In the summer of 1969, in London, William “Bill” Levy (editor-in-chief of International Times), Heathcote Williams (playwright), Jean Shrimpton (supermodel and muse), Jim Haynes (founder of the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh and The Arts Laboratory in London), and Germaine Greer (feminist writer) decided to create a new radical sex publication. Willem de Ridder (Aloha, Amsterdam) is contacted to cooperate on design and production. Jim does some Public Relations and gets a large gift. Bill and Heathcote jump on a plane to Amsterdam and in ten crazed days the debut issue is made of SUCK (the first European Sexpaper) together with Willem.
The first issue is a sensation. Especially in England. Scotland Yard immediately closes the English postbox address, raids the Arts Lab tapping walls, looking for secret printing presses. Of course, they don't find the one copy of SUCK in the building, appropriately stashed under Jim's pillow. Then, still looking, they fly to Amsterdam where a SUCK-team, on a tip, removes some 9000 copies stored at the printer (Augustin & Schoonman in Zwanenburg) an hour before the arrival of the British police. While Scotland Yard has tea and cake at our designer's studio, Bill arranges for 1000 SUCKs to be smuggled into England, to be given out free at a Living Theatre benefit at The Roundhouse.
Bill Levy is thrown out of England. Jim Haynes leaves London to accept a teaching position at the University of Paris (Vincennes). Germaine stays in London. Willem flies to Brussels to pick up dollars for the second issue. Bill starts living in Amsterdam, and Susan Janssen and Lynne Tillman join the Suck-family.
