The Face Magazine
The Face was a British music, fashion and culture monthly magazine started in May 1980 by Nick Logan.
Logan had previously created the teen pop magazine Smash Hits, and had been an editor at the New Musical Express in the 1970s before launching The Face in 1980.
The magazine was influential in showcasing a number of fashion, music, and style trends of youth culture including New Romantic, and the "Hard Times" look of the early 1980s. In 1992, the magazine ran an article which contained a reference to the supposed sexual orientation of the Australian actor and pop star Jason Donovan. Donovan sued the magazine for libel in 1992 and won the case.
Subsequently, the magazine requested donations from readers to pay the substantial libel damages and court costs which came to £300,000.The magazine set up the "Lemon Aid" fund—supposedly so-called because the original article on Donovan had stated that he treated his hair with lemon juice to make it blonder. Donovan reached a settlement with the magazine which allowed it to stay in business.
By the time of its May 2004 closure, monthly sales had declined and advertising revenues had consequently reduced. Publishers EMAP closed the title to concentrate resources on its more successful magazines. In an ironic twist, Jason Donovan led a consortium that made an abortive approach to EMAP to save the title prior to its closure.
