Andy Warhol believed that people should live in outer space. He told Glenn O’Brien so in 1977. “Oh yeah, I think that would be really great,” he told Glenn (future Editorial Director of Interview come 2008). “Would you like to live in outer space?” Glenn asked him. “No, I really hate heights. I always like to live on the first floor,” Warhol said. He had created his own outer space, feet firmly on the ground, with Interview Magazine, or as many referred to it, the Crystal Ball of Pop in 1969 alongside British journalist John Wilcock. It was a whirlwind fantasy factory of celebrities, fashion, musicians, geniuses – the Pop bible. It was the pioneer of all things pop, nailing downtown New York, into the underground and always emerging with everything we needed to know. A true reflection of its time. Overnight we learnt that Interview Magazine is folding after almost 50 years, the news breaking on Twitter via current staff members. The news, whilst devastating, is not surprising: it was reported by the New York Observer on Monday that the publication was liquidating its assets amid huge lawsuits. Not ideal and not the Interview we will remember but oh how we will remember the Warhol driven machine that roared through the ‘70s and ‘80s until his death, always getting the best interviews and iconic covers. It was the coolest American Dream of magazines, although Warhol didn’t believe in such a dream. “Do you believe in the American Dream?” Glenn asked him. “I don’t,” Warhol replied, “but I think we can make some money of it.” We like his style. Interview Magazine did it so well.
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