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Terry Test Override

 

February 4, 2022

Today as The Sunday Times Magazine celebrates its 60th anniversary, we look back at some of its’ most iconic covers.

 The first edition of the magazine, or as it was called then The Sunday Times Colour Section was published on February 4 1962. It was revolutionary; newspapers in those days were monochrome and the idea of putting a colourful magazine with a paper was seen as a big gamble.

It was a gamble that paid-off, it attracted a quarter of a million new readers thanks to the outstanding quality of its original photography and writing. Since then countless other newspapers across the world have launched their own colour supplements.

The Sunday Times Magazine led the way for quality journalism and photojournalism and continues to do so to this day. It has worked with some of the greatest photographers including war photographer Don McCullin, the cofounder of the illustrious Magnum photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, the first woman photographer at the agency Eve Arnold, and iconic fashion photographers David Bailey and Terry O’Neill.

It isn’t just about the images, right from the start the magazine prized the printed word. The founding issues included The Living Daylights, a new James Bond short story by Ian Fleming. Other renowned writers who have appeared in the magazine’s pages include Martin Amis, Bruce Chatwin, Nicholas Tomalin, AA Gill and Lynn Barber. Pick it up today and you’ll likely find such illustrious names as Jeremy Clarkson, Christina Lamb, Decca Aitkenhead and Adam Kay.

Krissi Murison, editor of The Sunday Times Magazine said: “It may have begun as a risky experiment but 60 years on The Sunday Times Magazine is still one of the most popular parts of the paper. Whether we appear on your phone or still land with a thump on your doorstep, our agenda-setting mix of stories, interviews and eye-popping visuals makes the magazine the definitive read every Sunday.”

Buzz Aldrin was the cover star on August 10, 1969, three weeks after the first moon landing. Reflected in his visor on the lunar surface is Neil Armstrong.
The space age was all the rage in 1966 and the Paris fashion shows were ready for lift-off.
A report on President Nixon’s calamitous attempt to reduce US involvement in the Vietnam War, 1972.

Steve Schapiro’s photograph of David Bowie shows the singer experimenting with his Thin White Duke persona in 1975.
A special 1987 issue devoted to the Aids crisis. That year it was estimated there were between five and ten million people infected with HIV worldwide.
The collapse of the Iron Curtain in 1989 followed a wave of revolutions across eastern Europe and was symbolised by the breaching of the Berlin Wall on November 9.
The growing menace of crack cocaine, 1990.
The supermodel Naomi Campbell sang the praises of Alexander McQueen and the new wave of British fashion designers in 1995.
In an age of global insecurity following the 9/11 attacks and the financial crisis, Bryan Appleyard asked where it all went wrong, December 2009.
Russel Brand reveals all in a confession about his sexual prowess, indiscretions and addiction in November 2009.
Days before the EU referendum in June 2016, chief Brexiteer and aspiring prime minister Boris Johnson nailed his colours to the mast.
The rise of the selfie, 2017.
Josh Glancy investigated Donald Trump’s final days as president, following the storming of the Capitol last January.
Stuart Franklin’s photographs, taken in April 2020 at the height of the first wave of the pandemic, conveyed the horror of the unfolding coronavirus crisis.
  • To celebrate the 60th anniversary a special edition of The Sunday Times Magazine will be available on Sunday 6th February. The edition goes back through thousands of photographs and covers to pick out the most iconic from the last 60 years.