Lexington Lost Zine Collection
Abstract
Descriptive Summary
- Title
- Lexington Lost Zine Collection
- Date
- 1980-1983, 2004 (inclusive)
- Creator
- Coleman, Keith, 1950-2017
- Extent
- 1.02 Cubic Feet
- Subjects
- Bands (Music)
- Gay community -- Kentucky.
- Lexington (Ky.)
- Punk rock music
- Underground press publications -- Kentucky.
- Zines
- Cafe LMNOP
- Coleman, Keith, 1950-2017
- Widener, Bill Edward
- Arrangement
- Collection is arranged by format in four series: Issues, Mastercopies, Papers and Epemera, and Audiovisual.
- Preferred Citation
- 2023ms020: [identification of item], Lexington Lost Zine Collection, 1980-1983, 2004, University of Kentucky Special Collections Research Center.
- Repository
- University of Kentucky
Collection Overview
- Biography / History
- Keith Coleman, also known as "Dr. Smallhead", was born March 9, 1950 in Wayland, Floyd County, Kentucky. As a youth Coleman was an avid fan of The Beatles. As a young adult he considered punk-rock bands of the 1970s, like The Clash and The Sex Pistols, as the second coming of the British Invasion. In 1979, Coleman moved to Lexington, Kentucky, and began going to punk and new wave shows near University of Kentucky's campus and downtown, at venues like Halle Lou's, Cafe Au Go Go, JDI, ReBop, and Cafe LMNOP. In 1980, he reached out to larger music labels and asked for articles to publish in a music magazine about punk bands. Coleman published the first Lexington Lost zine in 1980 featuring his beloved Beatles and The Ramones. By the third issue, he began collaborating with Bill Widenor, also known as "Uncle Bill", a local punk and illustrator. Other local artists also contributed content to Lexington Lost. The zine began to cover local shows and featured interviews with local punk and new wave bands like The Thrusters, Chinese, Active Ingredients. Many Lexington punks were queer and involved with the local drag community which heavily influenced Lexington Lost's aesthetic. Also, every issue had a radical left political column written by Dr. Smallhead. As the zine grew in popularity, Keith Coleman began filming punk shows, with equipment borrowed from Tele Cable. The films were broadcast on Lexington public access television. Overtime, Keith and Bill had differing opinions for the future of Lexington Lost zine and ended its run with its eleventh issue published on December 14th, 1983. Keith Coleman produced two more punk zines, 1983-1984, called Dead Species. In 2004, a cd and dvd were released featuring Lexington punk bands recorded during the time Lexington Lost was published. Keith Coleman retired from GTE in Lexington and died January 14, 2017. In 2021, General Speech, a locally based international punk distro, published a compendium of Lexington Lost.
- Sources:
- Keith E. Coleman, Obituary, https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/kentucky/name/keith-coleman-obituary?id=17102035, accessed 2023 July 19.
- Interview with Keith Coleman, May 6, 2013, Cafe LMNOP Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt7xks6j456j, accessed 2023 July 19.
- Scope and Content
- The Lexington Lost Zine Collection (dated 1980-1983, 2004; 1.02 cubic feet; 3 boxes) comprises original copies for the queer and punk zine created by Keith Coleman in Lexington, Kentucky from 1980-1983. The collection includes a full run of the original and master copies of the zine's issues. The zine features music reviews, concert reviews, interviews with local punk and new wave bands, photographs, radical politics, collage, and illustrations. Many of the illustrations were drawn by artist, librarian, and WRFL radio host, Bill Widenor. Bands featured include Talking Heads, The Beatles, The Ramones, as well as local bands like Dementia Precox, Babylon Dance Band, Active Ingredients, Vale of Tears, The Thrusters, Chinese, Red Interiors, and Synthetics. Some of the members of the bands are queer and were involved with the early 1980's drag scene in Lexington, Kentucky. Also included are fliers for specific zine issues that list the availability at record store locations in Lexington. Finally, the collection contains a DVD and a CD with recordings of early 1980's Lexington music shows and bands.
Restrictions on Access and Use
- Conditions Governing Access
- Collection is open to researchers by appointment.
- Use Restrictions
- The physical rights to the materials in this collection are held by the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center.
Contents of the Collection
Issues, 1980-1984
Scope and Contents
The Issues series (1980-1984) comprises issues 2-10 of Lexington Lost zine and two issues of a Dead Species zine self spublished 1980-1984. The zines contain features and reviews of popular music like The Beatles and Talking Heads, as well as underground punk and new wave music in Lexington like Chinese and Babylon Dance Band. The zines also contain some political and personal columns. The series contains the xeroxed copies of complete issues circulated in Lexington. Some of the issues are hand colored after xeroxed copied.
Dead Species No. 1, a Lost Production, 1983 March 15
Dead Species No. 2, a Lost Production, 1984 March
Lexington Lost No. 2, 1980
Lexington Lost No. 4, 1981
Lexington Lost No. 5, 1981 December 8
Lexington Lost No. 6, 1982 March 24
Lexington Lost No. 7, 1982
Lexington Lost No. 8, 1982 September 20
Lexington Lost No. 9, 1983 January 29
Lexington Lost No. 10, 1983 June
Lexington Lost No. 11, 1983 December 14
Lexington Lost X-Tra, 1982 December 8
Mastercopies, 1980-1983
Scope and Contents
The Mastercopies series (1980-1983) contains the original zine created by Keith Coleman, Bill Widener, and other collabortors of Lexington Lost zine. The series contains issues numbers 1-6, 11, and an Xtra featuring John Lennon and The Beatles, presumably made as a memoriam after Lennon's death. The original zines include photographs, illustrations, and text pasted onto sheets and collated for printing.
Lexington Lost No. 1, 1980 September 10
- Box 1, folder 1
Scope and Contents
Features: Boomtown Rats, Lene Lovich, The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, The Clash, John an Yoko, The Doors. Reviews: Siouxie and the Banshees, Joy Division, The Vapors.
Lexington Lost No. 2, 1980
- Box 1, folder 2
Scope and Contents
Features: The Ramones, The Only Ones, Mal-Practice, The National Front. Reviews by Greg: UB40, U2, Killing Joke. Night Out by Brenda.
Lexington Lost No. 3, 1981
- Box 1, folder 3
Scope and Contents
Features: Talking Heads, The Beatles, No Excuse, photos from Vietnam War. Reviews by Greg: Thompson Twins, Wah, Echo & the Bunnymen. Illustration by Starlen Baxter.
Lexington Lost No. 4, 1981 November 30
- Box 1, folder 4
Scope and Contents
Features: Rolling Stones by Tom, Babylon Dance Band, The Chinese, Rasta Pasta by Greg
Lexington Lost No. 5, 1981 December 8
Lexington Lost No. 6, 1982 March 24
- Box 1, folder 7
Scope and Contents
Features: The N by t., Divine at Club Au Go Go, T-Rex: The Last Unicorn by Blake Christopher, Beat Music's Past, The Thrusters, Scorchers. Reviews by Greg: Architecture and Morality,Pete Shelly, Waitresses, Go-Go's, The B-52's, TV 21. Illustrations by Bill E. Widener. Time line of Lexington Punk, 1979-1981, by Gerald.
Lexington Lost No. 11, 1983 December 14
- Box 1, folder 8
Scope and Contents
Features: Carter Suter, X, Pralltown Cafe by R.L. Black, That Time of Year by C. Paine, Ready to Slam by Ellen Bush, Country Roundup by NanEllen Weekly, Children of Noise, Babylon Dance Band, Thrusters, Night of the Living Dead. Concert reviews.
Lexington Lost X-Tra, 1982 December 8
Papers and Ephemera, 1980-1983, undated
Scope and Contents
The Papers and Ephemera series, 1980-1983, undated, comprises zine fliers, a Fleshtones concert poster at a Lexington venue, record store paper bags, and a note left for Keith Coleman, and couple of illustrations. The fliers advertise Lexington Lost zine and what record stores the zine can be purchased at. The fliers are hand drawn after copied.
Lexington Lost flier, hand colored, 1980
Lexington Lost No. 8 flier, 1982
Lexington Lost No. 9 flier, 1983
Lexington Lost No. 10 fliers, 1983
Rolling Stone, John Lennon Memorial issue, 1981 January 22
Note to Keith Coleman, drawings, undated
Camelot Music, Fayette Mall, Lexington location, record store paper bag, 1981 January 18
Fleshtones concert poster, Cafe LMNOP, with I.S., undated
Record Bar, Lexington record store paper bag, circa 1982
Timeline of Lexington Punk history, 1979-1981, by Gerald, 1982
Audiovisual, 2004
Scope and Contents
The Audivisual series, 2004, contains two Compact Disc's, one Digital Versitle Disc, and one Compact Disc cover of audio and video of punk and new wave bands from Lexington, Kentucky in the early 1980's. Bands on the Lost Gems DVD include Active Ingredients, The Thrusters, Chinese, Dementia Precox, and Red Interiors. Bands on The Lost Years CD include Dementia Precox, Babylon Dance Band, Active Ingredients, Vale of Tears, The Thrusters, Chinese, Red Interiors, and Synthetics. Recordings are from the 1980's and reproduced and distributed in 2004.
Lost Gems DVD, 2004
The Lost Years, Volume 1 CD, recording copy and The Lost Years Volume 1 CD, 2004
The Lost Years, No. 1 CD sleeve, 2004
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Table of Contents
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UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center is open Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 4:00pm. Appointments are encouraged but not required. Schedule an appointment here.
Researchers must have an SCRC Researcher Account to request materials. View account set-up and use instructions here.
Questions? Contact SCRC via our Contact Form.
Requests
No items have been requested.
You may come across language in UK Libraries Special Collections Research Center collections and online resources that you find harmful or offensive. SCRC collects materials from different cultures and time periods to preserve and make available the historical record. These materials document the time period when they were created and the view of their creator. As a result, some may demonstrate racist and offensive views that do not reflect the values of UK Libraries.
If you find description with problematic language that you think SCRC should review, please contact us at SCRC@uky.edu.
