42 years separate the designs in this great photo, which pairs the new official Barney Bubbles Muleskinners T-shirt on the left with the one-off tribute on the right designed in 1980 by Julian Balme for the UK post-punk R&B group The Commuters.
Both belong to Peter Stanfield, the group’s harmonica player who is these days a prominent pop culture academic and author, notably of the recently published Pin-Ups 1972.
The Wild World of Barney Bubbles is published in the US today and it’s already making waves.
Writer/musician Elizabeth Nelson, whose band The Paranoid Style has a tribute to the late graphic artist on their forthcoming album, says: ‘It’s a visual feast and a must-have for fans of Bubbles, Stiff Records, album art, typography, design, music, beauty and inspiration writ large. Go get one wherever you buy literature!’
Very exciting – the first advance copy of A Box of Bubbles has arrived… and it looks amazing.
A new addition to the Barney Bubbles Shop is the 1964 design for Twickenham Tech art school r&b group The Muleskinners, whose line-up included the late, great Ian McLagan of the Small Faces and The Faces.
The Wild World of Barney Bubbles is featured in the current issue of British music magazine Shindig! with a colourful double page spread and an interview with author Paul Gorman on the companion website.
Michele Whitby, who runs the Eel Pie Museum, which is dedicated to the pop cultural history of the tiny island to the west of London, has sent this advert for a 1964 performance by local r&b group The Muleskinners, and wonders whether it is a Barney Bubbles design.
We had a great night last week at north London’s Camden Art Centre celebrating the work of Barney Bubbles with a mini-exhibition of his work in two vitrines, book signings, a playlist of Bubbles-designed music and an in-conversation between monograph author Paul Gorman and printmaker and artist Annie Nicholson aka The Fandangoe Kid.
We’re excited to announce the new range of bookmarks and postcards as well as a sticker for the Barney Bubbles Shop.
The first-time sale of original artworks by Barney Bubbles in yesterday’s Bonhams auction achieved close to £20,000 in total, with one item – the original design for The Damned’s 1977 debut album – scoring a winning bid in excess of £6,000.
Auction house Bonhams’ sale of ultra-rare and collectible original artworks by Barney Bubbles ends tomorrow at 12noon BST (British Summer Time).
