Such was the shadow Tommy Roberts cast over popular music that even Practical Styling, the 80s central London furniture, office and homewares outlet he ran with partner Paul Jones, was cited as an influence by performer Geoff Deane.
Continue reading The Face 1983: Geoff Deane applies the Practical Styling principle to pop
Witty companion, workaholic, optimist, stoic, computer-phobe, special occasion facilitator, raconteur, moralist, compulsive green thumb, avid theatre and concertgoer, roof gardener, summer pudding-maker, painter, rememberer of birthdays, punster, voracious reader, film maker, museumolic, snappy dresser, sequiner, harpsichord player, party giver, flower arranger, supplier of bon mots, delightful travel companion, regular sender of postcards (sometimes 6 at a time) for 43 expatriate years…and much, much more.
Richard “Dickie” Lowe – who died earlier this year aged 67 – was a smashing bloke, as the words above from Alexandra and Leigh Copeland’s Melbourne Age obituary attest.
I encountered Lowe on but a handful of occasions; he never failed to charm and delight.
Although he had lived in the UK since the late 60s, Lowe’s Larrikin spirit was undimmed to the last. His singularity was made manifest in the magnificent decor of his central London apartment, which communicated an interest in and knowledge of Egyptian art, miniature Australian landscapes, postcards, bric-a-brac and curios of all varieties, and has now been documented by photographer Peter Waldman.
Continue reading Interiors: The amazing abode of Dickie Lowe
“To you whom I may communicate with shortly through the smoke of Deaux-Deaux the rattlesnake whose forked tongue hisses pig Latin in silk and satin da-zaw-ig-day, may the gilded splinters of Auntie Andre spew forth in your path to light and guide your way through the bayous of life.”
For prime poetic mumbo-jumbo, look no further than the back cover text of Dr John’s debut LP Gris-Gris.
Continue reading Sleevenotes: GRIS-gris, DR JOHN the night tripper
As promonews.tv points out, this is perfect for Carnival weekend (even with this weather). Scenes from Jamaican life in the clip by So Me.
This advert for Vince Man’s Shop – the small Soho boutique which sparked the modernisation of menswear design and retailing in the second half of the 20th century – was designed by Gordon Moore for issue 20 of the Royal College Of Art magazine ARK, published in autumn 1957.
Continue reading ‘Soho-Italianate’: Gordon Moore’s advert for Vince Man’s Shop in ARK magazine 1957
It’s unlikely that cities will shake or nations start to rock under the impact of Malcolm McLaren’s sexual revolution. A few people might die though.
Malcolm McLaren, at 30, is a mixture of entrepreneurial cultist, sexual evangelist, businessman, artist, fetishist and political philosopher; a psychotic visionary in the ephemeral subculture of the fashion world.
David May, Gallery International Vol 1 no 4.
In November 1975 – by which time his charges the Sex Pistols had just embarked on live performances – Malcolm McLaren was interviewed by journalist David May at 430 King’s Road, then in full bloom as radical retail venture SEX.
These are the first five downloadable clips in the King’s Road Music + Fashion Trail, a celebration of landmark boutiques I am making for the culture section of Royal Borough Of Kensington + Chelsea Council.
Adiós Chavela Vargas.
Read the Telegraph obit here.
Sad to note the death yesterday of the great journalist and author Robert Hughes.
Tonight I am the guest again of the Broken Hearts DJs, this time on their monthly show at Strongroom Alive, the station which is part of the media complex based in the Strongroom recording studio in east London.
Continue reading With the Broken Hearts’ + Lloyd Johnson on Strongroom Alive tonight