After five years Rock Society has had a revamp. Wishbone Ash grace the latest issue, with several hours of ‘Live Dates’ influenced Photoshop work. The original mono promo shot (circa 1974) was coloured and dragged into a new desert landscape. Subtle references to Ash albums were also added.
My second project with Roadhouse. The band wanted to keep the mono images, this time taken from Shutterstock. Photoshop was used liberally and the typography was chosen to emphasise the American post-industrial blues feel of the music.
A re-issue of Rick's early'90s 'New Age' LP. Rick was keen to emphasise that this was the original version of a release the was re-recorded later on... and apparently stank. My design made the most of a beautiful landscape shot by Rab Ritchie and courtesy of Unsplash. The giant piano was Photoshopped in and geographical patterns were added to the mix. Lee Wilkinson supplied the shots of Rick.
A collection of material originally recorded by Rick's sometime employers, Yes. The famed Yes 'Colophon' logo could not be used, for legal reasons. Complete band shots could not be used either. No Roger Dean rip-offs allowed, out of respect for the great man. Thanks to various Yes enthusiasts donating memorabilia and Bob Haskins donating photography I managed to produce a sleeve that told the story of Rick's career from 1970-1978 with the band.
Phone call at 18.30. Artwork needed same day. The only brief I had was ‘stick David on Mars…’ An image was chosen (albeit from 1976, not Aladdin Sane-era that this song originated from) and Photoshopped until we ran out of time. To celebrate the life of David Bowie Rick decided to revisit the song that he played on as a session musician many years before. A percentage of the profits went to Macmillan Cancer Support. Within days of release the CD single went to number one in the UK Physical Singles chart.
An eight disc limited edition box set was released by Bill Bruford in October 2017, containing remixed material and extras galore. I worked closely with Bill on three revamped gatefold sleeves and one new bonus release, housed in a black box, with a 16 page 12 inch booklet, signed photos, poster and other extras. The first run sold out within weeks and the box was named as one of Rolling Stone magazine’s progressive rock re-issues of the year.
The greatest blues magazine in the world. I spent two glorious years packing as much design attitude as I could into its pages... and great fun it was, too. A new look was created, with a nod to vintage blues LP sleeves for the design. The format is A5, a blessing and a curse when it comes to getting noticed on the shelves of WH Smith.
Fundraising brochure for historical city theatre.
A truly great musician... Gregg has worked with Sting, Amadou & Mariam, Damon Albarn’s African Express, Billy Cobham, Lauryn Hill, Youssou N'dour, Bombino and Osibisa, amongst others. This release was the first anthology of Gregg's work and features some great, genre-defying music. I wanted a touch of Earth Wind and Fire/Funkadelic space funk graphics. Gregg was a pleasure to work with, supplying sleeve notes and making positive suggestions as to the overall look of this project.
A re-issue. Originally this one crept out in 1970 as an easy listening collection. After Rick got famous it received several unsympathetically packaged re-issues. Mine has an image taken by Bob Haskins and suitably period-style typography. The stereo logo was added for effect… most CDs are stereo these days, apparently…
Gregg Brown from the band worked on a series or re-worked Osibisa classics... This was the end result, part 1. A further remix collection was released a few weeks later.
A selection of flyers and poster from recent years
Steve wanted to release an alternative to his famed Live Herald album. Mr Hillage said that my cover had a 'Studio 51' feel to it. The truth is that I liked the cover to Rock Follies '77, so borrowed liberally.
The band's previous designer had been Vaughn Oliver (look him up). The photographs came from the splendid American Archive.org web site and were taken by Marion Post Wolcott. Marion documented depression-era America and her work echoed the 'gothic blues' of the band.
Alien surf guitar instrumentals. Merrell is based on the West coast of the USA and has been playing music since the 1950's. Area 51 (my third project for Merrell) was commissioned in 2012 and needed a 'B' Movie touch. The inside tray quote was verbatim, hence the wobbly English. A limited run of this release came with a bonus DVD documentary.
An eclectic and very British band. Music to Loon By is a compilation of session material that needed a complex and humorous treatment to echo its contents. The volume knob and eyeball are references to certain band members that Patto and Ollie Halsall fans will understand.
One of the longest running classic rock magazines in the UK. Over 220 issues and counting. Rock Society is published on behalf of the Classic Rock Society, a group of volunteers that promote music via this magazine, a sampler CD and lots and lots of live music across the UK.
The UK’s original rap magazine, 1988-2009. I spent five years as designer. When sales for rap music kept dropping and ad sales followed suit we had to face reality and throw in the towel. As an exercise in producing magazines on a shoestring this was an invaluable lesson for me and I’m still very proud of what was achieved. RIP.
The first new Pink Fairies album in 30 years. Tony Henderson's skeletons grace the cover, along with many of his other sculptures. This one has made it to vinyl and comes with a free DVD. I wanted a touch of Barney Bubbles anarchy thrown in for good measure. Magenta is a splendid colour to work with...
Re-issue of Ricks early 90's stab at the soundtrack for the Lon Chaney original Phantom of the Opera movie. This one appeared as a CD+DVD, LP and deluxe box set edition.
Part of the 50th anniversary release campaign through Warners/Rhino is a vinyl-only compilation of Jethro Tull songs. I was commissioned to design the packaging for three releases, along with the tour programme and merchandising. A press campaign was also produced for the UK, alongside poster templates for international use. Apparently there is a bandana available in Russia…
