Bursting onto the publishing scene in Manchester in November 1978, with the aim of winning over readers of The Sun and the Daily Mirror, the Daily Star soon took the North of England and the Midlands by storm. Its popularity, which saw it sell over 1.7 million copies a day by 1984, was no doubt fuelled by its cheeky tone and its cheap price, selling at just 6p a copy.
Although continuing to be produced in Manchester, the Daily Star was printed at the Daily Express Building on Fleet Street, London. Upon its initial publication, it flirted with left-leaning politics, however, the paper began to embrace an altogether non-partisan stance, with its overall goal to being to entertain from early on.
As it the Daily Star grew, it was home to many firsts. It was the first national UK tabloid to introduce bingo, and in 1982 it became the first advertiser to appear on the side of black cabs in London. It would also become home to the beloved comic strip ‘Beau Peep,’ created by Roger Kettle and Andrew Christine.
The Daily Star, however, is not without its controversies. Its raw and unfiltered perspective, its preoccupation with celebrity scandal, and its overall sensationalism, often provoked distress and anger amongst the subjects of its articles, and from the wider public.
Nothing if not unapologetic, the Daily Star pulls back the curtain on late 20th century Britain, unveiling what the British public were loving, despising and ridiculing. It continues to be published to this day, and its sister paper, the Daily Star Sunday, was launched in September 2002.
For this newspaper, we have the following titles in, or planned for, our digital archive:
- 1978–99 Daily star
- 1978–99 Daily star
