NME is publishing its first newspaper in almost 20 years with
its 2006 festival guide The Festival Times, free with this week's
issue, dated 27 May.
The 24-page guide, produced in a Berliner format, includes listings, NME's tips for the 20 must-see new
bands, the survival secrets of the festival circuit stars and a ‘How to
get fucked up' feature by Primal Scream's Bobby Gillespie.
NME
editor Conor McNicholas said: "We wanted to do something unique with
this year's Festival Guide and producing a newspaper is a nod to NME's fantastic heritage. We've packed the paper with everything the
festival-going fan needs. It's even big enough to keep the rain off if
the heavens open."
The weekly music magazine has been through a
number of refits since it first hit the newsstands in 1952 when it was
published in a tabloid format on standard newsprint. In the late 70s it changed from a traditional front page format with a number of news stories to the single image cover that heralded the evolution into a magazine. In April 2002,
its 50th birthday, the title got a glossy cover and was displayed with
the other music titles on the magazine shelves.
Email pged@pressgazette.co.uk to point out mistakes, provide story tips or send in a letter for publication on our "Letters Page" blog