Terry pastor signing the St Pauls Gallery edition of the Ziggy print.
In the corner of the morning in the past…
We’ve posted a couple of bits regarding Terry Pastor‘s work on David Bowie’s Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust album sleeves recently. (10.11.2006 NEWS: LIMITED EDITION SIGNED ZIGGY ART PRINT DISCOUNT UPDATE & 02.15.2007 NEWS: LIMITED EDITION SIGNED HUNKY DORY PRINT IS NEXT)
Not to mention George Underwood‘s recollections in yesterday’s MOJO piece. (03.21.2007 NEWS: GEORGE UNDERWOOD INTERVIEW IN NEW MOJO SPECIAL)
Well now Terry has kindly answered a few questions exclusively for BowieNet via e-mail, ahead of our contest to win a highly sought after artist’s proof of the magnificent Ziggy Stardust album cover print, donated by those generous sorts at St Pauls Gallery.
And so, without further ado…
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How did Main Artery come in to being?
George (Underwood) was a friend, and as we were both working as illustrators we decided to share a studio. The name Main Artery was a play on words, trying to convey the idea of a main source of art and illustration.
Where were you situated?
Our first studio was in Catherine Street, Covent Garden, London in 1972. Around 73/74 we moved to a larger studio underneath the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. You could hear the opera singers rehearsing, which was fun…if you like that sort of thing!
When did it fold, or when did you stop working there?
I think we packed up the studio when the flower market moved south of the river, 1975? Property developers moved in and the rents went sky high.
Other than Bowie, what other artists’ sleeves did you work on?
Record covers were a small part of my work, which was mostly advertising illustration at that time. But here are some that I remember…
Three Man Army (what happened to them?), Pasadena Roof Orchestra, Carl Palmer (ELP), Soft Machine, Wishbone Ash, Beach Boys, Byzantium (Bet you’ve never heard of them! They split up on their first gig to promote the LP!!!) Two Covers for The Sweet, Alex Harvey and numerous other bands that are very obscure and I can’t remember their names.Oh! How could I forget, a cover for Uri Geller!
We also did lots of product illustration for advertising, particularly for Holland, Germany, France, Scandinavia, etc., book jackets, double page spreads for girlie mags. Won an award for a DPS for Playboy magazine, and a couple Art Director Of America awards as well.
How early on in the process were you involved in the Bowie sleeves?
I was involved only after the photographs were shot. On both Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust I was given a B/W photo print on Matt paper and coloured it up using an airbrush and Photo dyes. The lettering for Hunky Dory was a new Leteraset face at that time. It was put down probably onto a piece of Kodatrace as an overlay.
Was the omission of the ‘David Bowie Hunky Dory’ type for the US version of Hunky Dory intentional? (A sticker of the same was stuck onto the outer shrinkwrap)
Don’t know this I’m afraid.
Did you hand render the type on the front of Ziggy yourself?
Yes, the lettering was set using Leteraset, then traced down onto hardline art board and painted using the airbrush. All the lettering for track titles and credits for the back of Ziggy were rub down Leteraset type. A very hands on way of doing things. But this was at least twenty years before computers took over the world!
Did you work directly with David and if so, what was your impression of him back then?
I remember one evening at the studio working late on Ziggy, when I had a phone call from David asking how the cover was going? I told him I had finished the front and was colouring up the back cover shot. He was surprised there was a back cover and asked what was the image? I told him it was the shot of him in a phone box. He was really excited and said he couldn’t wait to see the finished artwork.
I guess his management maybe were more in control over which shots were to be used etc. I Met David quite a few times over that period. He seemed an O.K. sort of guy. Certainly more of a conversationalist than some musicians I’ve met through the years!
How closely did you work with George Underwood? Did he pretty much leave you to it?
When George and I shared the studios we were pretty independent of each other. Art directors would (and still do) choose an artist for his style or technique to commission work. We would very occasionally help each other out if we were stuck on something.
What was the brief as far as you can remember?
Very simple. On Hunky Dory I was asked to colour it, and design/choose a type face for titles. That simple! And with Ziggy, the same applied.
Was the intention to hand tint both covers taken early on?
This I don’t know. Perhaps as Hunky Dory was a coloured up photo, they wanted the Ziggy cover to use the same technique.
What was the process for the hand tinting?
Photo-dyes applied with an airbrush. (Aerograph Super 63) My technique for illustration work was airbrush illustration. Particularly for car illustrations and technical type work.
Whose idea would it have been to colour Ziggy’s outfit green and his boots purple, when in fact the outfit was in black and cream and the boots red? And indeed, who decided to colour the hair blond on both sleeves? Would this have been instruction from David, or did you have the freedom to colour as you chose?
As far as I can remember the colours were my own choice. If I had seen a colour shot of the outfit I would probably have stuck to the actual colours. Same goes for the hair. As people generally like both covers perhaps it was a good thing!
Were the creases on the back and front of Ziggy intended to give the pictures a found photograph look, or a device to make them look aged?
I didn’t know there were creases. They certainly weren’t creased when they left me. Perhaps the courier did it or something, or it was just handled carelessly.
Were there alternate versions of either sleeve before you arrived at the final artwork? And are there any surviving roughs or mock ups?
No. There was no preparatory work done for either cover
Was it a conscious decision to omit the type from the Ziggy sleeve for the signed print, and is the intention the same for Hunky Dory?
This was a decision by the Gallery/publisher. I expect Hunky Dory will be published less the lettering too.
Are you amused by the fact that they are both such iconic covers now, or did you suspect you were involved with something very special at the time?
Yes, very amused. Obviously pleased that these covers have become iconic.Certainly had no idea at the time that the covers would reach such a status. But this is due to a much greater extent by the fact that both LP’s are particularly good.
I understand you’re an illustrator these days? Would we be familiar with any of your work?
Yes, still an illustrator,although work digitally now,and also photograph food for magazines,cook books etc. I’ve painted jackets for several Arthur C Clark novels and book covers for Jeffrey Archer, Mickey Spillane,Richard Condon,Leslie Thomas etc. etc. You can see some of my stuff at: www.terrypastor.co.uk
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Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions, Terry. Very much appreciated.
Stay tuned for that contest to win a Ziggy Stardust album cover artist’s proof signed by Terry and David Bowie.
