Articulating Ian Dury’s 1978 tee
As a corollary to yesterday’s doings on Do It Yourself (and a riff on the recent El Lissitzky post), thought you’d like to see this rare shot of a t-shirt Barney Bubbles designed for his mate Ian Dury in 1978.
The Blockheads‘ soundman Chris Warwick is wearing one in the self-timed shots on the Do It Yourself inner sleeve.
The articulation of blocks and rectangles which assemble Dury’s name is inspired by Lissitzky’s 1922 book About 2 Squares, in which ordered objects are scattered by the impact of the two quadrants of the title. As a result perspective and projection are challenged and a new order is imposed.
And they see a black mess, About 2 Squares, El Lissitzky, 1922.
Barney’s arrangements of ordered rectangular forms were rooted in Lissitzky’s investigations, particularly the so-called “prouns“.
Music press ad, La Dusseldorf, La Dusseldorf, Radar 1978.
1978 offers a number of examples in Barney’s work, including a music press advert for La Dusseldorf’s self-titled debut and the sleeve and booklet for 25 Years On by Hawklords.
Booklet, 25 Years On, Hawklords, Charisma 1978.
Then there is the sleeve of Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick. That’s the song which made Ian Dury’s name, taking him to the top of the charts.
Back + front cover, Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Stiff Records, 1978.
And Dury’s refusal to include the track on his second album brings us back to where we started: the all-out campaign to promote Do It Yourself.
