Sinclair User

Sinclair User, often abbreviated SU, was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was published in the UK between 1982 and 1993, and was the longest running Sinclair-based magazine.

Sinclair User
Cover of Sinclair User from 1987
Former editors(Apr 1982) John Sterlicchi
(May '82 - Jan 84) Nigel Clark
(Feb '84 - May '86) Bill Scolding
(Jun '86 - Apr '88) David Kelly
(Mar '88 - May '89) Graham Taylor
(Jun '89 - Nov '90) Jim Douglas
(Dec '90 - Apr '92) Garth Sumpter
(May '92 - May '93) Alan Dykes
CategoriesComputer magazines
FrequencyMonthly
First issueApril 1982
Final issue
Number		April 1993
134[1]
CompanyECC Publications Ltd (April 1982 - August 1984)
EMAP (September 84 - May 1993)
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
ISSN0262-5458

Like many similar magazines, it contained news, game reviews, previews, tips, help guides, regular columns, readers' letters and cover-mounted game demos.

In May 1992 the former rival publication CRASH was notionally subsumed into Sinclair User but in practice this meant little more than the addition of the Crash! logo to the magazine's cover page.

In earlier years, the magazine built up personality cults around some of its "hilariously" monikered staff, including Bill "Incorruptible" Scolding, John "Disgusting" Gilbert, Chris "Lunchbreaks" Bourne, Claire "Ligger" Edgely, Richard Price (writer of the "Gordo Greatbelly" adventure tips section), and columnist Andrew Hewson (founder of Hewson Consultants software).

Under David Kelly's editorial tenure, the magazine began to focus more on the gaming scene, and featured more colour graphics under designer Gareth "the Mad Celt". By the time of editor Graham Taylor, the magazine included the cartoon character Kamikaze Bear, and the tone of the publication changed from a semi-serious magazine to something aimed more at children.

The magazine gained notoriety for giving games that received poor reviews in other publications excessively high scores and in some cases using fake screenshots, particularly in their review of the game Nemesis

Timex Sinclair User
Timex Sinclair User was a spin-off published for the US market.

A short-lived[2] spin-off known as Timex Sinclair User was also published for the American market, where versions of Sinclair computers were marketed under the Timex Sinclair name.[2][3]

See also
The debut issue, representative of the magazine's early style which was more hobbyist and less games-oriented than in later years.

References
  1. "April 1993, Issue 134". sincuser.f9.co.uk. Sinclair User Magazine Online. Archived from the original on 2006-09-24. Retrieved 2006-11-15.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-01-13. Retrieved 2011-03-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-03-19. Retrieved 2011-03-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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