A new Swindon Town fanzine is launching this week, looking to capture the spirit of the originals and create a community feel for the fanbase.

'The Loathed Strangers: Fanzine' launches ahead of the start of the new season at Chesterfield, with an editorial team featuring Rich Pullen and Terry Pierce from the eponymous podcast, as well as The Metro’s Gavin Brown, former Swindon Advertiser reporter Sam Morshead, and Anna Tuersley, who used to edit former Town fanzine 'The 69er.'

The first edition includes interviews with Jamie Russell and Ivo Graham, experiences from Town fans, as well as satirical pieces poking fun at various characters from Swindon's history.

 

 

This fanzine looks to become another option within a burgeoning community of fan content for Swindon fans to express their love for the club.

Pullen said: “I think the main thing whenever I read a fanzine is that it is a different voice, it is not the voice of the football club, it is the voice of the fans.

“The 80s look is a lot different to what fanzines look like now, I don’t think you can get away with four folded pieces of paper anymore, if people are paying for something they want it to look shiny and impressive, but we feel the tone within the pages is still in that same spirit.

“We are hoping to entertain, we are hoping to raise some smiles, even if we are being critical I hope we are doing it in a way that is light.

“I am really excited for people to read this because it can be another thing that Swindon fans have and can reference. We have so much stuff at Swindon that other clubs in the lower leagues can only dream of and the fanzine can add to that.”

 

 

Although the project begins with writing largely from the editorial team, Pullen says that the plan is to look to create a collaborative space for fans to contribute and share their experiences and skills.

He said: “We are not here to compete with the matchday programme, we are looking for things that you wouldn’t necessarily see in a programme.

“We are looking for satirical pieces, experiences that might be unique to the writer, and things that you feel will be interesting to other Swindon fans.

“This is designed to help people who want to write to get published, that is our driving goal, to help writers of any age to be creative and get their words in print.”