Loadstar Covers

Loadstar was the only disk magazine for the Commodore 64 and 128, and was published by Softdisk of Shreveport, LA. In 1987 the job of editor was handed to Fender Tucker, a former bar band guitarist with roots in Louisiana and New Mexico. Life in the Loadstar Tower would never be the same.

Fender eventually became co-owner of Loadstar along with his wife Judi, and edited the publication from 1987 until early in 2001. Editing and production duties were then turned over to Dave Moorman, who produced the magazine for several years before allowing it to fall dormant. (Fender and Judi are still the legal owners of the property, so who knows, it could again rise from the ashes!)

During part of its run, the disk magazine was available on newsstands, shrink-wrapped with a full-color cover. In 2010 Fender sent us a bunch of these covers, and kindly gave permission for them to be posted on-line.

--Dick Estel, August 2011

Here are some inserts from old LOADSTAR packs back when we used to spend a lot of time and energy on "covers."
When I started at Softdisk in September of 1987 one of the first things I had to deal with was the cover. The art department did all the hard work; I just had to tell them what the cover should be. But what did I know?

Jim Mangham was in charge of the photo sessions and he enjoyed playing the role of quirky director. He liked spicy covers so he always wanted to have a pretty girl on them - even if pretty girls had absolutely nothing to do with computers in
those days (see issue #42). Then on #43 he made those poor actors actually wade waist deep in the Red River, something no sane person would ever do.

Number 44 was my first cover shoot and Dan Tobias and I went to a local museum and made the shot. Dan supplies the mummy's arm. I found acting (posing) very difficult and resolved to never get into show business unless I had a guitar to hide behind.

Number 46 is me again. I was the only one who had ever played bridge so I set up the shot. Does it make bridge sense? Hell if I know. I was a lousy bridge player.

Number 48 is my favorite all-time cover. Jerry Jones, the art director, perfectly captured the feel of the game. I always felt that the cover, when looked at squinty-eyed, looked like Paul McCartney's face from the back of the Revolver album. The candle
and the drink are the eye sockets.

--FT, December 2010