- Not Private Eye
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Not Private Eye Type Parody
satirical magazineFormat Magazine Owner Robert Maxwell Editor John Penrose Founded 1986 Political alignment Apolitical Not Private Eye was a one-off spoof of the British satirical magazine Private Eye.[1]
Overview
The spoof of Private Eye was published in December 1986 by Robert Maxwell, to celebrate his £55,000 libel victory over Private Eye caused by an accusation of attempted cash for peerages. It was printed using the facilities of the Daily Mirror, of which Maxwell was the owner.
Private Eye, meanwhile, was trying to sell a Christmas edition (at £1 rather than the then-usual 45p) in order to cover the costs of the libel case, estimated at £255,000. W H Smith was refusing to stock it.[1] During this time Peter Cook led a "raid" on the Mirror offices which, according to Ian Hislop, he began by sending a crate of whisky to the people working on Not Private Eye, guessing that they would prefer not to be doing it. The group then successfully gained entry to Maxwell's office and, after making a certain amount of mischief at the Mirror's expense, were removed by security.[2]
Content
The spoof edition largely copied the style of Private Eye but attacked its editorial team, including a cover which portrayed the editor Richard Ingrams in a Nazi uniform talking to Adolf Hitler. The speech bubble said "And if anyone objects, we say we were only doing it for a laugh".
Another example of such anti-Private Eye humour was included in the cartoon strips, one of which, entitled "Carlisle St, an everyday tale of libelling folk", featured caricatures of the Private Eye team making attacks against others as a means of making money.
The cover of Not Private Eye also featured an altered version of Private Eye mascot Gnitty, who was shown to be facing the wrong way (compared to his usual pose on the Private Eye cover) and was smiling.[1]
References
Private Eye People Franchise Features Barry McKenzie · Battle for Britain · The Cloggies · Colemanballs · Dear Bill · E. J. Thribb · Glenda Slagg · Prime Minister Parodies · St Albion Parish News · Teacher's Diary · The New Coalition Academy · Celeb
Miscellanea Regular mini-sections · Frequent targets of parody · Recurring in-jokes · Neasden F.C. · Not Private Eye · "Tired and emotional"Related Anyone for Denis? (1982, TV version) · Coach and Horses, Soho · Paul Foot Award
Categories:- British satirical magazines
- Parodies
- Private Eye
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