Tag: Bryan Ferry

1950s

‘What goes into a Continental Keyhole?’ How Malcolm McLaren conjured the name ‘Kutie Jones and his Sex Pistols’ from the seamy 50s and 60s Britporn mags strewn around 430 King’s Road

In October 1974 Malcolm McLaren conjured an unusual group name for four young musicians who congregated at his shop at 430 King’s Road. At the time the transition from the premises’ previous incarnation as Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die to Sex was nearing completion; in fact the teenagers Paul Cook, Steve Jones, […]

February 10, 2020

1950s

An unblinking look inside the squirrel cage: Duncan Hannah’s 20th Century Boy

When he was growing up in Minneapolis in the 1950s, the painter Duncan Hannah’s father advised him: “You never know what kind of squirrel cage a man goes home to at the end of the day.” Hannah’s book 20th Century Boy allows the reader full access to the squirrel cage inhabited by this charming man […]

December 2, 2018

1970s

Chris Spedding: Unsung hero of Seventies style from Alkasura + Granny Takes A Trip to Let It Rock, Sex + Seditionaries

Guitarist Chris Spedding is one of the unsung heroes of Seventies style. I’ve been a fan of his music and look since 1974, when I acquired Jab It In Yore Eye. This was the second album by Sharks, formed by Spedding with other survivors of the early 70s music scene after leaving jazz-rock outfit Nucleus and […]

March 13, 2016

1960s

A pop culture treasure trove: Freddie Hornik’s Granny Takes A Trip scrapbook

I have just filed a piece for GQ about Granny Takes A Trip and the branches of the King’s Road boutique which opened in the 70s in Manhattan and Hollywood under the stewardship of the late Freddie Hornik. The feature also scrutinises the scrapbook Hornik maintained from the mid-60s, when he worked at the rival […]

February 17, 2015

1940s

Of ties and men: The neckwear connection between Bryan Ferry, Malcolm McLaren and David Parkinson

//Malcolm McLaren, 1973. Photo: David Parkinson. Bryan Ferry, 1976. Photo Richard Wallis// A couple of years back I showed examples of photography by the late David Parkinson to car-nut graphic design maestro Jules Balme; I knew he would be interested in the incorporation of a 1959 Cadillac Eldorado in a 1973 Let It Rock fashion […]

January 17, 2015

1970s

Derek Boshier: Rethink/Re-Entry – assembling the materials for long overdue monograph

I’m assembling materials for Rethink/Re-Entry, the long-overdue monograph of the great British artist Derek Boshier I am currently editing. The book takes its title from the early Boshier painting which inspired rock’s ultimate art-directed star Bryan Ferry to choose the name Remake/Remodel for the first track on Roxy Music’s game-changing debut LP.

February 5, 2014

Tommy Roberts: Mister Freedom

Bowie Boys by Tommy Roberts

I am currently working with Tommy Roberts on a book about his life and career in fashion. Tommy has been assembling a selection of anecdotes and stories which will feature as occasional tasters here over the coming months. This reminiscence stems from the period in the early 70s when Tommy operated City Lights Studio. Situated […]

April 4, 2011