The voice of L J K Setright
Discussion
EdJ said:
Thanks OP for posting this. I was also an avid reader of Car magazine as a child in the 80s and then as an adult in the early 90s. Setright, Bulgin, Green, Bishop, Barker, Kacher etc - all conjure up fond memories of the thrill and excitement of having just purchased the latest issue of the magazine.
I was an avid read of "Motor Magazine" in the 1980s, but could never get on with Autocar, hated the typeface and resented the takeover and supression of the best traits of Motor for the Autocar ones IIRC most of the Car writers mentioned above worked for Motor, certainly Bishop, Barker, and Phil Llewellyn.I still miss Motor and its columnists, in an era when I devoured each and every car magazine on the oh so full magazine stands of my youth. Motorbike magazines had to suffice when I'd bought and read all that month's car magazines and the furtherest I got into motorbiking on the road was a Vespa, the Suzuki Scrambler doesn't count.
thepeoplespal said:
I still miss Motor and its columnists, in an era when I devoured each and every car magazine on the oh so full magazine stands of my youth. Motorbike magazines had to suffice when I'd bought and read all that month's car magazines and the furtherest I got into motorbiking on the road was a Vespa, the Suzuki Scrambler doesn't count.
LJK Setright use to write a column in Bike magazine in the 70s, was a great read.I bought Car from 1968 and loved his prose , even though , as a 15 year old , it was not always an easy read . In the 90s I was able to buy a complete set of Car (and , its various predecessors like Small Car and Mini Owner etc) and it was a feast of LJKS . What some might not know is that early on in his career he was very keen on motor sport and of course he wrote superbly about it . A highlight was a long interview with Colin Chapman .
He is not for all , but as the man himself might have put it , De gustibus non est disputandum
An LJKS factoid (as he certainly would not have said ) is that his family became wealthy as designers and manufacturers owners of of ticket machine
He is not for all , but as the man himself might have put it , De gustibus non est disputandum
An LJKS factoid (as he certainly would not have said ) is that his family became wealthy as designers and manufacturers owners of of ticket machine
Those of us who were children in the 1960s may recall the Setright ticket machine, a strange looking metal contraption of cogs and wheels that hung heavily from straps slung over the shoulders of a bus conductor, who would do some mysterious whirling and clicking with the machine, and produce a detailed printed ticket for you, in return for some small pre-decimal coins that he or she would put into a leather satchel. The machine can be seen in use in films of the period.
Edited by anonymous-user on Friday 6th March 10:44
Deranged Rover said:
I loved Setright's command of the Engish language and his prose but I think it went too far on many occasions.
On more than one occasion, I've read one of his reviews and come away with absolutely no clue whether he liked the car or not.
Oh but that was all part of the fun. I cared a bit for what LJKS actually said , but infinitely more on how he said it. But the general rule of thumb was - Honda , Bristol and Fiat sublime , with a nod to Jaguar and Lotus. He loved 1.5 litre F1 , unlike his colleague Blain . He loathed AC Cobras - ever the iconoclast- but hated speed limits even more. On more than one occasion, I've read one of his reviews and come away with absolutely no clue whether he liked the car or not.
His writing made most of his peers look like ill educated clods - and God knows what he'd make of some of the more febrile youtubers now.
coppice said:
Deranged Rover said:
I loved Setright's command of the Engish language and his prose but I think it went too far on many occasions.
On more than one occasion, I've read one of his reviews and come away with absolutely no clue whether he liked the car or not.
Oh but that was all part of the fun. I cared a bit for what LJKS actually said , but infinitely more on how he said it. But the general rule of thumb was - Honda , Bristol and Fiat sublime , with a nod to Jaguar and Lotus. He loved 1.5 litre F1 , unlike his colleague Blain . He loathed AC Cobras - ever the iconoclast- but hated speed limits even more. On more than one occasion, I've read one of his reviews and come away with absolutely no clue whether he liked the car or not.
His writing made most of his peers look like ill educated clods - and God knows what he'd make of some of the more febrile youtubers now.
'Any other business' was my first port of call with CAR. Not just LJKS, but the general standard of writing back then (CAR, Motor, Autocar) was so vastly superior to todays miserable output that revels in trendy shoutiness.
CAR began to turn to s
t in the 1990's, saved top some degree by Russell Bulgin. A very disagreeable human being but a great writer.
CAR began to turn to s
t in the 1990's, saved top some degree by Russell Bulgin. A very disagreeable human being but a great writer. Deranged Rover said:
I loved Setright's command of the Engish language and his prose but I think it went too far on many occasions.
On more than one occasion, I've read one of his reviews and come away with absolutely no clue whether he liked the car or not.
To be frank i always thought he was vastly over rated. Far too much egg on many puddings. On more than one occasion, I've read one of his reviews and come away with absolutely no clue whether he liked the car or not.
Vickers_VC10 said:
Never a fan, didn't seem to subscribe to Orwell's six simple rules for writing. Felt like he was constantly try to out do himself in how needlessly complicated he could make his articles. Got him noticed though.
Always felt he wrote in a self aggrandising manner.
I would argue that setright did not write the way he did in any smartarse supercilious manner, he wrote that way because that is how he thought. I was always dubious of Orwell's 6 rules. There can be no rules to creative writing, rules stifle and set parameters within which ones imagination must surely be hamstrung.Always felt he wrote in a self aggrandising manner.
Vickers_VC10 said:
Never a fan, didn't seem to subscribe to Orwell's six simple rules for writing. Felt like he was constantly try to out do himself in how needlessly complicated he could make his articles. Got him noticed though.
Always felt he wrote in a self aggrandising manner.
That's what I was trying to say but you put it very much better. The skill in writing, or talking is to discuss something which can be very complex and bring it into laymans terms. Setright, for me, appeared to self fuel a cloud or anachronistic bs, with some success it must be said. Not for me though. Always felt he wrote in a self aggrandising manner.
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