April 1990 Pt.7 Birth of a Fan Club.

With my enthusiasm from meeting people at Easter Con '90 only growing, with it brought forth the idea of an Anime Club, but upon my return from the Easter Convention I was faced with the news that I had a rare Cancer of the tongue (in the days when the radiotherapy suite of my local hospital was in the hospital's converted basement, with what looked like machinery left over from the 'Cold war').

So as to keep my mind totally occupied I decided to form a local Anime and Manga club.

It certainly gave plenty to think about and do.

I was reminded that I was part of the “set-up crew” for the “Anime Fandom in the UK” from the follow-up letter from Steve Ktye & Helen McCarthy after EASTCON '90

A lot of my fleshing-out of ideas on paper have survived (even to this day), as I applied myself to the idea of what the club should all about, and how to spread the word.

I was away from work for more than five months, the gruelling radiotherapy treatment that in the end failed to eradicate the cancer, so I had to under go surgery to cut out one side of my tongue, but all the while Anime club was gaining momentum and support.

 

What to do? 

Well a club needs a name and a logo that reflects its core interest!

 As I was not an artist I used a sticker that came free with one of my Japanese Anime magazines (it is a Super Deformed Ingram from Patlabor), and after much soul searching I came up with 'Anime Kyo UK' ( Animation Today UK ) because Japanimation\Anime was so new and exsiting.
 

Fan clubs were the social media of their day, many of whom had fanzines and club newsletters, and acted as a hubs for fans to meet up, and correspond with one another from further afield and even internationally.

This was my Easter and April in 1990!

[NOTE: I have very few recollections of this time at the age of 24 due to some memory loss, but can refer to old letters and my own clubs Editorials from the Club's magazines.]

[Note: By April 1990 I was only in contact with a few (about Six) UK fans by post. ]

[Note: I had only known of others' existence by writing into Canadian & American Magazines, Ads in Comic-books, and JapAnimation fan Clubs, and by joining these Fan Clubs you got to find other fans with new and exciting interest in your country.]

For more click: Birth of a Fan Club.