Sometimes the Amstrad community gets a lovely surprise. Sometimes it gets an enormous one.

This week, Sir Alan Sugar, the man behind Amstrad, shared a post on X linking to The Retro Hour podcast episode featuring UKAG founding member Jo Cook, along with this very UK Amstrad Group website. For a community built on enthusiasm, nostalgia, practical tinkering and a huge amount of shared history, that is a rather special moment.

The Retro Hour said of the tweet in a direct message:

“You’re not going to believe this one.”

And we almost didn’t until we saw it with our own eyes!

Podcast celebrating 42 years of the Amstrad CPC with special guest Jo Cook, who takes us deep inside the Amstrad scene of the late 80s and 90s. From growing up with a CPC464 and helping run the legendary King Arthur’s Domain PD library and Merline-Serve, to writing for Amstrad… pic.twitter.com/6lDNpjO1SH

— Lord Sugar (@Lord_Sugar) April 27, 2026

For UKAG, this is fantastic promotion. We already know how much affection there still is for the Amstrad CPC, PCW, PC, GX4000 and the wider Amstrad range, but having Lord Sugar himself acknowledge the podcast and the UKAG website puts that enthusiasm in front of a much wider audience.

It is also a reminder of why UKAG exists.

Beyond the 80s

The Amstrad story didn’t end when the original machines left the shelves. It carried on through the people who bought them, coded on them, repaired them, wrote about them, swapped disks, ran clubs, made friends, and kept the scene alive.

Today that same spirit continues through online communities, modern hardware projects, archive work, repairs, new software, events, meetups and good old-fashioned chat about why these machines still matter.

UKAG was created to bring those people together. So, to everyone who has followed the link, listened to the podcast, found the website, joined our WhatsApp community, bought a meetup ticket, or simply thought “I had one of those!”… we welcome you to our little retro corner.

To Lord Sugar, thank you for giving the Amstrad community a very welcome boost. We promise not to let it go to our heads too much, although we may need a little lie down. We hope you are happy to see your creations live on, through enthusiast owners such as our group, as well as our events. 

The Amstrad scene is still here. Still friendly. Still busy. Still wonderfully enthusiastic. And now, thanks to one very well-timed post, a few more people know about it. We’ll see you at our event, coming up very soon!

Now, Sir Alan, how about a CPC Mini, we reckon that would really sell…

AUA is a group of friends and enthusiasts of retro Amstrad machines from the 1980s. We started as a Facebook group around 2017, as a meeting point for users interested in this system and the possibilities of these machines.

The Amigos y Usuarios de Amstrad (Friends and Users of Amstrad) support all initiatives related to the development of new hardware, software, and anything connected to this system.

Within this framework, cooperative projects have been carried out such as DES (Dandanator Entertainment System), as well as support for other smaller, but equally important, initiatives.

We also collaborate with other retro computing events such as:

• RetroAlacant
• Amstrad Manía
• Amstrad Eterno
• Retrobarcelona
• RetroPixel

We participate and provide our machines so that everyone can enjoy, remember, and play with them again.

Given how we experience modern technology today, with flat screens, always-connected mobile devices, computers, and all the technology around us, we must not forget where it all comes from: the first mass-market home computers of the 1980s.

As retro enthusiasts, we also want to showcase new video games and hardware expansions, and demonstrate that these machines do not need to be discarded if found at home. We can encourage people to recover and revive them using modern hardware and today’s active scene. This is not just a passing trend—quite the opposite.

Our events

AUA began in 2019 with the Run”AUA event, organized at La Casa+Grande in Rivas-Vaciamadrid, with support from various media outlets that helped promote it.

Attendance was immediate, and we had a very enjoyable day with more than 20 AMSTRAD systems on display, where people could enjoy games, programs, and these magical machines from the 1980s. We were also joined by the Association of Classical Computing Users, who brought several systems for exhibition.

At the 2024 RetroAlacant event, we had over 70 Amstrads between Amstrad CPC (all versions), Schneider CPC, PCW, PC, NC and  Mega PC and at the 2025, three CPC64 protos + PCW sample case and some documentation… Three Amstrad CPC464 prototypes in the same event 🙂

Our events include the following sections:

– Repair Workshop: We repair, solder, replace memory modules, floppy disk drive belts, and most importantly, we bring your Amstrad back to life.
– Game competition in a real machine.
– WorkShop about expansions, like DES, Dandanator, M4.
– Machine exhibitions.
– Book, hardware and Games presentations about Amstrad machines or another retro computers.

Association

AUA was legally established as an association in 2024 and currently has seventy-five members, not counting Roland Perry who is member number zero and an honorary member.

AUA at UKAG

Edit from UKAG Admin:

“We are so glad to welcome some members of the AUA to our inaugural UK event in June 2026. Come along to find out more about their amazing work!“

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Written by:
AUA

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If you love retro Amstrad, enjoy chatting with fellow enthusiasts, or just want to be around people who understand why these machines still matter, the UKAG WhatsApp community is the place to be.

The UK Amstrad Group is all about bringing together people who share a love for the Amstrad scene. That means the computers, the games, the magazines, the memories, the hardware projects, the collecting, the repairs, and all the brilliant conversations that come with them. Our WhatsApp community gives you an easy way to be part of that, wherever you are.

So what is it?

It is a friendly space to share what you are working on, ask questions, show off new finds, swap stories, and chat about all things retro Amstrad. Whether you are a long-time CPC, PCW or PC user, a returning fan rediscovering your old machine, or someone who has only recently fallen down the wonderfully pixelated rabbit hole, you will be very welcome.

You might be discussing favourite games one minute, hardware fixes the next, and then suddenly be deep in conversation about cover tapes, green screen monitors, or which joystick was really the best.

The WhatsApp group is also one of the best ways to keep up with what UKAG is doing, including our upcoming meetup. Our first official UKAG meet is shaping up to be a fantastic day for Amstrad fans, with a chance to meet fellow enthusiasts in person, including CPC architect Roland Perry, chat, play, share memories, and celebrate the community around these much-loved machines.

Online communities are brilliant, but there is something special about meeting people face-to-face who share the same enthusiasm. The meetup is a chance to put names to faces, see some great machines and projects, and enjoy a day surrounded by people who really get it. The WhatsApp community helps build that sense of connection before the event even begins, so by the time you arrive, you already feel part of it and know who’s who!

How to join

You can use this link to join, share with others, or use the QR code:

Some how to pointers

If you are concerned about privacy, please note that phone numbers aren’t shown to all members:

If you’ve never used a WhatsApp community before, no worries! Once you join you’ll be in the UK Amstrad Group – general chat for all sorts of conversation.

At the top of WhatsApp select the UKAG logo:

This then shows a menu of other groups you can join.

Founding members org chat is for boring stuff behind the scenes, but the Meetup chat is to discuss more specifically around the event. And lookout for other groups to come along in the future.

And the UKAG WhatsApp policy is here.