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Brighton Voice was an alternative or underground newspaper published in Brighton, England in the 1970s and 1980s.

Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Campaigns 3 Membership 4 Copies 5 See also 6 References 7 External links

[edit]History

Brighton Voice was one of the many alternative local newspapers that sprung up in the United Kingdom in the 1960s and 1970s.^[1] With a launching statement describing its aim as "giving a voice to ordinary people"^[2] the first issue was published in March 1973. It was started by just two people, an academic at the University of Sussex and a printer at the university, for whom the "reason for starting the paper was opposition to state power, locally and nationally" and who claimed to find the "chic radicalism of Brighton insufferably boring".^[3] The initial team of two rapidly expanded to five and within three months there were up to 50 people volunteering to assist.^[4]

Its operation was made possible by the arrival of inexpensive photolithography that permitted printing without typesetting. Before the arrival of Desk-Top Publishing it was typed, with the typewritten sections pasted up onto master sheets using Cow Gum, with headlines in Letraset. The first 66 issues were in A4, but from issue 67 the Voice changed to A3 newsprint and from Issue 72 to A2 newsprint. It was first printed by Voice personnel on a small press owned by a member of the collective and then at a squat in Islington, North London but printing was quickly moved back to Brighton. In the early days doing the printing yourself was part of the philosophy of those involved.^[4] Bankruptcy of the printer and a subsequent suspicious fire meant that printing had to be moved back to London on two occasions, to be printed by another alternative paper, the Islington Gutter Press.^[4] Later, to accommodate the new format, it was printed in Bristol.

The Voice was listed in Ulrich's Periodicals Directory and Benn's Media Directory. It ceased publication with issue No 132 in July 1989, making it one of the longest-running alternative papers in the United Kingdom. By the late 1980s it was facing competition from the growth of commerciallistings magazines in Brighton such as The Punter, and the emergence of more extreme anarchist papers such as Brighton Bomber, neither of which has survived.

Brighton Voice was intended to be issued monthly but usually managed about nine issues a year. The collective approach, which allowed anyone who wanted to turn up at monthly editorial meetings and to participate in production led to slow decision making and lengthy editorial meetings. These were initially held in people's homes although in the early days it was difficult to find space for all those who wanted to contribute.^[4] Subsequently, editorial meetings were held at the “Open Café”, an anarchist, whole-foods restaurant on Victoria Road in Brighton.^[5] The Voice was typed and laid out in the basement of the café. Subsequently, it moved to several other locations in Brighton and Hove.

Distribution of the magazine caused problems. Most newsagents were reluctant to stock it, either because of disagreement with the contents or fear of legal action. In 1976 the local Conservative Member of Parliament, Andrew Bowden, wrote to all the newsagents in his constituency advising them not to sell the Voice because the collective included “a number of left-wing extremists” responsible for “churning out deliberate lies and political filth”. Two years later, local fascists responded to the Voice's campaign against the National Front by smashing windows of some newsagents.^[6] However, around 25 retailers remained faithful, with a dozen continuing to sell it to the end of its life.

Sales were highest at Infinity Foods, a whole foods shop that exists to this day, and on the University of Sussex campus but circulation amongst the ordinary citizens of Brighton and Hove was relatively patchy, despite street sales by members of the collective. Unsurprisingly it spoke mainly to the already committed. Circulation of the Voice never reached 2000, and sales over its lifetime averaged around 1000. T