08 Mar 2008

British Porn King Dies

He'll have a girl on each arm in Heaven too.

On what has been quite a slow week when it comes to news on the porn and adult entertainment front, the only piece of remarkable news that HAS stood out has, unfortunately, been rather sad news.

As this news story points out, not only was Paul Raymond one of the world's richest men, but he made the vast majority of his extraordinary fortune through an adult industry he had been a part of for well over 40 years.

But unless you're from the UK, you've probably never heard of him. He's rather unfairly been labelled as the 'British Hugh Hefner' but at no point did he feel the need to parade around in a gown nor trot out the same content for decades on end.

He was responsible for the titles Men Only and Razzle, arguably the two most recognisable adult magazine names that are still published and extremely popular to this day, and have had an enormous influence on the state of the British industry today.

With an emphasis on taking natural-looking and naturally busty women and having his photographers shoot them in a flattering way without the need for a constant use of airbrushing, Raymond created an empire to be proud of.

And it's in this area that comparisons to Hefner are unkind although he was undoubtedly influenced into the magazine market by the success of Playboy in the United States. Nevertheless, the industry has lost one of its true pioneers and it has far more to thank him for than can be possible be calculated.

Posted by Steve 14:35:00