Unclear Humour

CRASH Magazine Issue 19 (August 1985) featured a controversial four-page spoof titled "Unclear User", which mocked rival publication Sinclair User. The satire, which included a fake cover and articles accusing the rival magazine of accepting bribes for positive reviews and fabricating exclusives, led EMAP (publisher of Sinclair User) to obtain a legal injunction preventing the magazine's distribution.

The issue was recalled from newsagents and replaced with a stickered version with the offending pages removed, while an apology was published in the following issue. Despite the legal setback and an out-of-court settlement of approximately £60,000, the controversy generated significant publicity that helped CRASH double its monthly circulation from roughly 50,000 to over 100,000 copies.

Personally I think the article should have been titled 'Unclear Humour' I am baffled at what anyone would find funny about this. It reads like it was written by a pre-school infant in the play ground, arguing with his mate about what mag was better, CRASH or SU. It's the most pathetic unfunny embarrassing nonsense that CRASH ever produced, and It's hard to understand what the CRASH editorial team were thinking. Did they expect Sinclair User to accept this as a funny spoof and laugh it off, all friends together? Very hard to comprehend.

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