Jamie Reid -

Jamie Reid is an Artist with a capital 'A' whose 'Never Mind The Bollocks' sleeve was voted second best ever by Rolling Stone magazine, and an Artist who you cannot get through art school without studying.

His father, the City Editor on London's Daily Sketch (who never invested a penny in his life), and his mother, a firm believer in fairies, were steeped in spiritual socialism. Their philosophical legacy inspired Jamie to dive into the protest movement at the first opportunity, which just happened to be the student movement of '68, organizing an occupation of Croydon Art College together with Malcolm McLaren.

The pair teamed-up later that year to make a film about the 'History Of Oxford Street', before going their separate ways - McLaren into the fashion business, Reid into the rebellion business, where he co-founded Suburban Press in 1970. What began as a Croydon community newssheet and printing press soon developed into a political machinegun nest spraying wild agitprop graphics, printed accusations of local corruption, and Situationist slogans. It was here that Jamie developed his unique style that was later used in Punk.

Photocopiers had their colors turned-up to the max, lithographic reproduction found new teeth, and torn typography was honed to a fine art, as the new visuals exploded out of this graphics hothouse. Corporate logos were turned inside out, and back on themselves as 'subvertising' became Reid's artistic response to the new Shopping Age. A few years later, McLaren would contact Reid to enlist his help in artistically interpreting the Sex Pistols. The result is now history and histrionics. Anarchy flags subverting the Union Jack ..... images of the Queen lifted from postage stamps with swastikas replacing the eyes ..... ransom note lettering .....and those safety pins which pierced the very heart of the establishment.

Even the props for the Sex Pistols' film - 'The Great Rock'n'Roll Swindle' - were major anti- consumerist statements that have now found their time. Who would argue now that Vicious Burgers, Piss Lemonade, and Rotten Bars had deeper levels of meaning than first appeared? And that the “Holidays In The Sun” sleeve, with the slogan ' A Cheap Holiday In Other People's Misery' would find favor and resonance with global eco-warriors of today?

Johnny Rotten and Malcolm McLaren may say that it was all just a scam, but for Jamie and countless other ex-punks and their progenies, it was a pop cultural protest that really did shake the system.

"I don't believe in that I was in 'the Sex Pistols thing', because what existed was the complete opposite of that," Jamie argues. "It was the democracy of it all that mattered. I've always believed in the punk attitude and how that spread into other places. It was making things out of nothing, which we're doing now more and more".

Punk, inspired by Reid's accessible, easy to copy graphics, started a Do-It-Yourself revolution which is still very much kicking, and ripping-up the rules the world over.

Biography by Stephen Kingston - Manchester 2000 (used by permission – The Aquarium)  

 

Click here to read "Nude" magazine's recent article "God Save Jamie Reid"

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