Cut it out: The astounding story behind Barney Bubbles’ Hawkwind Galactic Tarot
In November 1971, design legend Barney Bubbles produced a typically audacious promotional item for Hawkwind’s recently released album X In Search Of Space.
Category: Underground press
Sighting of Barney Bubbles in BBC 1971 doc New Horizons: The Alternative Society
The BBC TV documentary The Alternative Society is an intelligent snapshot of London’s Notting Hill-based early 70s counterculture.
Magick Is Freedom! (After Barney Bubbles) opens in London this week
When I first saw it I was questioning a lot of things, not least my adequacy. Things like inspiration, influences, references . . . where do things come from? Copying things—not as “homage’”or “pastiche”, but dying to get inside a thing. Inhabit it. Nostalgia too. Using machines. Colour. Systems. Perpetual motion. Automatism. Copying things. Graham […]
One of the unpindownables of the counter culture: Jack Henry Moore 1940-2014
Jack Henry Moore – who has died aged 73 – was one of the unpindownables of the counterculture in the 60s and 70s. Known principally as a pioneering video film-maker and sound recordist (the archive he leaves behind is estimated to contain more than 70,000 hours of tape compiled over five decades), Moore was central […]
The London Rock n Roll Show at Wembley Stadium 1972: Memories of Oz, Frendz and the Let It Rock stall
I acquired my first underground press publications in the summer of 1972, at about the point when the sector was taking the nosedive from which it never recovered. Still, better late than Sharon Tate, as they say. Aged 12, my taste had been whetted by sneak peeks at an older brother’s collection of magazines when […]
When Jesus danced with the Sex Pistols
If you are of a London gig-goer of a certain (getting on to be advanced) age you will remember “Jesus”, an enthusiastic audience member at many musical events in the capital from the 60s to the late 70s. Jesus was notable because a) he was personable and b) would often discard his clothes as he […]
Graham Wood on the series of 24 posters inspired by a 1968 design for Oz magazine
Best known as one of the founders of British design collective Tomato, Graham Wood chose a 1968 poster for underground magazine Oz as the wellspring for a series of 24 poster prints. I corresponded with Wood about the ways in which the original artwork- made by Barney Bubbles and his 60s design partner David Wills […]
Flashback to Hawkwind + Pink Fairies at The Roundhouse 1975 as Nik Turner’s trademark claim sparks hostilities
Sad to witness Hawkwind, the great British musical force which has carved out a unique position outside of the mainstream music business over several decades, dragged into a tawdry row regarding ownership of the group’s name. The dispute has been sparked by saxophonist/flautist/sometime frontman Nik Turner. It seems he is trademarking the group’s name as […]