Icon Magazine is a bi-monthly magazine set up in 2005 by ex-professional footballers Tim Sherwood and Jamie Redknapp along with Redknapp's wife Louise. The magazine is the first venture of Redknapp Publications and its readership is exclusive as it is not sold in shops and it is aimed at a celebrity readership. Originally intended to be just for professional footballers, it has now branched out to many other international sports people as well as television personalities, actors and selected first class airport lounges. Official readership currently stands at around 25,000.
The magazine has four section StyleIcon, FashionIcon, LifestyleIcon and TravelIcon. Jamie himself has conducted interviews of A list sports stars for the cover articles. The magazine has a cover price of £6 but celebrity subscribers do not officially have to pay for it. Past individual issues can be brought for £15 on the official website.
In March 2008 it was revealed in The Sun newspaper that the magazine had hit financial difficulties and was losing £85,000 a year. A former worker for the magazine said “They are so busy with their celebrity lives and their children, they haven’t got time to do everything they want to do at Icon.”
In August 2008, two pioneers of men's magazines in the UK and USA, Andy Clerkson and Ed Needham took on the editorial direction of the magazine. Andy Clerkson was General Manager of Maxim Magazine USA (2001-2004) and editorial director of Dennis Publishing Inc (2004-2006). Between 1996 and 2006, Ed Needham was the editor of FHM magazine in the UK and USA, Managing editor of Rolling Stone and Editor in Chief of Maxim USA. Clerkson and Needham's publishing company, Grand Parade produces ICON under contract.
