Dark They Were and Golden Eyed (bookshop)
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Dark They Were And Golden Eyed was the largest science fiction bookshop and comic store in Europe during the 1970s.[1] It was also a Head Shop
Specializing in subjects like science fiction, occultism, Atlantis, UFOs, and yoga, the North London shop played a key part in bringing American underground comics to the UK.
It was started by Derek 'Bram' Stokes, who had earlier run the fanzine Gothique, leaving to start a science fiction mail order book service called The Vault of Horror.[2] He was joined by Diane Lister (later Diane Stokes) in 1969, and they took the unusual name from the title of a science-fiction story by Ray Bradbury. The shop was managed by fantasy author Stan Nicholls, who had worked with Stokes on Gothique. [3]
The shop was originally in Bedfordbury, a back street in Covent Garden, before moving to 10 Berwick Street, London, W1V 3RG and later to a much larger ground floor and basement premises in St Anne's Court off Wardour Street, Soho.
Notable customers included Alan Moore. [4] Nick Landau, founder of Forbidden Planet and Titan Entertainment Group, was also a customer and produced a fanzine on the shop's hand-cranked duplicator. Mike Lake, another of Forbidden Planet's founders, was employed in Dark They Were, and Golden Eyed.
Landau's fanzine wasn't the only contribution Dark They Were, And Golden Eyed made to publication. The shop was also the semi-official correspondence address for Fortean Times (used from #28 - #35), and the magazine's team met every Tuesday afternoon in a room above the shop. The shop was advertised in #28 of the magazine, and the advert was drawn by Bryan Talbot who went on to draw for 2000AD.
The shop was also involved in organising the annual British Comicon. [5]
The shop was a key influence on three Manchester bookshop run by David Britton and Mike Butterworth: House on the Borderland, Orbit in Shudehill and Bookchain in Peter Street.[6]
The shop was featured in The Observer colour magazine in 1972. [7]
Dark They Were And Golden Eyed closed in 1981, and on closing the Forbidden Planet comic store bought up the shop's remaining stock.
Notes
- ^ http://www.infinityplus.co.uk/misc/sn.htm
- ^ http://www.herebedragons.co.uk/nicholls/gothique.htm
- ^ http://www.thewritefantastic.com/stannicholls.html
- ^ http://www.readyourselfraw.com/recommended/rec_alanmoore/arcade/arcade.htm
- ^ http://checkpoint.ansible.co.uk/cp025.html
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/may/10/popandrock.joydivision
- ^ http://checkpoint.ansible.co.uk/cp025.html