Andy Dyer, Commodore Format and TOTAL! writer, has passed away

Commodore Format‘s first staff writer, Andy Dyer, has died at the age of 55. Sally Meddings reported the tragic and unexpected news on a Facebook page for Future Publishing’s former staff. We send love and our deepest sympathy to his family, friends and colleagues.

Andy was working for an insurance company in the summer of 1990 when his flatmate alerted him to an advert for a job on a new Commodore 64 magazine. “I was an avid reader of magazines”, he told us in 2014. “But I never thought for one moment I would ever end up writing for one. I was very lucky. A friend gave me a heads up, I went for the interview (50% of which went very badly by the way) and I somehow got the job. I still shudder when I look back and think what would have happened had I not.”

Andy’s nickname within the pages of the magazine was Thicky. Alongside editor Steve “Grumpy” Jarratt, the pair created a comedy double act that powered Commodore Format ahead of the once untouchable Zzap! 64. It became Future Publishing’s most successful launch to date.

In 1991, Thicky and Grumpy (by then known as “Baldy” or “Misery Guts”) launched the iconic Nintendo magazine, TOTAL!. In 1992 Andy joined Mega, eventually becoming its editor. You can read more about his career in our interview here.

Readers and former colleagues have been posting on X remembering him. “Awful news”, posted Sean Bell. “Andy Dyer was a constant presence through my childhood”. Meantime, former Edge deputy editor Chris Shilling described him as “a joy to work with – such a supportive and kind editor”.

Commodore Format‘s Andy Roberts took over the magazine’s games tips section, Gamesbusters, from Andy in 1991. He wrote: “Shocked and deeply saddened to learn that Andy Dyer has passed away. Working with Andy in those early days was an utter joy, and I still often think about those wonderful times.”

When we started this website, Andy was one of its first and most enthusiastic participants. He loved that the magazine he’d been a part of had touched so many people. On pressure from software publishers and his responsibility to readers, Andy said: “I always believed the reader should be the beneficiary of the writing. No one else.” CF

The original version of this article said that Andy was 57. We’re informed by a former colleague that he was 55.