A 360east reader brought this to my attention today. Smash Hits magazine has succumbed to competition from the web and is ceasing publication this month.

Alongside Sinclair User Crash, Zzapp, Computer and Video Games and others Smash Hits was one of the magazines that formed my connection to the outside world. It’s British humor and irreverent writing style was definitely part of what influenced us to start writing and publishing my own computer fanzines in the 1980s and eventually get into publishing related careers.

Internet kills Smash Hits | The Register

Thank you London and goodnight

By Lester Haines
Published Friday 3rd February 2006 09:42 GMT

Poptastic teen music mag Smash Hits will publish its last edition on February 13 – killed by a mass reader-migration to the internet which has caused sales to slump from a 500k high to 120,000.

Marcus Rich, MD of the magazine’s publisher Emap Metro, explained to Reuters: “Smash Hits revolutionised the world of teen publishing when it was launched in 1978. But 28 years later, the world is a very different place and the magazine’s role and relevance on the newsstand changed.