Reasons To Be Cheerful: The Life & Work Of Barney Bubbles
by Paul Gorman

The guvnor of rock’n’roll graphic design

Any fan of so-called “new wave” music in the late 70s and early 80s will almost certainly have some Barney Bubbles in their record collection. His instantly recognisable and witty sleeve art graced countless singles and albums by the likes of Elvis Costello, Ian Dury, Squeeze and The Specials, arguably becoming as much a part of the performer’s identity as their music.

Published to mark the 25th anniversary of his death, Gorman’s fascinating and hefty tome is so much more than a coffee table art book packed with pretty pictures. The author’s lengthy text charts Barney’s creative development in tandem with the changing times, also unearthing reams of information about other, often anonymous, commissions, including early Rolling Stones posters, psychedelic light shows for Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd and nonmusic- related projects for design supremo Terence Conran.

Pop art guru Peter Saville adds an enlightening essay, while Billy Bragg’s introduction addresses the thrill that punters would get when rushing out to buy a record packaged in the latest Bubbles creation. But it’s the wealth of images in these pages that truly excites, the celebration of an art form that the advent of CDs and downloads all but eradicated.

ISBN 9780955201738, 244 pages

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
<< Back to Issue 358