UK FHM - January 2009

New year, new calendar with this issue. Sadly the calendar is nothing to write home about as predicted. It features one shot each of most of the girls featured in 2008 but most of these photoshoots didn't offer much in the first place when they appeared in the magazine.

On to the issue itself, the main cover star is Katy Perry. Ok, she's what you call a A-list celebrity I suppose but again it appears most of the entire budget has been blown this month again on the main feature. The shoot itself is taken in a old Victorian building overlooking Buckingham Palace so the article says anyway, we don't actually see the Palace through the windows. If you're into Perry's legs then this is a shoot for you, the shoot is very Arena-isque in style. Nothing revealing is worn and the poses are not at all adventurous.

The other shoots feature Beatrice Rosen, an actress who recently starred in Sharpe's Peril. Again, nothing to get overly bothered about. One shot in this shoot is a full-page but out of focus which makes it pointless in my opinion and it seems intentional.

Lastly, the other shoot has a couple of shots of a girl who was in Hollyoaks. Again, it's just the run-of-the-mill underwear shots, bland and boring.

UK FHM - December 2008

A really bare bones issue of FHM as far as the girlie content goes this month. The cover girl is Olga Kurylenko, who (if you have been on a completely different planet to everyone else lately) stars in the latest Bond movie. This is the third time that Olga has featured in FHM. You could say 'finally a A-list celebrity' in FHM but it looks like the whole monthly budget was blown on this feature.

The shoot itself isn't too bad. It's technically well done, bright and sharp. Although nothing too revealing is worn and it's just a white studio backdrop for the majority. If you're a fan of her then it's worth a look, if not then you may be best leaving the issue on the shelf. The French edition of FHM ran the exact same photo set in their November issue but they got more other girlie features which also had full nudity.

We do get 2 other picture of the French High Street Honey winner, Laura Thomas. But it is nothing too remarkable about it to be honest.

The issue also carries the UK's High Street Honey supplement of the top 100 entries. I don't vote at this stage, I wait until they round it down to 10 in the new year. The supplement is the usual mix of professionally done photos to the mobile grainy photos - how is anyone meant to vote of the quality of the pics is questionable but I imagine the more ample entries will make it into the top 10. None of them are too remarkable anyway.

Next months FHM will have the additional Calendar for 2009, judging from the quality of girls featured over the year I imagine it will be quite poor, as it has been for the last couple of years compared to the other mags.

UK FHM - November 2008

A better effort from FHM this month.

The main girlie features are Adriana Lima and the cover shoot is Holly Willoughby. I always get a little suspicious of the shoots featuring in magazines around this time as it is usually the time most of the next year's calendars come out so the magazines tend to feature shots from them but that seems confined to the weeklys.

Firstly, to Adriana Lima... It's a decent enough shoot on the beach so bikini shots are the main feature here and she certainly fills a bikini in all the right places. We get a mix of colour and black/white shots. There is a couple of topless shots but nothing is revealed but the shoot has a bit of class about it and this girl is the definition of sexy. In any case, I certainly recommend you take a peek at her.

Next, Holly Willoughby's shoot... Seems FHM are leaving the studio behind as this shoot is also outdoors, in and around a swimming pool. Again, bikini shots are the main fare here also and again it's another girl who fills one in all the right places. You certainly can see why it's the only reason to watch that lame skating show on ITV. The pictures are bright and vibrant, in general a lot better than the usual in recent issues. Again, the shoot is worth a look but she's no Lima.

Another couple of page worthy of mention is the Hardware section. Here we get two pictures of a unknown model, modelling cameras in the nude. The camera are strategically placed sadly, and the model in uncredited but she pretty busty.

There is another shoot in the Incoming section of Charlene Rena (no, I have no idea either) but it is the usual underwear fare, just a couple of pictures and a bit bland against the other shoots in the issue.

I would certainly recommend a look at FHM this month in any case.

UK FHM - August 2008

A better than usual fare this month from FHM, still not outstanding by any stretch but certainly worth a look.

The cover girl is month is Ana Ivanovic, the Serbian tennis player. Rumour is it that she could take up modelling when she retires from the game. Judging by the shoot in FHM such a career move may prove fruitful. The shoot itself is taken outdoors around a swimming pool. If you were hoping for some swimsuit shots you'll be disappointed, there is nothing too revealing in these shots. Technically however this shoot has some quality about it and is worth a look.

The other main girlie feature is Richard and Judy Madeley's daughter, Chloe. This shoot is in a studio and rather bland wearing a pair of tights and a slik gown. The Telegraph considers it 'racy', ...hardly. Still considering her parents she is rather easy on the eye.

Also, there is a couple of shots of a girl from C4's Shipwrecked posing in her underwear. I didn't make a note of which one it is and there is certainly nothing special about her or the pics.

This months supplement FHM2 also has quite a few pics of various unnamed models posing in lingerie. You could go as far to argue that the supplement is better than the content of the main magazine in terms of the girlie content.

So, a better issue this month in my opinion with the Ana Ivanovic shoot being the highlight.

UK FHM - June 2008

So here we go again, the 100 sexiest women in the world of 2008. Nice golden cover but the content of the magazine is a little underwhelming to say the least as most of the effort seems to have gone into the 100 sexiest supplement. Over the past couple of years this has been usually the case anyway. I guess publishers think many would not notice given a supplement to distract the reader with.

The main shoots in the magazine are of Kristen Bell and Melanie Slade, Theo Walcott's girlfriend. Both shoots are disappointing in my opinion and both just look like they have been taken in the studio, nothing much adventurous attempted. I would say the Melanie Slade shoot is the better technically of the two. Kristen Bell does little for me too so fans of her might appreciate the shoot better then I would.

As for the 100 sexiest supplement, it's mostly recycled shots, some full page and some thumbnail size. A couple of shots I haven't seen before and there is a superb shot of Kelly Brook worth seeing. The winner is Megan Fox, we get a couple of pretty awful pictures of her to be honest. Second is Jessica Alba. It seems one blockbuster movie is all it takes to be crowned sexiest woman these days. Out of my 10 nominations Megan wasn't mentioned and some ladies you would expect to make the 100 didn't. I think the US votes have far too much influence even though the print version of the magazine is no longer published in the States.

UK FHM - May 2008

On the FHM cover this month is Keeley Hazell and already I got that sinking feeling that this month's issue is going to be another disappointment. Is there any other model out there? Thankfully this issue of FHM is a bit better than the past couple of issues.

Starting with Keeley, all the shots are in a studio with a plain white background. We get several full pages shots both in colour and black/white. None of the shots are topless which is quite strange for a regular Page3 model. Technically however they look well done. So not a bad shoot but I am starting to get a little bored of her now.

The other girlie features include Tricia Helfer from the sci-fi show Battlestar Galactica. These are not in a studio and they look like they've been done in a apartment. Again, not a bad shoot but perhaps a little bland as it's just the usual underwear shots. That said, her Playboy shoot wasn't all that great either.

We also get a couple of shots of Abbey Clancy who now denies she has quit modelling underwear. I don't think these shots are original as I think I've seen them before, there is one double page spread and a full page, but they are pretty decent shots.

Also, we get a few page of a feature called 'Lingerie Smackdown' which just features two complete unknown models in a variety of underwear throwing pillows at each other. Nothing really to write home about here.

Not a bad issue but not that great either. Next month is the results of the 100 Sexiest Women competition. Last year's was complete rubbish as far as the images went and the quality of the overall issue. We hope for better next month.

UK FHM - April 2008

Don't let the cover fool you. Yes, it's Cheryl Tweedy from Girls Aloud looking decidedly sexy but this shot and the rest of the shoot itself with her band mates isn't original. This shoot actually appeared in Arena magazine a couple of years ago now - I still have the said issue. I actually purchased Arena for the first time for this shoot alone. This is the first time I've seen another shoot appear as the cover of another monthly magazine and the shot on the cover is far the best one. Another 4 pics appear in the magazine itself but I think FHM has fallen down to depths with this 'copied' shoot. It seems FHM are getting increasingly eager to sell more copies - it is one of best cover shots of the year so far so it undoubtedly shift more but many will be disappointed with the rest of the quality of the issue yet again.

Other shoots include Laura Haddock, just 2 full page shots and another 2 smaller shots. Nothing to write home about at any rate, not showing much - fairly bland.

The other feature is the 10 Finalists in the FHM High Street Honeys contest. None of them are close to past winners but I would edge my bets on Brooke Bond, Lisa-Helen Ralph and Lindsey Cole. Again, nothing much tried here. In the past, FHM have sent the finalists out into foreign climates to do the photoshoots but this time all of them look like indoor studio shots around a swimming pool. Decent shots nonetheless but would have liked some of them to wear far less to better gauge their figures.

We also get two pics of music presenter Sarah-Jane Crawford from TV channel E4 but no-one watches that so it's a 'oh, who is this then?'

Take out the Girls Aloud duped shoot and you've got an fairly boring issue of FHM. Cat Deeley is in Arena this month so I might end up getting that as well hoping for better...

UK FHM - March 2008

FHMs cover girl this month is Olga Kurylenko. She has just been announced as the new Bond girl for the latest upcoming film. The other girlie content includes Michelle Ryan and April Pearson.

The Olga shoot is mediocre at best and is certainly nothing to write home about. She clad in a black PVC suit in two of pics and we get another 3 pics all full pages. She is slightly higher up the celebrity list at this moment in time as we are used to with FHM. Still I think it could have been better.

Michelle Ryan shoot is quite bland and a tragic waste. At just 3 pics it makes it almost a pointless feature other than to promote her 'Bionic Woman' series. Hopefully FHM would have got a nice earner for that to put towards some better quality in future issues.

April Pearson, she's a actress from the show Skins. Just 2 pics of her, again nothing revealing but is better than the Michelle Ryan shoot. The photography looks better quality too.

So another fairly 'usual run-of-the-mill' quality issue of FHM this month. On the FHM website the 100 sexiest women voting has started so get voting.

UK FHM - February 2008

The cover star this month is Alesha Dixon, who you might wonder? Well, she used to be a pop band ages ago and was recently crowned Strictly Come Dancing champion a few weeks ago on the BBC if any of you didn't see it.

Anyway, as for the photoshoot itself - it sad to see we're once again back in the studio. The shoot has a few full-page shots, all of which are very bland and very boring. Nothing remotely adventurous attempted here, it just look like she's been put in the front of the camera, plain background behind her, done some very quick shots and that's it - job done. Quite a poor effort really. It would seem that Alesha is milking her new found fame for as long as it lasts which will be about 3 months and FHM is only to happy to help since I would think she wouldn't command a high fee unlike the more A-list celebs, this is more like C to D-list.

As for other girlie content, a couple of shots of 3 girls from UFC (Ultimate Fighting). On the upside these are outdoors but again nothing much to write home about. Quite boring models really, nothing of their personality comes through. Just looks like another shameless advert for UFC which I have no interest in whatsoever.

The other shoot is of Ujjwala Raut, an Indian supermodel. 6 shots of her, most clothed and see needs a few more pies down her, too thin in my opinion. I didn't find her that attractive to look at.

So on the whole, a poor issue this month. If you haven't gone out and got it yet, save yourself a few quid and leave it. You're not missing anything. Looks like a bad month for this months release of mags.