This month we've got so much happening here on MUSIC U.K. that it's almost impossible to know where to start. I suppose our major news is that from now on we're going to be available from any newsagent in the country, for the first time since we launched the magazine, some eighteen months ago.

This move will make us, at once, the biggest musician's magazine of its type in the country, and that's a tremendous achievement for a magazine run by a very small staff (we're no multi-national, I can assure you!) in such a short space of time.

The success of MUSIC U.K. to date hasn't been due to our deliberately courting favour with equipment and instrument advertisers — in fact it's been the case that our editorial policy has been very much something not to have been compromised by commercial considerations — but rather it's been down to the tremendous support we've received from musicians, equipment retailers and those advertisers who value editorial impartiality that has got us where we are now.

We aren't about to change that formula.

What you'll be reading each month will be a magazine which puts its readers' interests first, which isn't given over to running more adverts than editorial and which is guided by what you tell us you want to read about. Our second big news is this month's competition. We've always enjoyed running competitions and this month, to celebrate our new distribution, we've got the best prizes we've ever offered as a sort of 'thank you' for all our existing readers and a 'welcome on board' to all you newcomers. Of course, entry to the competition is totally free and we know that the quality of the prizes we've got for you and the sort of readers we have will nicely match one another!

Because in some ways this is a strange launch by any magazine (after all, with virtually 18 months' worth of issues under our belt we're hardly newcomers!) we've included in this issue a run-down on all the players we've interviewed, all the features we've run and all the reviews we've undertaken since Issue No. 1. Back issues are in very short supply I'm afraid, but we still have a few left of each issue. But the main reason for running this feature hasn't been to sell earlier copies of the mag, but to give our new readers a chance to see what sort of publication it is you're now holding in your hands.

Two further things. As you can see we've got a very low cover price by today's standard — just 60p, and it will help us hold our costs down if we can predict what sort of print runs we'll be needing for each issue. If you like what you're reading and reckon that you'll be wanting more of our mixture of fact and lunacy each month (I admit we're all half-mad here at MUSIC U.K.) then if you ask your supplier to save you a copy each month it will really help us make the right predictions. We'll pass the savings right back to you in our cover price, of course.

What's in store for you this month? Well, we've an interview with Whitesnake's Jon Lord, we've tracked down that legendary player Bo Diddley for an exclusive interview, we've exclusive reviews of new amps from Pro-Amp and Laney, a brand new synthesiser from a brand new British maker, a feature on copyrighting your songs, a review on two Tokais and a new Fender guitar plus the latest home recording gear from TASCAM and Clarion — just the sort of mix which we try to organise for our readers every month.

June's MUSIC U.K. is already being planned but it's not too late for you to write in and tell us about the sort of things that you'll be wanting to read. Whatever it is that Britain's musicians need, we're going to try and provide it. We know we've learned a lot in the past year and a half but we also know that music is always changing and to keep on in there we have to be guided by those changes and that means listening to you, the country's musicians.

So, that's all I've got room for now. All that remains to be said (before they come and lock me away for another month) is thanks for buying MUSIC U.K., whether you're one of our many established readers or whether it's the first time you've seen us. MUSIC U.K. is just what its title says it's about — so if you're into music I hope that we'll be seeing you again — every month from now on.