A crowd of around thirty people braved the rain, on Wednesday 29th October, to witness the official unveiling of Bexhill’s newest blue plaque.
Located at 38 Sackville Road, the plaque commemorates the founding of Blues Unlimited Magazine in April 1963. Founded by former Bexhill Grammar School boys Mike Leadbitter and Simon A. Napier, it was the world’s first magazine that was devoted to Blues Music and was read by the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton, among others.
It was a groundbreaking and hugely influential magazine that launched the careers of many music writer luminaries such as John Broven. In the early days the magazine was very much a
homemade affair – the first issue was only 180 copies. It proved so popular though that the number of copies increased as time went on, as did the professionalism of the magazine production itself.
The magazine had contacts throughout America and Mike and Simon often visited to gather information on new performers.
One they took a particular interest in was Weldon H. Philip Bonner, better known as Juke Boy Bonner. He became very friendly with the Blues Unlimited team and even visited Bexhill for three weeks in 1969. He was later to recall his trip to Bexhill in the song B.U. Blues from the Things Ain’t Right album.
The magazine’s last issue was in the Winter of 1987 but many readers and blues music fans retain fond memories of it.
There is a small exhibition about the magazine in Bexhill Museum (open Tuesday-Sunday 11-4) curated by Bexhill Museum volunteer Karen Smith. The interest shown in this display eventually led Karen to raise funds for the plaque to permanently commemorate the magazine. On the day of the unveiling there was a speech beside the plaque by Bexhill Museum Curator Julian Porter. This was followed by the unveiling itself.