Kool Magazine
Encyclopedia
Kool Magazine was the first free full colour glossy magazine available in East Anglia
UK. It was aimed at 16- to 24-year-olds and covered music, fashion, arts, as well as exclusive interviews with celebrities. This was unique in the way it challenged the conventional publications at the time in the region and made way for greater awareness of design and fashion and the provision of youth facilities like practice studios and music clubs.
Below is an article written by Lauren Webb and includes an interview with the founder, Andreas Mavroudis.
How Cool is Kool?
In early 1997, Andreas Mavroudis, ex-marketing and media mogul
from the cable TV
and Telephony industry, was made redundant along with six hundred other colleagues throughout the UK. The merger of the five major cable firms triggered this off Cable & Wireless
and as with most companies at the time, the term ‘centralisation’ and ‘downsizing’ took effect. “I wasn’t prepared to go back and start applying for jobs again. It took me over a hundred applications before I even got an interview for that one! I felt at one point that my name was a hindrance and that potential employers probably thought, ‘he’s got a foreign sounding name, he must speak Pidgin English’. This made me decide that I was going to create a job for myself. I liked clubs, music, fashion, girls and design. Put all of these elements together and hey presto, you’ve got a magazine!”
This was enough persuasion he needed to fulfil one of his lifelong ambitions, to produce a free youth lifestyle magazine. And so, with his redundancy money in hand and a selection of contacts in the graphics and printing industry, he set out to develop ideas for his new magazine. Having already identified the target market and readership as East Anglia the next step was to find a name. “We had a brainstorming session and someone said ‘whatever it is, it’s got to be cool’, and I said, ‘that’s it, COOL, but with a ‘K’, KOOL”.
Andreas had already identified several small ‘fanzine’ type magazines in the region and none of them really covered the youth ‘scene’ on a ‘street’ level in the way he wanted. In fact, none of them survived after the launch of KOOL. In order to make as big an impact on the public, and more importantly, local businesses, the format was to be radical in design and colourful in content. An idea to have some Polaroids
in the middle section with hand-written messages was originally laughed at by the graphics team. The next stage was the cover, who and what should go on it? “I felt that local face, people who wanted to be on the cover of a colour, glossy mag should be given the opportunity without being ripped off by modelling agencies”. Eventually, in June 1997, KOOL magazine was launched.
The format of the first KOOL magazine was very different to the KOOL of today. It was an A2 broadsheet flyer, folded twice down to A4. One of the first distribution areas on that first day was Norwich. With the help of several generous friends and volunteers, clothes shops, hair salons, bars, music shops and cafes were covered. Half way through the day, Andreas decided to stop in a local bar/café, Hectors House, for a drink. The team had already dropped that new magazine in here. “I walked in and couldn’t believe my eyes. Everyone in the place was reading a copy of KOOL. I couldn’t see anyone’s head, it was amazing. “Several J.D.s later, he realised that his formula worked. He had successfully launched East Anglia’s first full colour, glossy, youth lifestyle and free magazine.
No Problem
Initially, Andreas found it difficult to persuade record companies to send their music for reviews. “I had to bullshit a little bit in the early days, usually by telling them that I’d already done interviews with Madonna
and Michael Jackson
! It worked, so I must have been convincing”.
KOOL was doing well by now and the awareness of the brand had developed rapidly. The next challenge that faced Andreas was the decision to launch a ‘real’ magazine. Up until then, the design work for KOOL had been done by a local graphics agency. Andreas was becoming very wary of their increasing rates and decided to terminate the relationship with them. Conveniently his brother, Demetri Mavroudis, who is now at the Cyprus Mail
was working as a set designer
for BSkyB in London. He was also made redundant and welcomed the chance to change his career. Demetri moved up to Norfolk
and within a very short period mastered enough of the art of graphic design
to take over as Creative Director
.
In February 1998, Andreas heard a song on the radio and told Demetri that he wanted that band on the front cover of the first twenty four page version of KOOL. The band was The Stereophonics
and the song, ‘A Thousand Trees’. “ I heard them and thought, ‘wow, these guys are going to be massive. I had to get an interview with the. I wanted to know more. Whenever I get a hunch about a new band I know instantly that I’m right. The reason, I normally hate everything I hear!” He did get an interview: in fact, he also gave the first band to sign to Branson’s Richard Branson
V2 Records
label, their first front cover. Furthermore, when this issue hit the streets, the Stereophonics went on to win the Brit Awards
for Best Newcomers 1998.
Andreas may have launched the first ‘cool magazine in East Anglia, but one pioneering feat that sometimes went unnoticed was the launch of a dedicated website at the same time as issue two. “When I worked in the cable industry, I helped sell an ISDN account to a business client in Norwich. He was setting up an internet provider
service and that gave me the idea to set one up for our company. One would’ve thought that a multi billion pound company in that sector would be switched on and have one already. But oh no, it was left to us. Anyway, when I launched KOOL I also had the idea of putting it online and create a virtual magazine to cut out the printing costs. This became our main opportunity for growth. It also gave us the chance to expand into multimedia design.”
Not only has the multimedia side of the business grown, so too has the graphic design consultancy and print broking. Demetri decided that during his involvement with KOOL, he would continue to develop the special design side of his talents parallel to the graphics. The boys had already launched 4-Front Designs long before the launch of KOOL and therefore interior commissions could be handled simultaneously. The KOOL website can now be found on www.koolmag.com http://www.koolmag.com
Growing Up?
In 2000, Andreas decided that he had achieved everything he'd set out to do with Kool Magazine and moved on to use his marketing skills in the education sector. He worked in the marketing team of the LJ Group http://www.ljcreate.com #creators of technology based education and training resources# for 7 years and was instrumental in the company winning 5 Bett Awards BETT show for their products. He is still involved in developing strategies for education and training using ICT and is a member of the governing body at a specialist school
in Norfolk. He currently works for a FTSE 100 company developing Business-to-business
campaigns in the finance sector.
List of some of the bands interviewed in Kool Magazine http://www.koolmag.com/music/interviews/interviews.html
3 Colours Red
A
Adamski
Alabama 3
Bloofish
Bjork
Death In Vegas
DJ Shadow
Dub Star
Fun Lovin' Criminals
Glitterbox
Gravediggazz
Grooverider
Heather Nova
Howard Marks
Hurricane # 1
JJ72
Jaguar
Kula Shaker
Lionrock
Loop Guru
Lynden David Hall
Moby
Madasun
Mandaley
Mansun
Natalie Imbruglia
Offspring, The
Pecadillos
Portishead
Precious
Robbie Williams
Run DMC
Silver Sun
Sleeper
St Etienne
Stereophonics
Super Furry Animals
Supernaturals
Symposium
The Crocketts
Tin Star
Underworld
Utah Saints
YY28's
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
UK. It was aimed at 16- to 24-year-olds and covered music, fashion, arts, as well as exclusive interviews with celebrities. This was unique in the way it challenged the conventional publications at the time in the region and made way for greater awareness of design and fashion and the provision of youth facilities like practice studios and music clubs.
Below is an article written by Lauren Webb and includes an interview with the founder, Andreas Mavroudis.
How Cool is Kool?
In early 1997, Andreas Mavroudis, ex-marketing and media mogul
Media proprietor
A media proprietor is a person who controls, either through personal ownership or a dominant position in any media enterprise. Those with significant control of a public company in the mass media may also be called "media moguls", "tycoons", "barons", or "bosses".The figure of the media proprietor...
from the cable TV
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
and Telephony industry, was made redundant along with six hundred other colleagues throughout the UK. The merger of the five major cable firms triggered this off Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless
Cable & Wireless Worldwide PLC is a global telecommunications company headquartered in Bracknell, United Kingdom. Cable & Wireless specialises in providing communication networks and services to large corporates, governments, carrier customers and resellers...
and as with most companies at the time, the term ‘centralisation’ and ‘downsizing’ took effect. “I wasn’t prepared to go back and start applying for jobs again. It took me over a hundred applications before I even got an interview for that one! I felt at one point that my name was a hindrance and that potential employers probably thought, ‘he’s got a foreign sounding name, he must speak Pidgin English’. This made me decide that I was going to create a job for myself. I liked clubs, music, fashion, girls and design. Put all of these elements together and hey presto, you’ve got a magazine!”
This was enough persuasion he needed to fulfil one of his lifelong ambitions, to produce a free youth lifestyle magazine. And so, with his redundancy money in hand and a selection of contacts in the graphics and printing industry, he set out to develop ideas for his new magazine. Having already identified the target market and readership as East Anglia the next step was to find a name. “We had a brainstorming session and someone said ‘whatever it is, it’s got to be cool’, and I said, ‘that’s it, COOL, but with a ‘K’, KOOL”.
Andreas had already identified several small ‘fanzine’ type magazines in the region and none of them really covered the youth ‘scene’ on a ‘street’ level in the way he wanted. In fact, none of them survived after the launch of KOOL. In order to make as big an impact on the public, and more importantly, local businesses, the format was to be radical in design and colourful in content. An idea to have some Polaroids
Instant film
Instant film is a type of photographic film first introduced by Polaroid that is designed to be used in an instant camera...
in the middle section with hand-written messages was originally laughed at by the graphics team. The next stage was the cover, who and what should go on it? “I felt that local face, people who wanted to be on the cover of a colour, glossy mag should be given the opportunity without being ripped off by modelling agencies”. Eventually, in June 1997, KOOL magazine was launched.
The format of the first KOOL magazine was very different to the KOOL of today. It was an A2 broadsheet flyer, folded twice down to A4. One of the first distribution areas on that first day was Norwich. With the help of several generous friends and volunteers, clothes shops, hair salons, bars, music shops and cafes were covered. Half way through the day, Andreas decided to stop in a local bar/café, Hectors House, for a drink. The team had already dropped that new magazine in here. “I walked in and couldn’t believe my eyes. Everyone in the place was reading a copy of KOOL. I couldn’t see anyone’s head, it was amazing. “Several J.D.s later, he realised that his formula worked. He had successfully launched East Anglia’s first full colour, glossy, youth lifestyle and free magazine.
No Problem
Initially, Andreas found it difficult to persuade record companies to send their music for reviews. “I had to bullshit a little bit in the early days, usually by telling them that I’d already done interviews with Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
and Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
! It worked, so I must have been convincing”.
KOOL was doing well by now and the awareness of the brand had developed rapidly. The next challenge that faced Andreas was the decision to launch a ‘real’ magazine. Up until then, the design work for KOOL had been done by a local graphics agency. Andreas was becoming very wary of their increasing rates and decided to terminate the relationship with them. Conveniently his brother, Demetri Mavroudis, who is now at the Cyprus Mail
Cyprus Mail
Cyprus Mail is an English language newspaper published in Cyprus. The newspaper is mostly read by foreign nationals and expatriates, particularly from the UK, in Cyprus. It is published daily , and a number of articles are available online...
was working as a set designer
Scenic design
Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A...
for BSkyB in London. He was also made redundant and welcomed the chance to change his career. Demetri moved up to Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
and within a very short period mastered enough of the art of graphic design
Graphic design
Graphic design is a creative process – most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form – undertaken in order to convey a specific message to a targeted audience...
to take over as Creative Director
Creative Director
A creative director is a position often found within the graphic design, film, music, fashion, advertising, media or entertainment industries, but may be useful in other creative organizations such as web development and software development firms as well....
.
In February 1998, Andreas heard a song on the radio and told Demetri that he wanted that band on the front cover of the first twenty four page version of KOOL. The band was The Stereophonics
Stereophonics
The Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band now living in turners x that formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in Cynon Valley, Wales. The band currently comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Kelly Jones, bassist and backing vocalist Richard Jones, drummer Javier Weyler, guitarist and backing...
and the song, ‘A Thousand Trees’. “ I heard them and thought, ‘wow, these guys are going to be massive. I had to get an interview with the. I wanted to know more. Whenever I get a hunch about a new band I know instantly that I’m right. The reason, I normally hate everything I hear!” He did get an interview: in fact, he also gave the first band to sign to Branson’s Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
V2 Records
V2 Records
V2 Records is a record label that is owned by Universal Music Group as of October 2007. The label was founded in 1996 by Richard Branson, five years after he sold Virgin Records to EMI....
label, their first front cover. Furthermore, when this issue hit the streets, the Stereophonics went on to win the Brit Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
for Best Newcomers 1998.
Andreas may have launched the first ‘cool magazine in East Anglia, but one pioneering feat that sometimes went unnoticed was the launch of a dedicated website at the same time as issue two. “When I worked in the cable industry, I helped sell an ISDN account to a business client in Norwich. He was setting up an internet provider
Internet service provider
An Internet service provider is a company that provides access to the Internet. Access ISPs directly connect customers to the Internet using copper wires, wireless or fiber-optic connections. Hosting ISPs lease server space for smaller businesses and host other people servers...
service and that gave me the idea to set one up for our company. One would’ve thought that a multi billion pound company in that sector would be switched on and have one already. But oh no, it was left to us. Anyway, when I launched KOOL I also had the idea of putting it online and create a virtual magazine to cut out the printing costs. This became our main opportunity for growth. It also gave us the chance to expand into multimedia design.”
Not only has the multimedia side of the business grown, so too has the graphic design consultancy and print broking. Demetri decided that during his involvement with KOOL, he would continue to develop the special design side of his talents parallel to the graphics. The boys had already launched 4-Front Designs long before the launch of KOOL and therefore interior commissions could be handled simultaneously. The KOOL website can now be found on www.koolmag.com http://www.koolmag.com
Growing Up?
In 2000, Andreas decided that he had achieved everything he'd set out to do with Kool Magazine and moved on to use his marketing skills in the education sector. He worked in the marketing team of the LJ Group http://www.ljcreate.com #creators of technology based education and training resources# for 7 years and was instrumental in the company winning 5 Bett Awards BETT show for their products. He is still involved in developing strategies for education and training using ICT and is a member of the governing body at a specialist school
Specialist school
The specialist schools programme was a UK government initiative which encouraged secondary schools in England to specialise in certain areas of the curriculum to boost achievement. The Specialist Schools and Academies Trust was responsible for the delivery of the programme...
in Norfolk. He currently works for a FTSE 100 company developing Business-to-business
Business-to-business
Business-to-business describes commerce transactions between businesses, such as between a manufacturer and a wholesaler, or between a wholesaler and a retailer...
campaigns in the finance sector.
List of some of the bands interviewed in Kool Magazine http://www.koolmag.com/music/interviews/interviews.html
3 Colours Red
3 Colours Red
3 Colours Red were a rock band from the United Kingdom. They achieved their biggest chart success at the end of the 1990s, along with other Britrock bands such as Ash and Feeder. The band was named by sticking a pin in a London listings magazine, Time Out...
A
A (band)
A are a British alternative rock band from Suffolk, England, that formed in 1993. They have released four albums, and two live mini-albums.In 2002, the band enjoyed a brief period of commercial success, in which "Nothing", the first single from Hi-Fi Serious , charted at #9 on the UK singles chart...
Adamski
Adamski
Adamski is an English dance music producer, prominent at the time of acid house for his tracks "N-R-G" and "Killer" .-Career:...
Alabama 3
Alabama 3
Alabama 3 are a British band mixing rock, dance, blues, country, and gospel styles, founded in Brixton, London, in 1995. In the United States, they are known as A3, allegedly to avoid any possible legal conflict with the country music band Alabama...
Bloofish
Bjork
Björk
Björk Guðmundsdóttir , known as Björk , is an Icelandic singer-songwriter. Her eclectic musical style has achieved popular acknowledgement and popularity within many musical genres, such as rock, jazz, electronic dance music, classical and folk...
Death In Vegas
Death in Vegas
Death in Vegas are a psychedelic rock and electronic rock band from the United Kingdom, comprising two permanent members: Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes...
DJ Shadow
DJ Shadow
Joshua Paul Davis better known as DJ Shadow is an American music producer, DJ and songwriter. He is considered a prominent figure in the development of instrumental hip hop and first gained notice with the release of his highly acclaimed debut album Endtroducing....., which was constructed...
Dub Star
Fun Lovin' Criminals
Fun Lovin' Criminals
The Fun Lovin' Criminals is an American alternative hip hop / alternative rock group from New York City. Their musical style is primarily eclectic, covering styles such as hip hop, rock, funk, blues and jazz. Their songs often deal with life in New York City, as well as urban life in general...
Glitterbox
Gravediggazz
Grooverider
Grooverider
Grooverider is a British drum and bass DJ.-Biography:Grooverider began his DJing at illegal raves and warehouse parties in the UK in the late 1980s, and rose to prominence with partner Fabio through his sets at nightclub nights such as 'Rage'. Grooverider was also on the London pirate radio...
Heather Nova
Howard Marks
Howard Marks
Dennis Howard Marks is a Welsh author and former drug smuggler who achieved notoriety as an international cannabis smuggler through high-profile court cases, supposed connections with groups such as the CIA, the IRA, MI6, and the Mafia, and his eventual conviction at the hands of the American Drug...
Hurricane # 1
JJ72
Jaguar
Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker
Kula Shaker are an English psychedelic rock band. Led by outspoken frontman Crispian Mills, the band came to prominence during the Post-Britpop era of the late 1990s. The band enjoyed great commercial success in the UK between 1996 and 1999, notching up a number of Top 10 hits on the UK Singles...
Lionrock
Loop Guru
Lynden David Hall
Lynden David Hall
Lynden David Hall was a singer, songwriter, arranger, and producer.- Life and career :Born in Wandsworth, South London, he won the 'best newcomer' accolade at the 1998 MOBO Awards....
Moby
Moby
Richard Melville Hall , better known by his stage name Moby, is an American musician, DJ, and photographer. He is known mainly for his sample-based electronic music and his outspoken liberal political views, including his support of veganism and animal rights.Moby gained attention in the early...
Madasun
Mandaley
Mansun
Mansun
Mansun were an English alternative rock band formed in Chester in 1995. The band comprised vocalist/rhythm guitarist Paul Draper, bassist Stove King, lead guitarist/backing vocalist Dominic Chad, and drummer Andie Rathbone. The band broke up in May 2003....
Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian singer-songwriter, model and actress. In the early 1990s, Imbruglia was known to audiences as Beth Brennan in the popular Australian soap Neighbours. Three years after leaving the programme, Imbruglia launched a singing career with the international hit,...
Offspring, The
Pecadillos
Portishead
Precious
Robbie Williams
Robbie Williams
Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...
Run DMC
Silver Sun
Silver Sun
Silver Sun may refer to:*Silversun , an Australian TV series*Silver Sun , an English rock/pop band*Silversun Pickups, an American indie rock band...
Sleeper
Sleeper
A sleeper is a person who is sleeping. It may also refer to:-Music:* Sleeper , a Britpop band in the 1990s* The Sleepers , a punk/post-punk band active from 1978 until 1981...
St Etienne
Stereophonics
Stereophonics
The Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band now living in turners x that formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in Cynon Valley, Wales. The band currently comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Kelly Jones, bassist and backing vocalist Richard Jones, drummer Javier Weyler, guitarist and backing...
Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band that lean towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. Since their formation in Cardiff, Wales in 1993, the band has consisted of Gruff Rhys , Huw Bunford , Guto Pryce , Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band...
Supernaturals
Symposium
The Crocketts
Tin Star
Underworld
Underworld
The Underworld is a region which is thought to be under the surface of the earth in some religions and in mythologies. It could be a place where the souls of the recently departed go, and in some traditions it is identified with Hell or the realm of death...
Utah Saints
Utah Saints
Utah Saints is a dance band based in Leeds, England. The music is produced by Jez Willis and Tim Garbutt, who are joined on-stage by other musicians whenever the band plays live...
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