Re: Anybody remember Break-Through?

["Chris Beckwith" <beckwith@biddeford.com>]

ttuerff@primenet.com (Tom Tuerff) wrote:

> Back in the 80s there was a KB fanzine called Break-Through, published
> out of Canada by a husband and wife team who eventually got divorced
> when one of them (The Husband) found Jesus and decided Kate was 
> evil.

I don't think he came to believe she was *evil,* just not an
appropriate idol for worship by a born-again Christian (Jesus has a
way of crowding out all else when you're a Christian newbie.)  That
said, Dale Somerville's "True Believer" stance became
extraordinarily heavy-handed (IMHO) towards the end.  It's odd to
listen to Kate's welcoming message to the Winnipeg Bush-Con thanking
"Mr. Dale Somerville" for his efforts on her behalf with the benefit
of hindsight.

The other factor in Break-Through's untimely demise that doesn't get
as much play (because it's not as sexy as a spiritual
transformation) is that the Somervilles lost thousands on the venture
and would probably have ceased publication in any event.  I was sent
the final issue gratis, which should tell you something about their
business sense.  Generous to a fault, and not built to last.

> This was a bad thing, because the magazine, published in tabloid
> style, was quite good--I dare say better than Homeground at times. 

Agreed!  While taking nothing away from the Homeground crew, the
Somervilles had a great thing going for a while.  This was the
Golden Age of KB fandom, and the articles were often extraordinarily
well-written.  The last issue contained the entire Peter Swales
interview that was excerpted in Musician and a super examination of
Kate's duets up to that point.

> Does anybody know what happened to the female side of the partnership
> that published Break-through, and do any of you have back copies? I
> have one--from 1986, and a friend of mine has a few more from before
> that. 

I read something about a fanzine called Still Breathing out of
British Columbia; however, I've yet to see an issue.  I tried to
stay in contact with Robyn over the years but lost track of her.

Take care,

Chris