So I turned myself to face me…
Photographer Jill Furmanovsky’s rockarchive.com has today announced details of a limited edition print (above) of George Underwood‘s artwork for the unreleased live album of David Bowie?s 1972 Ziggy Stardust American Tour. Here’s the official blurb:
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RARE BOWIE ALBUM ARTWORK BY GEORGE UNDERWOOD ? EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH ROCK ARCHIVE
Rockarchive is proud to have the exclusive right to produce a limited edition of George Underwood?s previously unseen artwork for David Bowie?s 1972 Ziggy Stardust American Tour.
George Underwood?s Main Artery company was responsible for Bowie?s Hunky Dory and The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars covers in the early Seventies. George also did the painting on the back cover of the original 1969 David Bowie album (later reissued as Space Oddity) as well as covers for T Rex and Marc Bolan, Gentle Giant, Procol Harum and The Fixx.
A school-friend of Bowie?s, George was commissioned to design a cover for a live album while travelling with Bowie on his ?Ziggy Stardust? American tour in the autumn of 1972. He worked on the design in Los Angeles but unfortunately, plans for a live album from the tour were shelved and the artwork ended up on the wall at Bowie?s management, Mainman.
There it remained until recently. When George was reunited with his album artwork the only “damage” was that some of the Indian ink used in the design had faded due to exposure to the light. Thanks to the wonders of digital technology the original colour has been restored.
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It’s good to see the artwork back in George’s possession, particularly as it was put up for auction by Mainman a few years back. Above is a one-off proof sleeve made at the time, which has remained in the vaults of a private collector who wishes to stay anonymous, but kindly supplied the shot above.
As I’m sure you all know, George and his wife, Birgit, accompanied David on that American Ziggy tour, and some details about the album were included in a letter dated Wednesday November 15th, that was sent back home to George’s parents. Here’s a relevant excerpt:
“I’ve been working on an L.P. cover – it’s nearly finished. I think it looks O.K. at least not bad considering it was done in a hotel room. The L.P. cover is for Dave’s concerts recorded over here. It will probably be called David Bowie’s First American Tour, or something. Released around Christmas or just after.”
Though mentioned in press reports at the time, the album never materialised and the sleeve was forgotten about until recently. It’s a beautiful Indian ink drawing, typical of George’s work of the time, and it features David in two of the stage outfits that you’re all familiar with.
Here’s the technical stuff…The Ziggy Artwork is available in a limited Edition of 100. The size of the print is A1 (23.4″ x 33.1″) and it is a fine art archival digital print made from the original hand drawn artwork. The colour has been carefully restored with artist George Underwood’s supervision to the vibrancy of the original.
Each print will be hand signed by George, embossed and numbered. It will also be accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. With regard to price, the first five prints sold will be available at a special introductory price to BowieNet members. Thereafter, the price will increase incrementally as the edition sells out.
If interested you should ask for further information by e-mailing: info@rockarchive.com, or by calling rockarchive on +44 (0)20 7267 4716 and don’t forget to tell them you’re a BowieNetter for a very generous discount.
Meanwhile, auction house CooperOwen have another of George’s beautiful designs going under the hammer in their MUSIC LEGENDS auction at Madame Tussauds in London on April 19th. Here’s the lot info…
Sale Lot 1
David Bowie RCA promo tour poster, 1971 Vibrantly designed concert and promo poster, the blank space at the base left for individual venue details to be over printed.
Measures approx. 20 x 28 inch. (51 x 71 cm)
Estimate £200-250
Of course, the poster was actually produced in 1972, not 1971 as stated. The estimate is certainly reasonable enough though, considering the poster’s rarity and how much I’ve seen the occasional copy of the poster go on eBay for in the last couple of years.
Stay tuned for a George Underwood collectors’ special where we will be looking at the various Ziggy collectibles designed by Mr Underwood, and we’ll hopefully be having a closer inspection of some of those letters he sent back home…it’s all quite fascinating stuff.
