Alan Aldridge (1) (1938–2017)

Over the course of his 40-year career, Alan Aldridge has been the design guru for the Beatles; a designer of gigs and album covers for the Rolling Stones, Elton John, the Who, Cream, and Led Zeppelin; the target of police prosecution for his notorious Chelsea Girls poster; the author of the bestselling children's book The Butterfly Ball; and a graphic designer for the Hard Rock Cafe, the House of Blues, and the New York Times.
Here is the definitive visual survey of the art of Alan Aldridge, whose signature style came to define the Psychedelic Era for a generation, and for generations to come. The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes charts Aldridge's extraordinary life with extraordinary images, giving the complete portrait of a graphic genius who fully expressed the spirit of his time.
Brimming with the very best tripped-out, pulsating illustrations and designs culled from all corners of his varied body of work, the resulting visual feat will astonish and delight fans of all ages.… (mer)

This book is soooo 60s. Its still fun to look at. As the years go by I am less and less impressed by the Beatles after 1966 (Sgt. Peppers was sort of a "jump the shark" for me). I know they were revolutionary and trend setters and all that. There is just so much rock and roll energy in their early work that is missing from later stuff. All that said, I do like the White Album at least the parts that aren't filler, three sides worth maybe. I pretty much hated the late sixties altogether anyway. Oh, and I always liked Lennon songs way more than McCartney songs all the way up to the end in 1970. Lennon still knew what rock and roll was all about.

Listening to "You're Gonna Lose That Girl."… (mer)

This is a much better book than I think people give it credit. Phantasia Is almost ignored and forgotten. Alan Aldridge presents his meteoric rise from a down-and-out on the streets of London in the early sixties 'sitting alongside the meths drinkers of Commercial Road around their blazing fruit-box bonfires', begging for booze, shop-lifting tins of fish from Tesco just to survive; till one day spotting a tiny poster in Bunnies Coffee Shop calling out for something called 'Graphic Artists' and offering 'free coffee' and tuition.
Aldridge quickly rose to become the darling of the psychedelic scene in London and Visual Consultant to their exalted majesties The Beatles. Rubbing shoulders with the Rolling Stones, Andy Warhol, Elton John, and forming a long friendship with John Lennon.
The book contains over 80 illustrations (many of them full or even double page spreads, including one fold out poster). It is packed with great stories and anecdotes from these amazing times.
Aldridge provides a frank and honest tale of how by pure luck and encouragement he rose from the naive psychedelic style which made him popular to being one of the first to spot the potential of the airbrush gaining him and his art team massive popularity and opening doors and providing the opportunities to indulge himself in his own creative flights of fancy which sparked huge successes such as The Butterfly Ball.
A fascinating read, and a worthy addition to anyone's art studio bookshelf.… (mer)