Loaded no more: End of the road for founding lads mag

Loaded magazine's first edition in 1994 (left) and, despite promoting an 'all new look and content', its last edition. Credit: Loaded/Lia Nicholls

Founding lads mag Loaded Magazine is to close down after 21 debaucherous years in publishing.

The magazine - famous for its testosterone-fuelled coverage of drinking, football and scantily-clad women - helped launch a flurry of magazines targeted at young men in the 1990s.

But free-falling sales figures amid the growth of online media mean owners Simian Publishing have called it a day.

Deputy editor Lia Nicholls confirmed April's edition, released this week, would be its last, despite promoting an "all new look and content".

Loaded's heyday included contributions from Hunter S Thompson, Irvine Welsh and Nick Hornby after first hitting magazine stands in 1994.

Welsh appropriately played a part in the final edition, pitching questions to Britpop icon Noel Gallagher.

Former editor James Brown tweeted his disappointment at the magazine's demise.