Trouser Press was an iconic music magazine founded by Ira Robbins in 1974. Filled with interviews with the top legends in rock music, the magazine music fans referred to it as “the bible of alternative rock.”  Fifty years after the first issue of Trouser Press was published, Trouser Press Books released Zip It Up! The Best Of Trouser Press Magazine 1974-1984. The book highlights the magazine’s profiles, interviews, and histories it published during its 10 years in production.

Zip It Up! Is a fascinating read filled with interviews with legendary musicians like Jimmy Page, Pete Townshend, Brian Eno, and Kate Bush, to name a few. The magazine’s group of rockstar writers along with the freedom that comes with being an independently published magazine, delved deep into the roots of a variety of musical genres. These genres included classic rock, glam rock, punk rock, prog and art rock, and reggae. The interviews were insightful, provocative, raw, and honest, giving the reader a glimpse into the minds of these legendary artists like Iggy Pop who said, “I do business like a barbarian. My world is gold and I split everything with everybody. The best way to lick rock and roll is to be a savage.”

Zip It Up! Is a must-read for music lovers, a historical journal of an important time in music.  Trouser Press was a trailblazer and changed the way music magazines were made. Fans were enthralled by the edgy interviews with their favorite musicians. As Ira Robbins describes in the preface, “Getting artists on the record about subjects that interested us at a time when the rock press was respected (a bit), allowed us a lot of leeway; we were granted far more access than is generally on offer by major artists.” 

Order your copy here:  www.trouserpressbooks.com

Review: I’m Music Magazine Associate Editor/Writer Meesha Walden