that got published. I can’t seem to find it, anyway. I recall my article was generally glowing about the EIC tour, saying it was a brilliant idea to create a moving pop-up circus that summer of 1993, bringing the JMJ experience to a wider audience and allowing it to land in some great European locations.

My only complaint was that the two dates in the UK were both in football stadiums (Manchester Maine Road and London Wembley) and that perhaps bad memories of the complications and red tape from Docklands just five years earlier meant he “played safe” rather than take his EIC set up into landmark UK locations – places such as Buckingham Palace, Liverpool docks, and Glasgow riverside have all been talked about over the years but these didn’t get a show. I know stadiums were used elsewhere during EIC, it was just a shame the UK didn’t get a non-stadium show.

[plate of chips]

Cheers Rich. Shall read at my leisure.
Nothing to be embarrassed by it's all enjoyable.
Cheers to Jon for the scanned uploads.

[Richard-Eastham]

Looking back through those COTM scans this week, made me realise just what a brilliant production that fanzine was. Mark Gidley did such a special job back then. The quality of the photography, the layout and the writing was exceptional. And in a time before the social media and every artist having his/her website (although I know there were some great fan message boards in the early 1990s, because I was on them) this fanzine was an amazing resource for JMJ fans.

Then the internet and ubiquitous information made something like COTM “surplus to requirements” and seen as an extravagance. But now, in this information saturated age, I think there’s room for print media again. The way Pet Shop Boys have relaunched their Literally series of printed material, shows that there can be a market for beautifully produced books and magazines.

The photo books from PLD, CPLT and EIC are wonderful souvenirs of those JMJ mega-shows. It would be a lovely gesture for the fans if JMJ issued a similar print product after this summer tour.

Some glorious photos from the shows themselves, plus some behind the scenes photos, his own commentary on the AI artwork processes, snapshots of the different locations, some thoughts about the track list, an interview with the lighting and lasers team, and at the back, a 20% discount voucher to spend on Stone Island stuff.