Groove Grove Graphics - Open Day next Friday 24th Sep
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Revolution, rebellion, hedonism and the world-shaking music of West London explode onto the stage of londonprintstudio's latest exhibition Groove Grove Graphics - Open Day next Friday 24th Sep.
Inspired by West London's spectacular contribution to pop culture, londonprintstudio presents an outstanding exhibition of graphics, fashion, music and design from the early 50s to the present day. Over the years, West London has been home to musicians and bands as diverse as the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, The Who, Freddie Mercury, Seal, All Saints and, more recently, Lily Allen.
To view some pictures from the fantastic opening night click here
Time and again, successive waves of new music have grown out of the area's varied communities of economic migrants, political exiles, middle class incomers and young hedonists, going on to play a major role on the global music scene. The area was at the centre of London's underground and punk culture in the 60s and 70s, was the setting for Colin MacInnes' mod classic Absolute Beginners and featured in the notorious film Performance, starring Mick Jagger. Ladbroke Grove and the Westway also have a mythical status in music history as the likes of The Clash, Motorhead and The Who settled here amongst legendary record companies Trojan, Stiff, Rough Trade, Island and ZTT. londonprintstudio director John Phillips explains what makes West London's musical tradition so special: "of course there are other cities which can boast of their musical heritage. But to have this volume and variety of music concentrated in just this one area of West London, and to keep on doing it not just for ten years, but for fifty, sixty years - that is, I think, unique - anywhere in the world." The journey through jazz, calypso, skiffle, underground, mod, prog rock, glam rock, reggae, dub etc is one that londonprintstudio shares with its surroundings: in its 1970s incarnation as the Paddington Printshop, londonprintstudio helped a number of young and aspiring artists in the reggae, punk and indie music scenes - including Joe Strummer and the Sex Pistols - to produce their earliest fliers and posters.
Reflecting the richest soundtrack of all time, the upcoming exhibition Groove Grove Graphics features the work of graphic artist Barney Bubbles (whose album covers include Elvis Costello, Ian Dury and Hawkwind), previously unseen photographs of the 'father-of-dub' King Tubby's studio, work by pioneering British design group Hipgnosis (who produced the covers of Dark Side of the Moon and also the original paperback Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) as well as new interviews with featured artists such as John 'Hoppy' Hopkins. As well as being a renowned photographer and political activist, Hoppy also co-founded the 1960s' UFO club, which was frequented by Jimi Hendrix and the club's house band - Pink Floyd. Photographic prints by Hoppy, Stella Whalley, Julian Yewdall, Jamie Reid, Rod Vass and John Gladdy will be displayed alongside rock and pop memorabilia and a collection of vintage fashion pieces (designers include Biba, Ozzy Clark and Zhandra Rhodes) dating from early 60s through to punk. Visitors will also be able to see an impressive collection of original record sleeves, kindly loaned by members of the local community.
Groove Grove Graphics is presented by londonprintstudio, and grew out of the hugely successful Agitpop exhibition (Feb - May 2008).
Groove Grove Graphics catalogue available at only £5 includes interviews with Joe Boyd, Dudley Edwards, John (Hoppy) Hopkins, Mike Mcinnerney and Delroy Washington.
T: 020 8969 3247
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Visit the blog: groovegrovegraphics.blogspot.com
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