Imagine

5 Sir Thomas Street, Liverpool, L1

The 1984 collapse of Imagine Software was a seismic event for the UK software industry. Imagine had become one of the biggest and best known software houses in just over 18 months of existence. Its professionalism, marketing, and overall corporate image seemed to point the way for the rest of the fledgling software industry. There is also the irony that a company as obsessed by image and marketing as Imagine should have its collapse documented in real time by a BBC film crew making a documentary for a series called Commercial Breaks, "A series that follows the fortunes of entrepreneurs around the world as their stories unfold."

Mastertronic

8-10 Paul Street, EC2A

"Pocket money games tapes, at £1.99 each have been launched for sale in video shops, petrol stations, hi-fi stores, supermarkets, and newsagents," was how HOME COMPUTING WEEKLY introduced budget software house Mastertronic; issue 57 (April 10-16 1984 page 1). Fourteen games were released at launch, "eight for the Commodore 64, four for the Spectrum and two for the VIC-20. Another seven will appear by the end of the month and then at the rate of one to three a week." I think those initial 14 games were Vegas Jackpot, Duck Shoot, Bionic Granny, Mind Control, Magic Carpet, Spectipede, Munch Mania, and Space Walk for the C64;  Vegas Jackpot, Gnasher, Spectipede and Magic Carpet for the Spectrum; and Vegas Jackpot and Duck Shoot for the VIC-20.

Graftgold

2 Freebournes Court, Newland Street, Witham Essex CM8

I remember looking through a friend's copy of ZZAP64 issue 3 and reading Andrew Braybrook's diary, THE BIRTH OF A PARADROID (July 1985 page 46). I didn't realise at the time but this was my introduction to the independent games developer Graftgold. The rapturous reviews of Paradroid and later Uridium produced the first cracks in my ZX Spectrum forever attitude. Looking back, what's surprising is Graftgold's invisibility despite the acclaim. The earliest mention of the developer comes two years later in issue 24 of ZZAP64, in Andrew Braybrook's follow up diary about writing the game Morpheus (April 1987 page 90). The same is true of fellow magazine CRASH where Graftgold is first mentioned in issue 47 (November 1987 page 11).

CRL

CRL House, 9 Kings Yard, Carpenters Road, London, E15

"A golden opportunity from Computer Rentals Limited." That's the eye-catching promise at the back of the October 1982 issue of YOUR COMPUTER (Vol 2 number 10, page 134). The text only advert looks basic but the tone is breezy. "If you have written some software, don't waste it on a small audience of family and friends. Send it to us, and we will take a good look at it. If we like it, we'll publish it, leaving you nothing more to do than cash your royalty cheques... we don't pay meanly... A royalty of £1.50 for each cassette sold is our offer and when you think of the size of the market, you can see how generous we are." The response to the advert must have been good because by January 1983 CRL, or Computer Rentals Limited as they preferred to be known, was advertising seven games in YOUR COMPUTER; Vol 3 issue 1 page 102.

Elite

Anchor House, Anchor Road, Aldridge, Walsall, WS9

The spiritual home of this blog is Anchor Road, Walsall. I've written before about my long fascination with the artwork on Elite's 1987 job advert and it's Gerry Anderson-esque vision of Anchor Road as the Moonbase Alpha of the Midlands. A trip to Anchor House was inevitable at some point. It just took slightly longer than expected because The Great Petrol Panic of autumn 2021 put paid to my first set of plans. It's going to be a while before the Travel Tube brings us to Anchor Road and before that address, before in fact Elite was even called Elite, the company had a more humble origin.

Melbourne House

Castle Yard House, Castle Yard, Richmond, TW10

Melbourne House was my first stop on an August 2021 trip across London, the day after Argos failed to deliver my washing machine (this bit is not relevant and would be removed by any decent sub-editor). It was my second full day of scouting old offices but only the first time I'd actually done any sensible planning. The first trip was done on an impulsive basis, like one of those films where Mickey Rooney suddenly goes "hey why don't we put on the show right here."

Software Projects

 Bear Brand Complex, Allerton Road, Woolton, Liverpool, LS25

Another day, another Tesco superstore. This one is in Woolton, Liverpool and it's built on the site of the old Software Projects office, a place with the odd name of Bear Brand Complex.

The Bear Brand Complex was a massive factory in the Liverpool suburb of Woolton. Like Blenheim House, System 3's home in Pinner, it seems to have been taken for granted and despite being a huge blot local landmark there are surprisingly few photos. Google brings up some pictures of the building being demolished in June 1997, around the same time Blenheim House was also being knocked down and ironically Blenheim House met the same fate in the foundations of a Tesco superstore.

System 3

Blenheim House, Ash Hill Drive, Pinner, HA5

It's lunchtime on a grey Sunday in November. I'm walking up Elm Park Road, in Pinner, towards Ash Hill Drive. When I arrive I will take a picture of a Tesco superstore. I don't need to take a picture of Tesco superstore but it's built on the site of an old System 3 office and thus must be done for completeness (Gollum-like whisper, completeneessss, my precious). My walk takes me along Marsh Lane, past Elm Park Court, along Pinner Green, with a final turn left just before Cuckoo Hill. It gives this slice of Metroland a rural feel; lovely. I hope the toilets are open. 

Ultimate Play The Game / Ashby Computers and Graphics / Rare Limited

The Green, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, LE6

Ultimate Play the Game was the trading name of Ashby Computers and Graphics. You probably already know the name if you're interested enough to read this blog but not including Ultimate would be like writing about football teams and not covering Manchester United because they are too famous.

Their first game, Jetpac, was released in May 1983, initially for the 16k ZX Spectrum and followed by versions for the VIC-20 and BBC Micro. The lead time of magazines in 1983 was so long that the first review comes two months later in COMPUTER AND VIDEO GAMES issue 21 (July 1983 page 136) where the unnamed reviewer can't wait to tell us, "the tape loaded successfully first time and while the game was loading an impressive title screen was displayed."

K-tel / Front Runner

620 Western Avenue, London, W3

I was a ZX Spectrum kid, and I don't want this blog to over-focus on Sir Clive Sinclair's rubber-keyed wonder. I should make a gesture to potential readers out there who chose a different path; but what? Back in the eighties my knowledge of other home computers was limited to: 

• a friend with a ZX81, whose parents refused to upgrade. 
• my aunt who brought a Dragon 32.
• a weird Superman comic in which he teamed up with some kids who owned a computer*.
• a couple of kids in my class with Commodore 64s.

Martech

Bay Terrace, Pevensey Bay, BN24

DATELINE 1985, PEVENSEY BAY. I like to imagine a group of designers and programmers from the Electronic Pencil Company walking along the seafront arguing over the hierarchy of Zoids. Their forthcoming game Zoids: The Battle Begins required the player to recover the scattered pieces of the mighty Zoidzilla and your personal Zoid becomes more powerful as each piece is found. Obviously the player must start as a lowly and weak Spiderzoid before climbing the ranks to become (the mighty) Zoidzilla, but what comes in between? More importantly, what were Zoids and why are they in an East Sussex village?

Firebird / Telecomsoft

 Wellington House, Upper St. Martin's Lane, London, WC2H

Firebird, or Telecomsoft to give them their more formal name, first appeared in late-1984 with impressive, and presumably expensive, colour double-page adverts in the major computer magazines. Here's an example from COMPUTER AND VIDEOGAMES issue 38 (December 1984 page 82). The lavish advertising campaign was one way of establishing the cheaper Firebird Silver range as different from its major rival Mastertronic, who didn't advertise at all. The other difference was the price. Firebird Silver games cost £2.50. Mastertronic games cost £1.99. The extra 51p was significant in 1984. There was also a Gold range which sold games at full price. A massive £5.95 for the first two titles Demons of Topaz for the Commodore 64, and Buggy Blast for the Spectrum. The Gold and Silver labels were joined in 1985 by the Rainbird label and with some minor tweaking and rebranding all three survived until Telecomsoft was brought by MicroProse.

The Map

Recently I found this article in a 1991 issue of THE ONE magazine (October 1991 page 50).

It's a snapshot of the UK industry at a time when everyone still thought 16-bit was the future, and the release of the PlayStation -which really would change everything- was four years away. Liverpool and Manchester are represented by Psygnosis and Ocean, alone. The gaming heritage of both cities has been whittled away until just two massive companies remain. Elite is still going, as are Domark and US Gold who have both yet to regenerate into Eidos. And over in Reading, Thalamus have just survived the liquidation of their original parent company Newsfield; publishers of CRASH and ZZAP64.

I'm surprised to see how few of the companies I've covered; right now (with now being October 2022) I make it four, Elite, Mirrorsoft, System 3, and Virgin. It shows how much my own personal nostalgia is biased towards the 80s 8-bit industry, and though I did go 16-bit with an Atari ST, and even 32-bit with a PlayStation, those machines don't hold the same soft spot in my memory.

Oh, and Dartford residents won't have been happy to be lumped in with London. It may be on the inside of the M25, unlike Slough which just squeaks outside, but it's part of Kent. Not Greater London.

Why?

My imagination was captured by the advert on page 89 of CRASH issue 47 (October 1987). It wasn't the far-out salaries (£10K a year to design games, imagine that!) but the accompanying picture. A futuristic cityscape showing a monorail delivering bright-eyed citizens to a multi-level plaza. This could only be the headquarters of Elite Systems Ltd. What an amazing, fantastic, futuristic place it was. How I wished I could live in Anchor Road, Walsall.