This pendant is a standout in the new Barney Bubbles Jewellery collection and is of course based on one of the designer’s most recognisable artworks, the smiling hand featured on the front cover of Nick Lowe’s 1979 single Cracking Up.
7in sq sleeve for Nick Lowe’s Cracking Up/Basing Street, released on the British independent label Radar in May 1979
The ident appeared in music press adverts for the single, though the spot colour used in the inkies lessened the impact of the original
Bubbles had more control over colour balancing for the Cracking Up poster, which measured 50 x 75cm
Made from an original, hand-built master using mixed metals, the pendant is cast in recycled silver and finished with a stainless steel chain. Part of an open edition, each piece is individually cast and hand-finished, resulting in subtle variations that make every necklace one of a kind.
Each pendant is packaged in a bespoke box featuring the toothy smile, which Bubbles appropriated from a photograph of the late keyboardist Bob Andrews (Brinsley Schwarz/The Rumour), who played on the track and others from Lowe’s album Labour Of Lust.
Each Barney Bubbles Jewellery piece includes the ‘© BB’ mark of the Barney Bubbles Estate
The Cracking Up Pendant is £100 and available from the Barney Bubbles Jewellery shop here.
