Sinclair User

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title: "Sinclair User" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["video-game-magazines-published-in-the-united-kingdom", "defunct-computer-magazines-published-in-the-united-kingdom", "zx-spectrum-magazines", "magazines-established-in-1982", "magazines-disestablished-in-1993", "monthly-magazines-published-in-the-united-kingdom", "1983-establishments-in-the-united-kingdom", "1993-disestablishments-in-the-united-kingdom", "magazines-published-in-london"] description: "Computer magazine published until April 1993" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinclair_User" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Computer magazine published until April 1993 ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox magazine"]

Field	Value
title	Sinclair User
image_file	sinclair user cover.jpg
image_caption	Cover from 1987
previous_editor	Apr 1982: John Sterlicchi
May '82 - Jan '84: Nigel Clark
Feb '84 - May '86: Bill Scolding
Jun '86 - Apr '88: David Kelly
Mar '88 - May '89: Graham Taylor
Jun '89 - Nov '90: Jim Douglas
Dec '90 - Apr '92: Garth Sumpter
May '92 - May '93: Alan Dykes
frequency	Monthly
circulation	96,000 (July 1984)
category	Computer magazines
company	ECC Publications (Apr 1982 - Aug 1984)
EMAP (Sep 84 - May 1993)
firstdate	April 1982
country	United Kingdom
language	English
issn	0262-5458
finaldate	April 1993
finalnumber	134{{cite web
url	https://sinclairuser.com/134/index.htm
title	April 1993, Issue 134
publisher	Sinclair User Magazine Online
work	sinclairuser.com
access-date	2022-06-27
url-status	live
archive-url	https://web.archive.org/web/20210413035626/https://sinclairuser.com/134/index.htm
archive-date	2021-04-13
}} (133rd issue<ref name	"issue97"Sinclair User skipped issue 97 with the April 1990 magazine being assigned issue number 98 incorrectly, instead of 97. This error was then propagated until the final issue.)
::

|title = Sinclair User |image_file = sinclair user cover.jpg |image_caption = Cover from 1987 |editor = |editor_title = |previous_editor = Apr 1982: John Sterlicchi May '82 - Jan '84: Nigel Clark Feb '84 - May '86: Bill Scolding Jun '86 - Apr '88: David Kelly Mar '88 - May '89: Graham Taylor Jun '89 - Nov '90: Jim Douglas Dec '90 - Apr '92: Garth Sumpter May '92 - May '93: Alan Dykes |staff_writer = |frequency = Monthly |circulation = 96,000 (July 1984) |category = Computer magazines |company = ECC Publications (Apr 1982 - Aug 1984) EMAP (Sep 84 - May 1993) |publisher = |firstdate = April 1982 |country = United Kingdom |based = |language = English |website = |issn = 0262-5458 |finaldate = April 1993 |finalnumber = 134{{cite web |url = https://sinclairuser.com/134/index.htm |title = April 1993, Issue 134 |publisher = Sinclair User Magazine Online |work = sinclairuser.com |access-date = 2022-06-27 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210413035626/https://sinclairuser.com/134/index.htm |archive-date = 2021-04-13 The Sinclair User was a magazine dedicated to the Sinclair Research range of home computers, most specifically the ZX Spectrum (while also occasionally covering arcade games). Initially published by ECC Publications, and later EMAP, it was published in the UK between 1982 and 1993, and was the longest running Sinclair-based magazine. The magazine contained news, game reviews, previews, tips, help guides, columns, readers' letters, and cover-mounted game demos.

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Sinclair_User_Early_Example_FAIR_USE_ONLY.jpg" caption="The debut issue, representative of the magazine's early style which was more hobbyist and less games-oriented than in later years]]"] ::

In earlier years, the magazine built up personality cults around some of its "hilariously" monikered staff, including Bill "Incorruptible" Scolding, John "Disgusting" Gilbert, Chris "Lunchbreaks" Bourne, Claire "Ligger" Edgely, Richard Price (writer of the "Gordo Greatbelly" adventure tips section), and columnist Andrew Hewson (founder of Hewson Consultants software).

Under David Kelly's editorial tenure, the magazine began to focus more on the gaming scene, and featured more colour graphics under designer Gareth "the Mad Celt". By the time of editor Graham Taylor, the magazine included the cartoon character Kamikaze Bear, and the tone of the publication changed from a semi-serious magazine to something aimed more at children.

High-quality games were indicated in reviews via the "Sinclair User Classic" award, the logo was used as a selling point for games, big and small.

In May 1992 the former rival publication CRASH was notionally subsumed into Sinclair User but in practice this meant little more than the addition of the Crash! logo to the magazine's cover page.

''Timex Sinclair User''

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Timex_Sinclair_User_FAIR_USE_ONLY.jpg" caption="''Timex Sinclair User'' was a spin-off for the US market."] ::

A short-lived spin-off known as the Timex Sinclair User was also published for the American market, where versions of Sinclair computers were marketed under the Timex Sinclair name.

References

References

1. Sinclair User skipped issue 97 with the April 1990 magazine being assigned issue number 98 incorrectly, instead of 97. This error was then propagated until the final issue.
2. "Sinclair User Magazine at Simplyeighties.com".
3. "Sinclair User".
4. "Archived copy".
5. "Timex Sinclair User".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::