Tapezines were quite a phenomenon in the mid-1980s to 1990s in Doctor Who fandom. A natural progression from printed fanzines, which had been produced in celebration of the series since the mid-1960s, tapezines fell somewhere between the audiobook and the radio broadcast. Many consisted of articles that were spoken rather than appearing in print, while others exploited the audio medium to its full potential, including dramas, comedy sketches, and musical items.

The first known Doctor Who tapezine was called, simply, Dr. Who: Tapezine and was issued in May 1983. The one-hour cassette was produced by David J. Howe, who now runs Telos Publishing, a successful company specialising in original fiction and reference works based on Doctor Who and other series. Dr. Who: Tapezine could be obtained by members of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society for free - they just had to send a C60 cassette and a stamped addressed envelope to the production address.

The idea caught on - although Dr. Who: Tapezine itself did not return for a second issue - and before long, there were several Doctor Who tapezines on the market, such as Wotan, Sonic Waves, The Master Tape and Zero Room, competing for listeners. It was actually a very friendly rivalry, with tapezine producers often contributing material to the audio productions of others.

The Tapezine Matrix is essentially a history of the Doctor Who tapezine - now something of a dead art, replaced by podcasts just as fanzines have been superceded by websites. Within these pages, visitors will learn of many of the tapezines that were produced in Great Britain and around the world. You'll see covers, original adverts from Celestial Toyroom (the newsletter of the Doctor Who Appreciation Society), read the opinions and memories of those who produced and listened to tapezines, and, where possible, hear examples of the audio productions under discussion.

This site's webmaster, Alan Hayes, has first hand experience of the production of tapezines. Between 1984 and 1987, Alan produced seven issues of Sonic Waves, one of the most popular audio fanzines of its time.

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