/ 23 January 1998

GTFO magazine to close

Greg Bowes

Get the Funk Out (GTFO), the CD-sized magazine that billed itself as “the entertainment magazine for advantaged common folk” has ended its print-run. Its recently launched sister publication Explorer will continue to provide fortnightly listings for the Gauteng area.

In its short lifetime GTFO transformed itself from a somewhat unfocused A4 mag to the best-looking rag in the country, with its fingers firmly on the pulse of South African youth culture. The last seven issues were accompanied by CDs which introduced GTFO’s audience to new music.

According to editor Tamsen de Beer, the closure of a magazine that was “run by young people for young people” is “a horrific loss to the local music industry”, but GTFO was not making enough money to please its backers.

The last issue of GTFO (on local subcultures) will be in shops next week. Back issues are still available.