I could be happy

I curate a website about a short lived art collective called The Cloth. They consisted of four people and only lasted for about three years but were incredibly prolific in the mid-1980s. Do check out the website for examples of their creativity. Sadly one of the members, David Band died last year – aged 51, and last weekend I was invited to an event at Glasgow School of Art to celebrate his life and work. His family, friends and many artists from all sorts of fields of creativity were in attendance and it was lovely to get to speak to people whose work I have admired since my days of being an art student.

David Band designed many famous record sleeves for household names like Spandau Ballet, Aztec Camera and Altered Images and it was great to meet and speak to Clare Grogan (above) from the aforementioned pop group. I was so pleased that she came over for a chat and introduced me to plenty of people. The great and the good were in attendance and there was a perfect balance of tearful regret and joyful celebration for a talent gone far too soon.

In the 1980s, I was an aspiring graphic designer and the music scene was incredibly important. It was what I saw on those flat twelve inch squares of card that pulled me in and were a perfect visual augmentation for the music and style of the time. I confess to even buying records back then just because I loved the sleeve art. It went on the wall, not the turntable.

The power of good design was something I appreciated early on and do so even more today. Now that we live in a digital era, music is increasingly delivered electronically and there is reduced need for packaging. I can’t help feeling a piece is missing and yearn for those seven or twelve inch squares of design delight to go with my music.

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