Amstrad Action’s Golder Age Dave Golder arrived at AA after a stint of uncertainty in the ranks of the editor’s chair and brought some sought after stability to the free falling magazine. He also guided the magazine past its 100th issue. No mean feat for a single format computer magazine. We caught up with him for some quick fire answers. What are you up to at the moment? I’m back at SFX as special projects editor, having failed magnificently to get my novel published. How did you get involved with Amstrad Action? Ah, now there’s a story. I was working on Commodore Format as production editor, and everyone assumed that I would be taking over as editor when Trenton Webb left. The publishers had other ideas, and appointed somebody else... I had a complete girlie strop, threatened to resign, and then was offered Amstrad Action. But believe me, what started out as a consolation prize (I was a gamer, whereas Amstrad Action also had a strong techie element) became a passion. I ended up loving my time on AA.
n AA96, September 1993, Dave arrived
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AMSTRAD ACTION
What was it like working on the magazine and how did it feel to take the magazine through its 100th issue? Working on the mag was a blast, and I had great support from Simon Forrester who turned from an Amstrad neophyte into a... erm... not quite such a neophyte. Editing issue 100 was great fun, though I’m still not sure about my cover choice. It was an honour, and I hope I made readers feel proud of this plucky little mag (which had launched Future Publishing!). I wish I could have met more of the past team members in person, though. You then left to work on Ultimate Future Games magazine. Can you tell us a little more about this? I hated my time on Ultimate Future Games. Dreadful magazine. I was told it was going to be a “More youthful EDGE”. Instead it was just a dumb, patronising, shallow mess of a mag (apologise if you liked it). I wasn’t the editor, and no one listened to my opinions. I also had a very bad relationship with the art editor - we used to have mammoth arguments which sent the staff writers scurrying from the office. No surprise - I did quit. It closed a few months afterwards. Having guided Amstrad Action past its 100th issue, how did you feel about the sudden closure of Amstrad Action, bearing in mind that Your Sinclair and Commodore Format both had farewell issues? It was shame Amstrad Action didn’t get a “Farewell” issue like Your Sinclair’s (I don’t recall Commodore Format having one either - your memory is better than mine). But few magazines do. I must admit, I didn’t realise it had closed until a couple of months later. It seemed a rather lonely death for the mag which had launched the company. But Future was much, much bigger by then and had other things on its collective mind.
The sci-fi magazine SFX was launched in 1995, with yourself on board. What was it like working on a non-computer related magazine? It was great to join SFX because SF has always been my real passion. It wasn’t too much of a culture shock, though, because I had worked on music mags before I joined Future (Record Mirror, Music Week). The best thing was producing a magazine in which there were real photos rather than screen grabs! You soon became Editor of SFX and stayed there until 2005. I take it that you enjoyed your time editing the magazine? Loved it, loved it, loved it. Best years of my life. But I had to leave. Ten years is too long for any editor. You contribute to the Sci-Fi UK website with your column ‘Pure Golder’. How did this come about? As is always the case in the media - it’s who you know. A former writer on SFX became the editor of Sci-Fi’s website. But I suppose he wouldn’t have asked me if I was a rubbish writer. What’s your opinion on the current ‘computer and videogames’ computer/ magazine industry? Hmmm.... It’s all a bit homogeneous now. They all look the same. There is still some really great writing in some areas of the games press, but the magazines as a whole seem a tad bland and unadventurous. Still love Edge and Games TM, but that’s cos they do pander to ageing gamers like me. I don’t want to get into more specifics than that - mainly because about a year ago I was asked by a senior editor at Future what I thought of a certain games mag that Future produced. I flicked through it (I hadn’t read it for a while) and tactful said, “I think it looks tired and in need of a redesign.” To which he replied, “That IS the redesign issue.” So now I keep my mouth shut. Do you keep in touch with any of the other ex-AA staff? Simon Forrester is one of my FaceBook friends. I see Andy Ounsted around Bath occasionally.