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Nostalgia Nerd
Peter Leigh holding Silver Play button in December 2017
Personal information
Born
Peter Leigh
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Presenter, author
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2015–present
GenreTechnology
Subscribers532 thousand[1]
Total views81.70 million[1]
Associated acts
100,000 subscribers
Last updated: 08 April 2023

Peter Leigh, more commonly known by the alias Nostalgia Nerd, is a British presenter, YouTuber, author and Twitch streamer,[2] who documents and specialises in ageing technology and software. First appearing on YouTube in 2014,[3] he routinely and enthusiastically explores forgotten computers and the technology surrounding them. He often specialises in historical documentaries on vintage computing,[4] but also delves into technical explanations.[5][6][7] Leigh also ventures into modern,[8] mystery, explanation and more frivolous tech videos, with a humorous style and British wit.

His most recent book, The Nostalgia Nerd's Retro Tech,[9] spent several months as a best-seller in the UK[10] and USA.[11] Covering a wide variety of retro systems with historical and gaming facts,[12] it has been mentioned on the UK's Centre for Computing History's website[13] and is a reference in the museum.

As of December 2022, his main YouTube channel has 520,000 subscribers[3] and 674 videos.[14]

Early life and education

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Leigh was born in Norwich, England in the early 1980s. The younger of two siblings, he spent much of his childhood engaging with such British micros as the ZX Spectrum,[15] BBC Micro and models from further afield, including the Commodore 64.[16]

He attended Cromer High School, before studying Business Law and ICT at Paston College.[17] He previously worked as a Lead Program Developer,[17] and ran a web development business in 2012.[18]

Career

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Leigh first began producing YouTube videos in 2014, under the alias of RetroBait.[19] He created the Nostalgia Nerd channel shortly after, and began creating videos as a part-time hobby.[20] His early videos ranged from unboxing old tech to game reviews, before moving to in-depth system histories which propelled the channel forward. These are created in a documentary style, focused on the histories of various computer systems and consoles from the past.

In 2017, Leigh moved full-time to YouTube production.[20] He stated that, due to the time involved with research, editing and production, along with the desire to improve quality and historical accuracy; continuing his parallel career of website development alongside video production would be detrimental to both pursuits;[18] he preferring to put focus into video creation.[21]

In 2018, Leigh appeared on Mexican television showcasing the retro computing scene in the UK.[22] In the same year, he appeared in several episodes of the Kickstarter-backed web series, Digitiser the Show, as himself.[23]

In 2018, Leigh wrote The Nostalgia Nerd's Retro Tech. This book was published in November 2018[24][25] by ILEX Press.[26] To date, it has sold approximately 50,000 copies,[27][11] and appeared in various scholar-related texts.[28][29]

Leigh has appeared as a guest author in numerous national press[30] publications, as well as UK radio shows, advocating retro technology. One of which was Chris Goreham's BBC Radio Norfolk breakfast show, where he discussed the mystery of the Elm Hill fossilised keyboard in Norwich.[31]

On 3 February 2021, Leigh appeared on the UK based Channel 4 television show, Steph's Packed Lunch,[32][33] discussing vintage computers and their values.[34]

He frequently appears as a guest speaker at retro-themed events, including Play Expo[35][36] by Replay Events, as well as a Primark retro themed clothing event alongside Pac-Man record holder, Jon Stoodley.[37][38][39]

As of February 2021, Leigh has collaborated with several other significant YouTube producers, including LGR,[40] Ashens,[41] Did You Know Gaming,[42] Octavius King and Slopes Game Room. He also co-hosts The Octanerdle podcast[43] with Octavius King.

Notable documentaries

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Through source interviews, research and discovery, Nostalgia Nerd is known for creating content on an array of forgotten or unknown subjects related to vintage technology.[44]

Examples include the explanation and deep dive into the early 00's 96KB FPS, kkrieger. The investigation and solving of the "Fossilised Keyboard Mystery", and various historical and research documentaries; including the rise and fall of Cyrix processors, the history of the failed internet sensation, Beenz, analysis of the alternative Sega Genesis Street Fighter 2 Game and a documentary about 1990s Star Trek PC Peripherals.[45]

Personal life

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Peter Leigh in 2020

As of 2021, Leigh lives in Norwich, Norfolk.[46] He has two children[20][18] who have appeared in older videos.

Bibliography

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Year Title Notes
2017 Attack of the Flickering Skeletons (Stuart Ashen)[47] Contributor
2018 The Nostalgia Nerd's Retro Tech[48]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2021 Steph's Packed Lunch Himself Discussing the revival of vintage computers, their use and how much they're worth

Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2020 Ashens and the Polybius Heist Tech supplier Credited
2021 Odd Pod: The Movie... kinda[49] Nostalgia Nerd Upcoming film based on The Odd Pod show

Web series

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Year Title Role Notes
2017 LGR: Choosing a Retro Gaming PC Himself 1 episode, guest
2018 Blockbusters: Video Games & The Internet Himself Panellist on the YouTube channel, Ashens
2018 Digitiser: The Show Himself
2018 Barshens Himself 1 episode
2019 Digitiser Live[50][51] Himself
2019 Did You Know Gaming[52] Narrator 1 episode

References

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  1. ^ a b "About Nostalgianerd". YouTube.
  2. ^ "Twitch". Twitch. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  3. ^ a b "About Nostalgia Nerd". Retrieved 20 December 2022 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ Charnock, Tom. "Nostalgia Nerd Tackles The Atari Jaguar Story". Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  5. ^ Grossman, David (6 September 2017). "The Weird, Stripped-Down Web Browsers of MS-DOS". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  6. ^ Frauenfelder, Mark (25 May 2020). "Why does USB keep changing?". Boing Boing. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  7. ^ "You're telling me that Sonic the Hedgehog was faster in America!?". TechnoBuffalo. 8 October 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  8. ^ "New ZX Spectrum Next computer unboxed". Geeky Gadgets. 4 March 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  9. ^ Leigh, Peter (6 November 2018). The Nostalgia Nerd's Retro Tech: Computer, Consoles and Games. Octopus Books. ISBN 978-1-78157-570-3.
  10. ^ "Amazon Best Sellers: The most popular items in Books". Amazon. 27 September 2019. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  11. ^ a b Corson-Knowles, Tom (12 July 2016). "Amazon Book Sales Calculator". TCK Publishing. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  12. ^ March 2021, Rob Dwiar 04 (4 March 2021). "Best gaming books 2021: from novels to retro compendiums, and other page-turners". gamesradar. Retrieved 12 June 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  13. ^ "Nostalgia Nerd's Retro Tech Book – Shop Item – Computing History". computinghistory.org.uk. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Nostalgia Nerd's YouTube Stats (Summary Profile) – Social Blade Stats". socialblade.com. Retrieved 20 December 2022.
  15. ^ By (28 February 2020). "The ZX Spectrum Next Arrives". Hackaday. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  16. ^ The Nostalgia Nerd's Retro Tech. Ilex. 2018. pp. Introduction. ISBN 978-1781575703.
  17. ^ a b "Linkedin". Linkedin.
  18. ^ a b c "r/IAmA – I am Nostalgia Nerd. That 80s Computer Addicted, Youtube Chap who Just Wrote a Book about Retro Tech. Please, AMA". reddit. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  19. ^ "Retrobait". Retrieved 23 June 2020 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ a b c 80s and 90s Computers, Arcades and British Gaming with Nostalgia Nerd – The Retro Hour EP56, archived from the original on 3 June 2021, retrieved 3 July 2020
  21. ^ "Nostalgia Nerd is creating Retro Tech & Gaming Videos". Patreon. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  22. ^ "Nostalgia nerd". Noticieros Televisa (in Mexican Spanish). 3 September 2018. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  23. ^ "Peter Leigh". IMDb. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  24. ^ Hlavaty, Craig (15 November 2018). "Would you like to play a game? Book holds history of game systems". Chron. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  25. ^ Leigh, Peter (29 March 2019). The Nostalgia Nerd's Retro Tech: Computer, Consoles & Games. Octopus Books. ISBN 9781781575703.
  26. ^ Leigh, Peter (29 March 2019). The Nostalgia Nerd's Retro Tech: Computer, Consoles & Games. Octopus. ISBN 9781781576823.
  27. ^ "Number of Reviews as a correlate to Number of Sales". Amazon Seller Forums. 4 October 2017. Retrieved 9 April 2021.
  28. ^ Hoffin, Kevin; DeVos, Elaine (1 January 2020), Kelly, Craig; Lynes, Adam; Hoffin, Kevin (eds.), "A Chronology of Video Game Deviance", Video Games Crime and Next-Gen Deviance, Emerald Publishing Limited, pp. 49–72, doi:10.1108/978-1-83867-447-220201004, ISBN 978-1-83867-450-2, S2CID 225550767
  29. ^ Pascal, Muhammad Salim (2021). KRITIK SOSIAL DALAM VIDEO GAME (Analisis Semiotika Representasi Kritik Sosial Dalam Video Game Persona 5) (other thesis). UNIVERSITAS PEMBANGUNAN NASIONAL "VETERAN" YOGYAKARTA.
  30. ^ Perlman, Elisabeth. "Computer nerds go nuts for an Acorn". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  31. ^ Moxon, Daniel (21 May 2020). "Mystery solved! Origin of Norwich keyboard revealed". Norwich Evening News. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  32. ^ "Steph's Packed Lunch" Episode #3.23 (TV Episode 2021) – IMDb, retrieved 4 June 2021
  33. ^ "Steph's Packed Lunch with Nostalgia Nerd". 8-Bit Boyz. 3 February 2021. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  34. ^ "Steph's Packed Lunch Twitter post" – via Twitter.
  35. ^ YOUTUBERS OF RETRO GAMING Play Expo 2020 – Octavius, Kim Justice, Nostalgia Nerd, Top Hat, DJ Slopes, retrieved 9 April 2021
  36. ^ "Guest Announcement – Nostalgia Nerd – PLAY Expo Margate". playexpomargate.com. Retrieved 23 June 2020.
  37. ^ "Primark Retro Gaming Range – 80sNostalgia.com". Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  38. ^ "THE PRIMARK ARCADE CALLING ALL RETRO GAMING FANS". gamasutra.com. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  39. ^ "PrimarkArcade Manchester 2018". 21 June 2018 – via YouTube.
  40. ^ "LGR – Choosing a Retro Gaming PC" – via YouTube.
  41. ^ "GBR Thrifts" – via YouTube.
  42. ^ "Sega Master System Games Trivia – Did You Know Gaming? extra Feat. Nostalgia Nerd – YouTube". Retrieved 4 February 2021 – via YouTube.
  43. ^ "Octanerdle". octanerdle.com. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  44. ^ "5 canais no YouTube para quem gosta de tecnologia retrô". Super (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  45. ^ Wainfur, Rob (22 January 2018). "Nostalgia Nerd Takes A Look Back at 90's Star Trek PC Peripherals". Star Trek News. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  46. ^ "Twitter Location Info". Retrieved 23 June 2020 – via Twitter.
  47. ^ Ashen, Stuart (2017). Attack of the flickering skeletons : more terrible old games that you've probably never heard of. London. ISBN 978-1-78352-413-6. OCLC 1014210249.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  48. ^ Leigh, Peter (2018). The nostalgia nerd's retro tech : computers, consoles & games : all the greatest old systems from Atari to Xbox. London. ISBN 978-1-78157-570-3. OCLC 1027135150.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  49. ^ "Odd Pod: The Movie... kinda (2021) – IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  50. ^ DIGITISER LIVE 2019 – FULL SHOW!, retrieved 8 April 2021
  51. ^ "DIGITISER: THE SHOW Launches 9th March on Kickstarter | GamesYouLoved". gamesyouloved.com. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  52. ^ Sega Master System Games Trivia – Did You Know Gaming? extra Feat. Nostalgia Nerd, retrieved 20 December 2022
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