…this ‘site has been made - literally & metaphorically - possible thanks to the technical acumen & digital nous of Peter Brooks - my longstanding close friend of over 40 years (here we are, having ‘fun in ‘81‘)…
…the ‘site aims to document Chris Morton & c-more tone’s music industry work and the analogue design equipment & creative techniques he used - including a feature showing ‘How To Make an Album Cover Before Photoshop’…
…Chris Morton aka c-more-tone was the original art director at Stiff Records and did the first ever punk record label & single bag - for The Damned’s New Rose - after the many covers & campaigns for Stiff documented on this ‘site he went on to form c-more-tone studios in 1983 and designed more award-winning album covers, posters, ads & promo stuff throughout the 80s and early 90s…
…this was the swansong of hands-on analogue graphic art skills in the music & printing industries - all too soon computers would take over and digitise everything…
…a scan of a cut-out photo from 1975 and my hand-drawn ‘business card’ featuring my alter ego & psychedelic comic strip adventurer Little Louis - the card advertised my offering wares of calligraphy, lettering, logos & illustrations for book covers & comic strips - which is what I did before getting to do the stuff for Stiff…
…at the end of this ‘about’ section are the first two posters I did that I commissioned for myself - for discos I did at art school - and feature my Little Louis character…
This photo - perhaps from 1979 - is of my desk in the second Stiff Art Dept. when we moved out of Alexander Street and into bigger premises in Camden…
…as you can see it’s frustratingly a bit out of focus - on the left is my parallel motion drawing board with what looks like some Lene Lovich artwork in progresson it, the red & white tin on the desk is Cow Gum the artworker’s essential glue of choice - just left of it is a masking tape dispenser which I still use - and behind them is my set of trusty Rapidograph pens…
…at the top centre, behind the angle poise lamp, is the Theatre of Hate cover for Original Sin that I did and I think next to it is a Wreckless Eric single bag proof…
…I’m trying very hard to recognise/remember &/or work out what else is on my pin board wall..?!
…this photo from around 1980 was probably taken at the Hope & Anchor but definitely on the way from the bar to see a band play - it features one of my all time favourite T-shirts; it was done by The Residents and has a smiley face stuck on a framed pic of Jesus on the cross with the title ‘Buy or Die’…
…the faux leopard fur jacket, which I’ve still got, was my Cramps-inspired gig garment of choice - the partially hidden button badge - which I made using the badge-making machine at Stiff - is of Judy Nylon from Snatch…
…I’m lucky & very chuffed that I met her & Patti Palladin when I saw the marvellous Snatch play live at CBGB’s when the Be Stiff Tour went to New York in 1979…
Two posters for the ‘Friscodisco’, from just before the Stiff days:
