Logopolis, produced by members of the United Galactic Federation, a Brisbane-based Doctor Who fan group, was first and foremost a printed fanzine. Editor Ruediger Landmann announced his desire to produce a tapezine in the very first issue in 1985, but this only finally came to fruition two years later for a single issue towards the end of the ’zine’s run.

The printed fanzine commenced in July 1985 with a ‘Pilot Issue’, which despite its title was actually distributed. A month later, the first issue proper was published, promising articles on subjects as diverse as the workings of the TARDIS, the feature film The Last Starfighter and an article entitled ‘Why I hate Tom Baker’ – suggesting that Logopolis would be offering a range of opinions.

Although the ‘Tapezine Issue’ was numbered as a double issue – Issue 12/13 – it was actually the tenth to be published, not including the pilot issue. This is because the monthly Logopolis was regularly produced in double-issues to cover a two-month period. From Issue 6 (January / February 1986), the fanzine went to a bi-monthly format and each was given only a single number designation. Editions were distributed throughout 1986 in this fashion, with the 12/13 tapezine, designated a double-issue “to acknowledge this milestone in UGF history”, being issued in the early months of 1987. Logopolis reverted to print for its final issue in July 1987. Its cover carried no number, only the title Logopolis: The Final Issue.

This solitary taped edition of Logopolis was reissued on Vimeo in 2017, complete with appropriate background footage, fanzine covers and other photographic content.

The most interesting content on this cassette is undoubtedly the interview with Australian fandom’s then co-ordinator, Paul Kennedy, which proves to be quite eye-opening, revealing that being a prominent fan wasn’t always without its drawbacks. In the interview, Paul described how he brought Australian fandom together at a national level under SCOT (the Supreme Council of Time Lords), when previously it had been disparate and somewhat fractured. The role could be difficult, with and significant demands on his time and energy: “It takes up so much time. There’s not usually a day going by without something coming up about SCOT, trying to keep everyone onside… You just could not believe how easy it is to upset people, particularly the fans in the 12-15 year old age group. There’s also resentment from other prominent fans which manifests itself from time to time... and also the fans expect so much of me and demand so much of my time.” Plus ça change!

Considering that Logopolis was a printed fanzine for the whole of its run bar this issue, it’s all very competently put together and enjoyable to listen to. The fan interviews are interesting, and the one-hour duration passes pleasingly enough. In terms of presentation, it does lack any identification of who the features are written and spoken by, which is a minor quibble, but the content is varied in subject, with Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (“Without question, the best movie I’ve ever seen”) and Aliens (“Everyone who has a strong stomach and doesn’t mind a bit of adrenalin flowing should go and see this film”) reviewed in addition to the expected Doctor Who content. On the strength of the audio issue, I suspect the printed fanzines are worth tracking down...

Alan Hayes