A decade online and off as itm? hits 10

isthismusic.com is celebrating its 10th year in existence with a show at Edinburgh’s Electric Circus on Thursday December 13th, with headliners ballboy, plus a solo set from Adam Thompson (singer with We Were Promised Jetpacks), with one more act still to be confirmed. Entry is £6.

The night will double up as itm?’s Xmas night out and doubtless writers past and present will also be in attendance at what will be one of the must-see lineups of the busy festive gig calendar.
Tickets for the show are now on sale – from
ticketweb.co.uk and seetickets.com.
The two bands confirmed so far could not be more apt in a celebration of itm?’s 10 years in existence both online and off.
ballboy are stalwarts of the Edinburgh indie scene. They have appeared on countless is this music? bills over the past 10 years with singer Gordon Macintyre often a solo addition to itm? shows across the country. Their appearance on the 13th is also particularly apt: issue 2 of is this music? featured ballboy as its cover stars.

We Were Promised Jetpacks are a band who have been supported by is this music? for many years. And vice versa, the band donating, as many acts have, a track for one of the many cover CDs that came with the printed version of the magazine. In fact, it was an itm? gig which saw the band make their live debut under their current name – part of the magazine’s long-standing tie-up with Tigerfest.

is this music?’s first issue went to print in November 2002, with cover stars Idlewild and the exclusive tale of Bob Fairfoull’s departure from the band. This first issue was followed by a more substantial second the following month with a free CD and ballboy on the front. 22 more issues followed over the next 5 years before financial reasons and good sense meant the transition to a web-only publication, which continued for the next 5 years (and beyond).

The magazine had a few notable ‘firsts’ – Franz Ferdinand made their print feature debut, as did Frightened Rabbit, as well as a plethora of, er, less successful acts. The magazine also commissioned cover features for the likes of Snow Patrol, Mull Historical Society, the Beta Band, and of course Teenage Fanclub (from whom the magazine took its name). We also saw around 250 bands exposed to thousands of music fans by appearing on the cover CDs, which, in the days before the open internet access we have today, became something which the magazine was as well-known for as the printed word.

However, no magazine is anything without its writers, and itm? has seen over 200 come and go – some remain to this day, while others are now carving out a career in journalism and music with the likes of NME, the Guardian, Daily Record, The List, BBC Scotland and Capital Radio. God help us if they all show up on the 13th!