Only yesterday, we all received the sad news about Marcel Jacob's passing. It just seems like one tragedy after the other for our small community, coming so soon after the sudden loss of Gregg Fulkerson just a few months ago. I can't begin to understand the pains and frustration that Marcel was going through, but it must have been unbearable to take the decision he did. Talisman were almost playing at Firefest 6 this year, only last minute scheduling conflicts preventing their appearance. Never mind, I thought, we'll have them on the next one. Now we'll never see the genius of Marcel Jacob again, and it is a loss that reverberates much further than our little scene. Marcel, you will be sadly missed by us all.

By comparison, am I the only one that was rather sickened by the deification of Michael Jackson after his sudden death? People were popping up everywhere to declare what a genius he was, and what a tragic loss to music his death represented. Hmmm, where were all these people during the last 10 years or so when Jackson was pilloried and demonised by the press and former friends for his strange behaviour and predilection towards young children? Seems death really can wipe the slate clean and absolve all your worldly sins. But I'm not buying it (nor the obscenely rushed out musical collections!).

You'll notice we've increased the price of the magazine with this issue. It's amazing to think that we have only increased the cover price by 50p in the last 9 years, and in that time we've gone from a 56 page mainly black and white publication, to a 100 page full-colour magazine with usually at least 2 cover-mounted CDs. We hope you continue to support us, and agree we still give fantastic value for money. So let me take this chance to thank you all for being here, and most of all, thank you for keeping our scene alive!

Hope you've all picked up a copy of the totally awesome Mitch Malloy DVD. We hope to have White Sister, Loud & Clear, Roxx Diamond and Crunch out very soon, certainly before Firefest 6, I hope.

Winners of last issue's Thunder prize are: Paul Ryan, Michael Williams, Philip Samuels, Mark Cowan and Rachael Conner.

Seeya all next issue! Keep it Loud & Proud!

-- Bruce Mee