21 replies to this topic

[RTH]

Frank discussions about magazine content put me in mind of probably my favourite regular weekly column Nick Brittain's "Private Ear " in Autosport which ran about 20 years ago.

It was a fearless weekly expose of the activities of people on the inside of motor racing and as such essential reading , after scanning the classifieds it was always my first stop in the magazine early thursday morning.

Quite where Nick got all this stunning inside info I don't know, presumably much of it was anonymous 'whistle blowing', but it was great reading and sadly missed.

Nowadays of course no one must say anything in anyway critical, well about anything really, free speech in terms of getting anything printed is a thing of the past.

Ironically also at that time a crudely printed motor racing satirical 'comic' called "COBRA" supposedly produced by underground members of the Brabham team was available by subscription

It was motor sports answer to "VIZ" magazine and equally irreverent..........and quite brilliant, this too got crushed under the jack boot of the emerging regime we live under today.

This week's high court judgement in favour of a group of merchant banks, which while dismissed as "Nothing at all " may just herald the start of a sea change, - it's all certainly a great deal more interesting than the present racing.

[SEdward]

And a wonderful column it was too, with frequent mentions of Sod, sorry Sid, Offord and the Uniprat, sorry Unipart, F3 team.

Never imitated, so never equalled.
BTW, what has become of Mr. Brittain?

Edward

[Graham Gauld]

I am happy to say Nick is alive and well and working hard in Australia on his next marathon event. I spent some time with him in Adelaide three weeks ago where he was helping out his wife who is as successful as a co-driver on Classic Adelaide as Nick is at organising long distance events. He hasn't and doesn't change. I remember once staying with Jenny and him in London prior to a Race of Champions. On the way back from Brands on the Friday afternoon Nick casually told me I was racing a stock car at Wimbledon that night : and I was. It was a special "Journalists Race" - some red meat for the crowd to bay at before the real racing began. We drew lots for starting order and Nick was drawn behind me. He remarked that he would tap me on the back bumper when he wanted to get past - confident so and so - and the race started. True enough on the third lap I got the tap on the back bumper and Nick swept confidently past. I was too busy ensuring that Cyril Posthumus, then Editor of Motoring News, was not going to get round the next loose surfaced bend but did not mind. I was conscious of passing other people and was totally surprised to find I had finished second with Nick in fourth place. (Apparently Nick had spun and in the melee I did not notice I had repassed him). Nick was rather silent in the car on the way back from Wimbledon.

So Nick is in good form these days.

Graham Gauld

[Ruairidh]

Originally posted by RTH


Ironically also at that time a crudely printed motor racing satirical 'comic' called "COBRA" supposedly produced by underground members of the Brabham team was available by subscription

MMM.....sounds interesting - any copies survive?

[Twin Window]

I've got twenty or so editions of Cobra!

[MCS]

Originally posted by Twin Window
I've got twenty or so editions of Cobra!

Until Richard's post, I'd never heard of it.

Who was responsible and what, dare I ask, was the content???

Mark

[Mark Bennett]

Cobra was mentioned a few times in Autosport - I never found out how to get hold of it though

[Twin Window]

It was probably mentioned due to the fact that former Autosport editor Andy Hallbery was one of Cobra's creators...

[SEdward]

It may be a sign of these PC times, but I cannot image any current publishers accepting a column like "Private Ear" amongst their publications.

Shame.

Edward

[dolomite]

Originally posted by Mark Bennett
Cobra was mentioned a few times in Autosport - I never found out how to get hold of it though

Wasn't it the Brabham Fan Club magazine?

[Twin Window]

Yes it was. Here are the front & back covers of a random issue - the British GP preview 1988 - for the benefit of those who've never seen it...

[dolomite]

More please!

[RTH]

If we can't get 'Private Ear' in to Autosport anymore could it be a weekly column on ATLAS ?

[Mark Bennett]

Twinny,

I think it is your responsibility to contact the originators, and get permission to scan the whole lot in to a website somewhere!

Finally - - I get to read one!

[Séamas M.]

With all the "Crap Silverstone" content in Twinny's sample are we sure that the publisher was not in fact Bernie??!!

[Mark Bennett]

Well he did OWN Brabham at the time...

[RTH]

Originally posted by Mark Bennett
Twinny,

I think it is your responsibility to contact the originators, and get permission to scan the whole lot in to a website somewhere!

Finally - - I get to read one!

I'd love to read them again, heaven knows where mine are - somewhere in the loft ! They really are like a breath of fresh air.

We need something like this somewhere today, - I suppose Jim Bamber comes closest, - But, - just a moment we have our own resident TNF cartoonist - How about a weekly cartoon Stuart ? sending up the ghastly mess the current scene is in, in the style of "Grumpy old Spectator " ?

[JenkinsComp]

I just found this thread and thought that you might like to read this article from Cobra, issue 42, November 1988. I have asked for permission from the magazine editor Martin Read, with whom I am in touch with as well as Keith Tonge. I grew up in the same street as Mik Hard with and went to school with some of the Cobra folks back in the 1980s, and ended up donating some of my old Tiger comics to them for the superb "Skid Mark" comic strip!

I've been reading the book "Bernie's Game" this week, and reliving some old Brabham memories, which has spurred me into reading my old Cobra mags.

Cobra also received contributions from people like the sadly missed Russell Bulgin who also worked for Autospod in the early 80s. Could anyone say what they did now? Or would Max bend them over and whip them into submission?!

The politcal goings on nowadays would be awesome material for Cobra, but I daresay litigation might be somewhat more likely, as Martin Brundle found out recently for daring to have an opinion on the ridiculous McLaren punishment thing.

[PMac]

Delighted to say that Martin Read, one of the leading lights behind COBRA, has set up a COBRA appreciation group on Facebook. Seems he will be scanning and posting pages from the fanzine.

[Bjorn Kjer]

Do remember "private ear" , but allthough a subscriber to Autosport then and before , it never really caught me! Then politics was foreign to me ,I wanted reports , results and pictures. Would however like a lot to see more !

Cobra I never even heard off !(?) But cannot help feeling a bit weird , seing the minaret in the Silverstone post above ....a wellknown politician and "provocateur" in Denmark died last week , he having been jailed a couple of times in 1988 (and later)for racism ! Allthough the sketch suggests 1998 its getting close +10 years ! Very odd! And more F1 in the sands , were they psychic ?

But more of Private ear" or Cobra please !

[Blue16]

Cobra was fantastic. I subscribed to it and must still have twenty odd copies up in the loft. The Mansell-Baiting was second to none, as was the unwavering support of the Brabham team in 1987 when it was on its way down. Basically drivers fell into two categories - those who drove for Brabham, and those who didn't. If you fell into the latter then God help you. Needless to say, Piquet, Patrese, Warwick were all popular. The Mansells (or "Moan-still" as they labelled him) were not.

There is no way you'd get away with it these days.

I'm off to join the appreciation page on Facebook.....!

Rob Rowley

[rateus]

Originally posted by Bjørn Kjer
Cobra I never even heard off !(?) But cannot help feeling a bit weird , seing the minaret in the Silverstone post above ....a wellknown politician and "provocateur" in Denmark died last week , he having been jailed a couple of times in 1988 (and later)for racism ! Allthough the sketch suggests 1998 its getting close +10 years ! Very odd! And more F1 in the sands , were they psychic ?

Hate to say it but that sketch was published in 1988 - kind of a peek into the future if you will. Although Martin & co didn't strike me as the types to pay close attention to Danish politics

And yes, looking back it's amusing (and not a little sad) to see how many things Cobra predicted in jest that later came to pass. Even one or two of the bits I wrote have survived the test of time