The Memoirs of Seth Bottomley
Possibly the greatest football fanzine EVER!
To Vale fans of a certain dotage, ‘SETH’, as it affectionally became known, is synonymous with the greatest period in the club’s history – the Rudgie era. Arriving in 1989 on the day of Dean Glover’s debut, and reviewed two days later in The Independent, it continued for 9 seasons and 38 issues, plus a few ‘specials’, and remains fondly remembered to this day.
Sporadic in release, but consistent in content, the editorial team believed in quality not quantity, and were lucky to print parallel to what remains the greatest era in the club’s history. Wembley trips, barmy nights at Vale Park against Everton, Arsenal etc, and a European Cup Final in the Anglo Italian Cup Final against Genoa (sadly a game too far!)
Revered by both Vale fans and away fans alike for its humorous slant on all things Vale, it succeeded in its aim to be a cross between football fanzines and Viz!
Seth sold across the country with book shops, record shops and WH Smiths regularly selling out in cities such as Glasgow, Cardiff, Manchester, London, Nottingham, Bristol, etc.
Legendary Radio One DJ John Peel was a big fan and mentioned every issue on his late-night show resulting in requests for it from all around the World. He even accepted an invite from the editors to attend the 1983 Autoglass Wembley Final with them and proved to be a lucky omen!. His breakfast show colleague Simon Mayo discussed SETH live on his show one morning with Robbie Williams. There is even a copy of SETH in the British Library no less.
Responsible for the ‘Port Vale Burslem England’ motto widely used on club merchandise since, but maybe its greatest legacy is coining the term ‘Lardies’ as a description of the noisy neighbours…
Seth was conceived and produced by staunch Valeites
Mark Kelly • Nick Degg • Steve Tilsley • Andy Berry • Dave Price • Dave Challinor
With an honourable mention to the printer… the late Tommy Johnson (RIP)
Click here for issues of Seth