How the hilariously puerile magazine sprang to life in a Newcastle bedroom, became a British institution, nearly went bankrupt, then found a new lease of life online.
Simon Thorp (left) and Graham Dury outside their writing shed, Whitley Bay, 19 August 2014.
Alan White / BuzzFeed
Whitley Bay, about 25 minutes' drive from Newcastle city centre, is a beautiful stretch of coastline. Around the corner from the beach is a Victorian house with a spacious back garden, where there are all sorts of unsurprising family accoutrements – a table-tennis table, a volleyball net, at least one or two cats roaming around (five live there in total) – as well as a big green shed that has been modified into a kind of office, with a sofa, chairs, and coffee-making facilities.
And in this shed are two affable middle-aged men with one of the most remarkable stories in the history of British publishing to tell. It's a story that encompasses more than 30 years, includes everyone from Hollywood actresses to Boris Johnson to David Bowie, and tells you everything you need to know about the industry's modern history.
But you wouldn't know it. They're just two average blokes. As one of them says, "The actual job's never really changed." They're Simon Thorp and Graham Dury; they write most of Viz magazine, and have done for decades.
The ideas board. "Which is the better J.K. – Rowling or out of Jamiroquai?"
Alan White / BuzzFeed
