James Brown changed British culture when he launched Loaded magazine in the 1990s - and changed Martin Deeson’s life along with it.

In this hilarious, emotional and frequently chaotic reunion, the founder of Loaded sits down with his former star writer for the first time in years to talk about magazine wars, addiction, creativity, grief, comedy, the Beastie Boys, Keanu Reeves, Irvine Welsh, Hunter S. Thompson journalism and the wild rise - and fall - of 90s culture.

This episode is part reunion, part argument, part therapy session.

Martin and James interrupt each other constantly, disagree repeatedly, laugh hysterically and revisit the stories behind one of the most influential magazines Britain ever produced.

Topics include:

• The real origin story of Loaded magazine 

• Why the 1990s felt radically different from the 1980s 

• The explosion of comedy, music, rave culture and laddism 

• James Brown’s years at the NME before Loaded 

• Discovering writers, bands and cultural movements 

• Hanging out with the Beastie Boys and Keanu Reeves 

• Why Loaded connected with ordinary young men 

• Addiction in 90s media 

• The emotional toll behind the chaos 

• The infamous GQ champagne bottle incident 

• Howard Marks, Damien Hirst, Vic Reeves and Hunter S. Thompson 

• Why James eventually got sober 

• The strange legacy of Loaded today 

Plus:

• Stephen Fry airport chaos 

• Cannes Film Festival disasters 

• Nuclear war paranoia in the 1980s 

• Stringfellows stories 

• Terrence Stamp telling Martin to go away 

• Why James thinks Martin was the funniest travelling companion imaginable 

An unusually loose, funny and emotional conversation between two old comrades who helped define a decade - and somehow survived it.

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/martin-deeson-unloaded/id1885169674Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@MartinDeesonUnloadedX: https://x.com/martindeesonInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/martindeeson/Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@martindeesonWebsite: https://www.unloadedpodcast.com/