Crash was a magazine dedicated to the ZX Spectrum home computer. It was published from 1984 to 1991 by Newsfield Publications Ltd until their liquidation, and then until 1992 by Europress.

Development

Crash was initially launched in 1983 by Roger Kean, Oliver Frey and Franco Frey as a mail order software catalogue that included several pages of reviews. It then launched as a magazine in February 1984, maintaining its focus squarely on Spectrum gaming (unlike its competitors, which tended to feature more serious technical coverage). Kean and the Frey brothers would continue to be involved with the magazine throughout its lifetime.

Popularity

By October 1986, Crash boasted regular sales of over 100,000 copies. Its ABC figure of 101,483 copies a month for the period of January to June were claimed by the magazine to be "more than any other computer magazine in the country by all accounts".

Editorial content

Much editorial content (for example, the previews and responses to readers' letters) was credited to Lloyd Mangram, a fictional character, although written by members of the editorial staff. Mangram was depicted visually in the magazine by a sketch of a man wearing a paper bag over his head with holes cut for eyes. This was in stark contrast to the magazine's practice (more common in later years) of accompanying each review with a small likeness of the writer. Lloyd Mangram's contributions made frequent references to his ancient Hermes Typewriter.

Crash Magazine is a French independent magazine published every trimester that can be found in all major press stores.

It was founded in 1998 by Frank Perrin and Armelle Leturcq; art critics before publishing Crash, Perrin and Leturcq had previously published an art review known as Blocnotes. They are both considered part of the new generation of French art critics that left a mark in the 1990s.

Francois Bizot, the founder of L’Actuel has mentioned that the creation of this publication revolutionized the landscape of French press.

Crash arrived on the French market characterized with an element of the unexpected, filled with a deliberate desire to change things: characterized by a minimalist layout and design, it is constituted by challenging avant-garde visuals seeking to emphasize the beauty of things with innovative ideas. Crash worked in close relation with artists such as Air, Daft Punk, Michel Gondry during the emergence of the "French Touch". Since 2000 however, they have shifted their focus towards the "New Generation" such as Sofia Coppola, Phoenix and Super Discount.