Super Rock (June 1978)

Let’s end our 2025 postings with something that’s not even a fanzine and didn’t come from the underground, just to bum you out. I bought Super Rock’s June 1978 issue online this year for a couple of reasons: first, because of my immense enjoyment of their second issue, the punksploitation one, which I wrote about here – and secondly, because the editor was one Myron Fass. Fass was a serial churner of exploitation magazines and comics of all types, a total “schlockmeister” who could really turn a buck on newsstand magazines on UFOs, monsters, mobsters, JFK, Elvis, and, apparently, 1970s rock-n-rollers. He was written about lovingly in one of the Bad Mags books, which I also got turned onto this year. 

Whatever punk they’d been writing about a few months before this was almost completely shitcanned by June ‘78, even with the continued presence of Hannah Spitzer on the masthead, seen inside sporting an awesome sneer and a Sex Pistols shirt. Hannah, please write to the ‘Hemorrhage. Let’s converse! Spitzer actually gets the opening gossip column, but was likely forced at gunpoint to write about Meatloaf, ELO, Ted Nugent and Rod Stewart. She looks much more like someone in the crowd at a Teenage Jesus & The Jerks show, and writes accordingly with much vim and vigor.

As with Rock Scene – one of the all-time greats – Super Rock is just overloaded with original, mostly non-publicity photos, a result of its staffers being out and about in New York City and elsewhere. It also has – ugh – color centerfold photos of Stewart, Andy Gibb, the Bee Gees & Peter Frampton, and David Bowie, who’s praised in an article for returning to his senses after Young Americans with his latest records Low and Heroes. “David has dropped the dressup, cut the shit and emerged almost naked with honest and individual energy”. That’s one way to put it.

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a true “groupie” column before, but the one from “Dirty Darla” called “Ball Me Out” is quite a treat. She’s upset that the Pistols have just played in Atlanta “…without giving Darla a call. I was counting on a cream/dream date with them – that’s right, all of them….except Steve Jones, maybe – who one of my bisexual male friends who prefers men thinks is a real humpy macho stud punk – whew! Anyhow, I just saw ‘em on the network news!! Hot flashes!”. Poor Darla. I’m sure she did better with some of the more hairy cro-magnons that are interviewed and raved about across the pages of this thing: Starz, J. Geils Band, Billy Squire, Edgar Winter, Player and Tom Petty. 

There are cool photos of the Patti Smith Group in the studio recording Easter, with a special drop-in from an extremely young-looking Bruce Springsteen. This is followed up with an interview, with, um, Olivia Newton-John. Wait a minute – here’s some “punk”! There’s a piece on Iggy Pop, marveling that he’s still alive in 1978. There’s a puff piece on a group called Flame with a female singer who are said to be “Red-hot and Ready To Rock!!”. Now that this has forced me to listen to them online, they may quite literally be one of the worst things I’ve ever heard. Give me Rapid Fire any day.

You want excruciating – have you ever tried to watch that Sgt. Pepper film remake starring the Bee Gees and Frampton? I was 10 when that came out to much hype, and it was just absolutely panned. My sister and I tried to watch it on TV the next year, but I don’t think we made it all the way through – and she was in love with Robin Gibb. Apparently it recouped its costs, though. The promotional budget must have been through the roof, as even here in Super Rock it’s the subject of several articles and photo spreads. Myron Fass was no dummy.

It all makes for some fun reading, I suppose, and it’s why I’ll likely keep buying cheapo copies of Super Rock and Rock Scene should I come across them – maybe even the one with Supertramp on the cover. You’ll just have to let me know if it’s still okay to write about them here. See you in 2026!