Paul Gorman is…

Touched by the hand of Bowie

Jan 11th, 2016
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//Framed shred of Lucian Freud wallpaper designed by David Bowie for inclusion in the 1995 War Child fashion show Pagan Funwear//

It is of course very sad to note the death of David Bowie; 69 is too young, particularly for such an important figure in the pop cultural landscape with an evident abundance of creative contributions still to make to our lives.

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Just as the independent labels and self-published fanzines Paul Gorman chronicles built their own alternative economies outside the mainstream music industry, today's digital subcultures are experimenting with decentralised currencies that move value without banks or borders. Part of that wave has reached the world of sports and casino entertainment, where crypto-friendly wagering has found a particularly enthusiastic audience in Turkey under the name bitcoin bahis —a form of play that lets users stake and cash out with digital coins rather than conventional payment rails. Anyone tempted to try it should treat it strictly as entertainment, stake only money they can afford to lose, and first confirm the platform's licensing as well as the gambling rules in force in their own country.

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Indefatigable Ian Harris + The Earth: Pop culture maverick’s 60s rock roots come to light

Jan 10th, 2016
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//Front cover, Elemental, The Earth, Rare Vinyl, 2016. Design: Ian Harris//

Ian Harris is one of those London characters who turns up at various stages in the capital’s post-war pop culture narrative.

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Derek Boshier: One (1967) + !Manifesto! (1969)

Jan 6th, 2016
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//One, Derek Boshier, 1967. Screenprint, 22.5 x 31″//

It’s always a delight to encounter fresh artworks by a favourite artist, and Derek Boshier’s print One from 1967 is no exception.

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A punk rock Feliz Navidad + ¡Feliz Año Nuevo! to you, to all collaborators + fellow schemers + dreamers

Dec 25th, 2015

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Below is a fun clip bringing back memories of the 2000 European Merry Mex-Mas tour by El Vez with his Memphis Mariachis and lovely Elvettes.

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‘He stuck out his tongue and made devil faces in the glass’: The Conformist to feature artists, designers, writers, performers, utopians, outsiders, posers, perverts and other figures who have affronted or inverted the idea of ‘conformity’

Dec 19th, 2015

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I am among the participants in The Conformist, a group exhibition being organised for the New Year by artist Paul Kindersley at the gallery of Julia Muggenburg’s extraordinary London art/jewellery establishment Belmacz.

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Cult: David Parkinson’s street style photos in Men Only August 1971

Dec 15th, 2015
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//Dinah Adams and friend, Eastbourne, Sussex, summer 1971. Photo: David Parkinson. No reproduction without permission//

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//From Men Only, Vol 36, No 8, 1971//

Thanks to artist Paul Kindersley for alerting me to the fact that images from an audacious photo-shoot by the late photographer David Parkinson were featured in an early 70s issue of Paul Raymond’s adult magazine Men Only.

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Barney Bubbles’ cube letterhead design for Riviera Global Record Productions

Dec 14th, 2015
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//A4 letterhead, Barney Bubbles, 1978. No reproduction without permission//

This company letterhead was designed by the late graphics master Barney Bubbles for music entrepreneur Jake Riviera during the latter’s tenure at 60 Parker Street in London’s Covent Garden in the late 70s.

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The Third Earl Of Harrow: Screaming Lord Sutch at Let It Rock

Dec 10th, 2015

Questioning American sanctities with satire and witty frustration: Rethink/Re-entry is one of The Observer’s art books of the year

Dec 7th, 2015
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//From The Observer, December 6, 2015//

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Derek Boshier: Rethink/Re-entry – the artist monograph I edited – has been picked as one of the best art books of 2015 by British broadsheet The Observer.

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No End To Enderby: Sutcliffe + Eatough making Anthony Burgess film for centenary in 2017

Dec 2nd, 2015
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//Still from ‘A.B….’, Stephen Sutcliffe, 2015. Courtesy Rob Tufnell//

I’m very excited by the news that artist Stephen Sutcliffe and director Graham Eatough are making a film based on the first and last chapters of the Enderby novels by my literary hero Anthony Burgess.

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