‘Misfits in the pantheon of pop’ : Barney Bubbles exhibition at Leamington Spa’s White Room Gallery this weekend
//Four of the five 60in x 40in posters designed by Bubbles for the 1977 UK tour by Stiff Records’ artists//
//Jacket sported by Jake Riviera in the late 70s decorated with badges, adorned with a ‘Jesus Of Cool’ promotional tie produced for Nick Lowe and accompanied by a Roberta Bayley photograph of Riviera in the jacket in 1977//
Music fan and pop ephemera collector Mike Hobday is realising a long-held ambition this weekend with a show of designs by the late graphic artist Barney Bubbles at The White Room Gallery in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.
Hobday is showcasing work by the designer – born Colin Fulcher in 1942 – from the punk, new wave and post-punk period between 1976 and 1982 (the year before his death).
//A selection of posters and in-store promotional material designed by Bubbles for Elvis Costello and fellow Radar Records act Clive Langer & The Boxes, 1977 – 1981//
//At the far end, three Costello related posters, the Live Stiffs poster and the Stiff Records clock emblazoned with the slogan ‘When you kill time and you murder success’//
//Exhibition install shot including, left, the Live Stiffs poster ‘Ian Dury With Love ‘//
And Hobday cites Billy Bragg’s line about the designer which appeared in the singer-songwriter’s contribution to my 2008 Bubbles monograph Reasons To Be Cheerful: “We were misfits in the pantheon of pop. Barney made us look magnificent.”
Among the exhibits is photography from New York-based Roberta Bayley and a 50s-style jacket worn by Bubbles’ friend and patron Jake Riviera in the late 70s.
Find out more about the show – which will be open to the public on Saturday (April 16) – here.
All photos: Mike Hobday.