Rude Kids

Chris Donald is the founder and former editor of Viz, the tatty rag that began life in his bedroom and ultimately became Britain’s third best-selling magazine with a circulation of 1.2 million. Rude Kids is the story of the meteoric rise of the magazine but also Chris Donald’s story, including exciting episodes in his life such as being invited to dinner by Prince Charles, being questioned by New Scotland Yard’s Anti-Terrorist Branch, wining and dining Catherine Zeta Jones and catching his wife up to no good with Keith Richards in Peter Cook’s attic. In reality these episodes are merely the fluff sitting on the surface of Donald’s story of humble beginnings as the classroom creator of The Fat Crusader (the dour and boring schoolboy who could transform himself into a caped superhero) through the birth and development of classic Viz characters such as Roger Mellie, The Fat Slags, Millie-tant, Sid the Sexist, as well as lesser known but inspired pieces such as The Vibrating Bum-Faced Goats. The heart of the book is concerned with Donald and his fellow Viz collaborators, Jim, Graham, Simon and Thorpy in the day to day running of the magazine. It’s about the relationship with his money-hungry publisher, the magazines astonishing growth and the crap records, videos and documentaries that led to the decline in sales and a tarnished reputation. Interestingly, the man never did live the rock and roll lifestyle , didn’t do drugs, didn’t sleep around, never became an alcoholic and-- after the riches rolled in—still preferred to stay home and watch TV. Donald comes over as a sharp, self-deprecating bloke who hates naval-gazing, the advertising world and pretentious folk who use big words. Brutally honest about the things and people he dislikes as well as his own personal failures Donald tells a fast, entertaining and sometimes belly-laugh funny story about the years he lived and breathed Viz.--Larry Brown

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