Topic: An interesting ebay moment - more for the brits.

[Mark M]

I just sold a copy of BIKE magazine on ebay.........to Mark Williams......

Made me smile anyway.

[dusterdude]

ok,ill bite,who is mark williams?

[SteveD CB500F]

The Mark Williams wrote for Bike magazine in the 70's.  He epitomised the "Bike" outlook on life at the time: "ride 'em and f*** everybody else"!

He recently wrote a column in Classic Motorcycle Mechanics.

[Mark M]

He was the ex rolling stone magazine journalist that started BIKE Magazine, he almost singlehandedly invented the modern motorcycle rag. His idea was to make it a fun read and not just a technical journal. His method was to live the lifestyle that the bike manufacturers were using as their sales immage. This was in the 70's so you can probably imagine what that might have involved. He sold the mag to emap (east midiland allied press) who used it a the start of the biggest bike publishing house in the uk. He also started 'Which Bike' and 'Motorcycl;e international'. He reputedly did some time in the US for Cocain smuggling, but that may just have been an oversized personal stash (don't know the details) and is now back in the UK doing freelance bits and pieces with a regular colomn in one of the classic mags.

As a teenager he was my biggest hero (and in some ways still is).

And I very much doubt it was him, just one of the other 'Mark Williams's out there.
    

[SteveD CB500F]

His "avatar" in those Bike mags was terrific, and sums up what Mark calls "living the lifestyle"

Long hair and cigarette smoke...

[Einyodeler]

I used to get Bike magazine in back home the 70`s,brings back memories.Here`s a good read or two:

http://www.paganotter.org.uk/misc/insidel/insidel1001.html

http://www.paganotter.org.uk/misc/insidel/insidel0302.html

http://www.paganotter.org.uk/misc/roor/index.html

[SteveD CB500F]

Ah yes.

Takes me back.

You can imagine the effect his writing had on impressionable teenagers

[Raul CB750K1]

I recently bought some Bike issues from the 80's because I was interested in the bikes featured. I have to say that the "letters to the editor" and some other opinion columns clearly indicated that the magazine was aimed to teenagers, along with lots of pictures of well-breasted women wearing tight half-zipped leather jackets to advertise almost anything...

[Mark M]

His colomn on several mags was 'Running out of Road' - which covered his exploits on and off two wheels, There was a compilation published under the same title which makes a good read. I would take it with a pinch of salt, it's the attitude and free writing style that was always the most apealing part. I'm always genuinly pleased when I discover he's still alive. 

[seabird]

OGRI Lives!!!

Terry(UK)

[SteveD CB500F]

I stopped buying Bike when Paul Sample quit after exactly 100 Ogri cartoons.

Many years later I bought a copy of Bike (I think it was their 21st birthday edition) only to find that he'd started again and that there were books of Ogri cartoons...

[Mark M]

Steve,
There's a film/video (not sure if it ever got onto DVD) and a board game......

[SteveD CB500F]

Yeh I know (sad eh?)

I usually get an Ogri calendar from their site each year:

www.ogri.co.uk

[Mark M]

I give my kids the catalogue to use as a Christmas list each year, they are only 9/10 so there's lots of stuff in their price range.

Do you think we should be asking for commision for all this free bandwidth.   

[JonnyHonda]

He was the ex rolling stone magazine journalist that started BIKE Magazine, he almost singlehandedly invented the modern motorcycle rag. His idea was to make it a fun read and not just a technical journal. His method was to live the lifestyle that the bike manufacturers were using as their sales immage. This was in the 70's so you can probably imagine what that might have involved. He sold the mag to emap (east midiland allied press) who used it a the start of the biggest bike publishing house in the uk. He also started 'Which Bike' and 'Motorcycl;e international'. He reputedly did some time in the US for Cocain smuggling, but that may just have been an oversized personal stash (don't know the details) and is now back in the UK doing freelance bits and pieces with a regular colomn in one of the classic mags.

As a teenager he was my biggest hero (and in some ways still is).

And I very much doubt it was him, just one of the other 'Mark Williams's out there.
    

I thought Mark Williams was the guy from the "Fast Show", you know "Suit you Sir!!", now does a show on the discovery channel about steam engines.