''The Stool Pigeon'' was an independent bi-monthly free UK music newspaper, printed in the format of a Victorian tabloid. It was founded in 2005 by designer Mickey Gibbons and editor Phil Hebblethwaite and had a circulation of more than 50,000.

Description

''The Stool Pigeon'' was founded in 2005, with £10,000 in start-up funds provided by a Levi's marketing executive and former house music producer who liked the name, because he had once made a successful record sampling ''Stool Pigeon'' by

Kid Creole and the Coconuts Kid Creole and the Coconuts is an American musical group created by August Darnell with Andy Hernandez and Adriana Kaegi. Its music incorporates a variety of styles and influences, in particular a mix of disco and Latin American, Caribbean ...

. The initial print run of 10,000 had grown to 60,000 copies after five years, with five issues appearing per year, distributed free in 72 towns and cities. The paper's articles are written by established music journalists (some contributing pseudonymously), industry figures and musicians. Founded by an award-winning magazine designer, Mickey Gibbons, ''The Stool Pigeon'' had a strong print identity that was modelled on Victorian tabloids. According to editor Hebblethwaite, "This is a love affair with the printed word. We go to libraries to study old newspapers – we will never just be a website, and I've never thought of the internet as a threat. In a way, ''Stool Pigeon'' is the equivalent of a vinyl record." As for its editorial philosophy, Hebblethwaite has said, "It will never follow hype, shake the oily hands of those who wish to influence her, lick the arses of musicians, or print top 10 lists." ''The Stool Pigeon'' also contained a pull-out comics section, which featured early work by

Luke Pearson Luke Pearson (born 12 October 1987) is a British illustrator, cartoonist, and comic book writer best known for the '' Hilda'' series of comics for Nobrow Press, and '' Hilda'', the Netflix series based on the comics. He has also storyboarded e ...

, Ben Jennings, and Krent Able. https://www.popmatters.com/136329-2496084978.html/ ''Stool Pigeon'' ceased publication with its last issue December/January 2013.

Reception

Michael Hann, writing for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', said that what set the paper apart was its unconventional presentation style, with word plays in headlines such as "Wet Paint dripping in confidence at dry run for Bloc Party tour" or "Wolf People as good as a bit of howl's your father". According to ''TransitionTradition'', ''The Stool Pigeon'' offered "a candid, if not sometimes ruthless, response to the music industry from the inside outwards". A 2011 article in ''Music Week'' reported that ''The Stool Pigeon'' had an average readership in excess of 50,000 readers in the UK and Ireland, putting it ahead of titles like ''

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

'' and ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''. The paper was also available in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

References

External links

Official website
* *
Feature on ''The Stool Pigeon''
on ''

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Stool Pigeon, The Newspapers published in London Defunct newspapers published in the United Kingdom Music_magazines_published_in_the_United_Kingdom