Long before the arrival of the internet, if you wanted to know what was happening in the music scene or who the latest bands to look out for were, the likes of music magazines NME, Sounds and Melody Maker were indispensable sources of information.

Though the titles covered the scene nationally, it was left to “fanzines” run by passionate and dedicated fans to educate and inform on a local level. Nick Toczek ran Wool City Rocker for fourteen issues from the winter of 1979 to the summer of 1981.

The magazine was set up to initially champion the Bradford music scene before quickly covering West Yorkshire and then the entire north of England. Besides being a passionate music fan who wanted to share his enthusiasm and passion with others, Toczek had at his disposal some of the best punk and rock bands to cover during his time running Wool City Rocker, such as The Clash – the band who Toczek saw going from playing in front of a few fans to later thousands.

All fourteen issues of the fanzine have now been published in this highly recommended book for any Yorkshire music fan. Toczek’s endearing passion, along with that of the fanzine's contributors, clearly shows how the magazine was produced with each issue handwritten and typewritten – all published on a shoestring.

The Gig Guide initially listed every gig taking place in Bradford – many will remember venues now long gone, such as the Palm Cove, Vaults Bar and Queens Hall, that were breeding grounds for new bands in Bradford.

Many of the groups that were covered saw their first press coverage in Wool City Rocker, with the fanzine becoming a platform for interesting bands and solo artists who were first starting out.

Bands such as Keighley-based Dawnwatcher rubbed shoulders in issue number four with another new band from Sheffield called Def Leppard, of whom writer Steve Brown predicted that “the band will headline many major UK venues”.

The compelling book concludes with issue 15 from the autumn of 1981, which was partly prepared and never published. Interestingly, the music scene was changing, with punk taking a back seat to Yorkshire electronic acts like Heaven 17 and Soft Cell, with ABC also beginning to gain exposure. All three acts were featured in this issue, along with Bradford’s New Model Army – all were on the verge of huge success.

Toczek decided at the age of thirty-one it was time for him to step aside but not from music, performance or publishing – areas he is still involved in now, aged seventy-five.

For anyone who lived through this classic era of music in Yorkshire, this book will be very hard to put down; readers will reminisce and may have attended some of these concerts, feeling fortunate to have been a part of it all.

For the others who want to discover a period in music that is covered in an engaging, educated and enthusiastically written style from an informed perspective, this compilation is an essential read.

Nick Toczek Wool City Rocker is published by LS Arts Books. More information here