IT was, they agreed, the newspaper website that broke the mould, populated by a barmy army of bloggers ranging from a Page 3 girl to a rock star, and from a celebrity chef to a very angry cat.

When Birmingham’s Sunday Mercury launched its own site in July 2008, it ripped up the rulebook for a regional Sunday title, serving up exclusive news, sport and edgy entertainment 24/7.

I’m reminded this week of the groundbreaking work we did as Steve Wollaston, then my web editor, partner in journalistic crime and still a dear friend, says his final farewells to colleagues tomorrow night over leaving drinks.

Steve and I, back in the day

He’s stepping down as Reach plc’s Head of Midlands Sport after 27 years with the company, following the path I, too, took six years ago, and he recalls that the glory days of sundaymercury.net were among the most enjoyable times of his career.

So what did we do that was so different? Here’s how trade website HoldtheFrontPage reported it.

Up until the launch, our digital side of things had been housed in the serviceable but staid surrounds of the icbirmingham brand – but the Mercury always was a problem child, prone to having just too much fun.

Alongside the exclusive news breaks and investigations that won us a famous five Newspaper of the Year titles in seven years, we always set out to entertain and offer, wherever possible, a different diet.

Steve and I at an awards ceremony

Our idea was to break news even more often throughout the week, rather than leave it to the weekend, if we had a hot story. We also wanted to offer a distinctly different point of opinion each day. 

Cue an army of bloggers. We recruited 20 writers primarily to offer regular ‘read by appointment’ blog posts penned by a range of people from all walks of life.

Here’s just a sample …

THE ROCK LEGEND

Bev Bevan is the legendary rock drummer and founder member of Brummie icons ELO and The Move. One of the site’s most popular bloggers, each week Bev, now a member of Quill, shared behind-the-scenes anecdotes, old photos and memorabilia from his career.

THE BIG BROTHER STAR

Outspoken Kate Lawler became the first-ever woman to win TV’s Big Brother after she stormed to victory in the third series of the show in 2002. When she joined us, she was a DJ at heavy metal Kerrang! Radio’s Birmingham HQ, and wrote on celebrity and showbiz.

THE FOOTBALL FAN

Luke Wilkins, then nother notable Kerrang! Radio presenter, joined us as an alternative sports and football blogger, primarily covering Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion, offering a viewpoint on professional and amateur sports then more commonly found in fanzines.

THE CELEBRITY CHEF

‘Yummy Brummy’ celebrity chef Glynn Purnell served up a weekly look not just at all things food, but also on life in big city Brum, his passionate support of Birmingham City FC and the rollercoaster ride of running a restaurant while being a regular face on TV. And who kept stealing his trees?

THE DAREDEVIL

Jonny Dangerous was the website’s resident daredevil and extreme sports enthusiast who blogged about his crazy active lifestyle adventures, inviting readers to submit ever more scary challenges ranging from skydiving and cage diving to nudist sessions at the swimming baths.

THE MUSIC EXPERT

One of the best-known voices in Birmingham’s thriving music scene, radio presenter, promoter and commentator Paul Flower took readers behind the scenes of the music business, writing about entertainment, the challenges that live venues face, and his love of West Bromwich Albion.

THE PAGE 3 GIRL

A famous Page 3 girl and model, whose name we changed to protect her identity, offered glimpses behind the scenes of the glamour business, taking readers into the photoshoots, the awkward moments and the unseen pressures of being the woman in the spotlight.

THE GHOST HUNTERS

Members of a local paranormal research group opened up their case files to take readers on their chilling investigations at some of the Midlands’ most haunted houses, castles and landmarks. Seriously scary stuff, written in suitably spirited style, it was a huge hit with readers.

THE ANGRY CAT

Not many newspapers offered a cat who could not only voice strong opinions on the humans in his life but who could also write a purr-fect blog post. Keogh was one of two real-life cats who deigned to live with multi-award winning columnist Mike Lockley – and, boy, was he angry!

THE ACTION MAN

Written under a pen name to protect his identity, our action man was a Royal Marine Commando who wrote about life on the front line of the UK’s armed forces, the tough training needed to survive there, and the challenges posed by politicians’ continually careless cost-cutting. 

THE DIVA

Sarah Morris, these days a marketing guru, successful singer and media personality, was our bright lights, big city lifestyle blogger, critiquing Birmingham’s fashion scene and club culture, and those who blazed brightly within. It became quite the cachet to have featured in her posts.

THE GRASSY KNOLL

From the JFK assassination in Dallas to the Illuminati’s secret meetings in Birmingham, staff writer Ben Goldby looked into all things weird and wonderful, separating the fact from the fiction and debunking myths and misconceptions. Unless, of course, the conspiracy happened to be real…

THE BRUMMIE MUMMY

The original Brummie Mummy blog was already a hilarious account of the everyday life of a city mum, trying to balance the demands of family and work, bringing up children, paying the bills and getting everything done. She was the very first blogger we signed up to the new site, at the top of our wishlist.

THE SCI-FI NERDS

Every site has to have a sci-fi and fantasy blog, and Anorak City was ours. Both Steve and I took it in turns to wear the anorak, reporting on everything from Star Wars to Star Trek, Hobbits to holograms and, of course, a detailed dissection of what on earth was going on in TV’s Lost.

THE GOSSIP GIRL

Birmingham had its fair share of celebrities, and our Kiss & Tell team kept track of what who was doing what, where, when – and with whom. If our local celebs were keeping a low profile, then there were A-listers galore visiting the city.

There were several more blogs as the roster evolved over the website’s lifetime, with Steve and I always on the lookout for new contributors, all this while still working on the award-winning weekly print edition.

They included Ugly Phil and his heavy metal blog; It Makes Me Mad (about life’s pet hates) and the mirror image It Makes Me Smile (detailing life’s little joys); an endless successful of Crazy World trivia snippets and You’ve Got To Laugh, which offered a daily Dad joke, all of which were spectacularly awful.

Our aim was that the website would feature at least 80% entirely original content not seen elsewhere – not even in the print Mercury – and each week we succeeded. We set up a dedicated YouTube channel, too, initially for our sports team.

They were great times, until the inevitable day came when yet another restructure saw the site rolled in to the new BirminghamLive brand in 2018, and our eccentric and eclectic mix became much more serious, some might even say grown-up.

But it was glorious while it lasted. Thanks, Steve! I look forward to your next adventure…