So, Farewell Then, Loaded...

Loaded: it changed the face of magazines in the mid-90s, launched the careers of countless hacks, and made a media celebrity of its founder, James Brown.

Then it went tumbling downhill faster than Rik Waller chasing a Chocolate Orange and became yet another glossy rag with a minimal word count and nipples by the bucketload.

And then some bright sparks hit on the idea of publishing weekly wank mags for little boys too short to reach the top shelf but tall enough to buy their own tissues, and thus Loaded's fate was sealed.

It''s been a slow and painful death but, as of a fortnight from now, Loaded will be no more. And, to be completely honest, having become the ghostly reminder of a once-loved friend, it won't be missed.

Loaded: briefly good, long overdue its trip to the knackers yard. Farewell.

EDIT: Oops! News reaches us that it's not Loaded itself that's closing (although it should be), but its gladrags offshoot Loaded Fashion Inc.

Fortunately the staff are taking it quite well, and one insider told us: " We want to be free to do what we want to do. And we want to have a good time, and that's what we're going to do. We're going to have a good time. We're going to have a party."