What went down at Huck’s 20th birthday party
84 issues and counting — We took over east London’s Jaguar Shoes with friends old and new to celebrate two decades and our new issue, with Tony Bontana taking the decks for a special set.
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84 issues and counting — We took over east London’s Jaguar Shoes with friends old and new to celebrate two decades and our new issue, with Tony Bontana taking the decks for a special set.
On Wednesday night, mates of Huck new and old took over Shoreditch’s Jaguar Shoes to celebrate 20 years of magazine-making and the launch of our new issue, Huck 84: It Starts With Us.
The world looked a lot different when Huck first launched in 2006. Now, two decades on, the scene kids are back – and our cover story catches up with a generation revisiting the fringes, side fringes and skinny jeans of the original movement. Elsewhere in Huck 84, we meet musicians, artists and communities doing their own things in the face of algorithmic feeds and an increasingly homogenous culture.
Kicking off the night with a Q&A, digital editor Isaac Muk sat down with contributors Tony Bontana and photographer Rebecca Zephyr Thomas to talk creativity, big tech and our reliance on online platforms. Asked about the elephant in the room when it comes to creative endeavour – AI slop – Rebecca didn’t mince words: “It’s not here to make the world a better place – it's here to make a few rich people richer.”
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“It’s not just bad aesthetically – it’s really bad morally,” she continued. “I’m not touching it!”
Tony was with the room: “I back that.”
The discussion rang particularly true on a day when a major cybersecurity risk – identified by AI – had been wreaking havoc across the internet (huckmag dot com included). The panel discussed how much of our creative lives now depend on platforms we don’t control – and of the value of making things that exist beyond them. Photographer Yushy had one such thing in his hands, seeing his exclusive zine, The Chaos Isles, in print for the first time. Shot across the UK over the past decade, it documents the nation’s unique brand of Thatchers-drenched madness. Join Club Huck+ to get hold of a copy.
With plenty to chew on, Tony then moved from the panel and took to the decks. Drink tokens were redeemed, copies of the new issue made their way around the room. Huck’s very own Rosie and Jim took over next, bashing out old-school anthems (the Big Brother theme tune bringing us all back to a simpler time).
The evening was a celebratory reminder of the importance of physical print and all the legends that keep it going. Thanks to everyone who came down. Have a scroll to see photos from the evening.
Ella Glossop is Huck’s social editor. Follow her on Bluesky.
Huck 84: It Starts With Us is out now. Sign up to Club Huck+ to make sure you never miss another issue and receive The Chaos Isles – A special photozine by Huck and Yushy.
