“I have people stop me in the street and say things like ‘We played you at our wedding or ‘We played your music at the funeral of our loved ones.’ It is so special,” Jimmy Barnes tells us in this, our milestone 600th edition, with Cold Chisel on the cover. Their music is part of the national character, the band having sold more than 7 million albums over their career. Not to be outshone, Big Issue vendors have sold more than 12 million mags since the launch of our very first edition, back in 1996!
This, our 600th, is a huge achievement, and one we are celebrating in this edition as we journey back to that very first magazine, and pay tribute to the people at the heart of The Big Issue: our vendors. And, there’s something else, too – a new look. So please have a read, and let us know what you think.