The man who launched Empire magazine, and a giant of UK magazine publishing, has died unexpectedly. Rest in peace, Barry McIllheney.
Some awful, awful news. The man who launched Empire magazine, and a giant of UK magazine publishing, has passed away unexpectedly.
Barry McIllheney’s passing was announced by his brother, and it’s hard to know quite what to say. Back when I was in the infancy of Film Stories, Barry took time out to buy me a coffee, talking through his early days of Empire, chat about launching Premiere magazine in the UK. He offered me encouragement and support when he had no reason to, and his kindness has always stuck with me.
I adore magazines, and his work is one of the reasons why.
He was editor of Empire back when I first started buying it too, and the influence of what he put on page is huge. Barry also edited Smash Hits, and served as chief executive of the Professional Publishers Association (PPA) among many roles.
Many people will be posting far better tributes to the man than I over the coming days, weeks and months, and rightly so. Just from the flavour I got, there are lots of incredible stories to tell. It just seems odd that he won’t be telling them now.
Still, one of the things about his extensive work in print is that you can seek out his work, his approach and the wonderful magazines he created and edited. He leaves behind a tremendous legacy, and the feeling that he’s a man gone too soon. It was a privilege to spend some time with him. He even paid for the coffee.
There’s a lovely interview with him at the PPA about his career, and he even starts it with a Goodfellas quote. You can read it here.
At the moment, of course, thoughts are very much with his friends and family, not least his brother Colin who broke the news online. Sending out best to the Empire crew, too.
Rest in peace, Barry McIllheney. And a huge thank you.
