Alan Aldridge (8 July 1938 – 17 February 2017) was a British artist, graphic designer and illustrator. He is best known for his psychedelic artwork made for books and record covers by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

Personal life

Aldridge was born in North London and lived in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. He is survived by 8 children: fashion photographer Miles Aldridge, model and social activist

Saffron Aldridge Saffron Aldridge (born 1968) is an English fashion model, freelance journalist and social activist. Discovered at the age of sixteen, she rose to prominence working for Ralph Lauren in the 1990s. Her siblings include fashion photographer Miles ...

and Marc from his first marriage to Rita Farthing; two sons, Pim and Toby, from a relationship with Andrea Gayler; and two daughters, models Lily Aldridge and

Ruby Aldridge Ruby Rose Aldridge (born August 26, 1991) is an American fashion model and singer. During the years of 2008 - 2012, Ruby Aldridge was the "face" of brands such as Coach, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Valentino, and Calvin Klein. During the 2011 fall fash ...

, and a son, James, from his second marriage to

Laura Lyons Laura Lyons (born October 22, 1954) is an American model. She was ''Playboy'' magazine's Playboy Playmate, Playmate of the Month for its February 1976 issue. Her centerfold was photographed by Dwight Hooker and Mario Casilli. Sherlock Holmes fa ...

, which also ended in divorce. He has 11 grandchildren. On 17 February 2017, his daughter Lily announced his death via Instagram.

Career

Aldridge first worked as an illustrator at ''The Sunday Times Magazine''. After doing some freelance book covers for

Penguin Books Penguin Books is a British publishing, publishing house. It was co-founded in 1935 by Allen Lane with his brothers Richard and John, as a line of the publishers The Bodley Head, only becoming a separate company the following year.Tony Godwin to become the art director of Penguin. Over the next two years as art director, he especially focused on science fiction book covers and introduced his style which resonated with the mood of the time. In 1968 he moved to his own graphic-design firm, INK, which became closely involved with graphic images for

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and Apple Corps. During the 1960s and 1970s, he was responsible for a great many

album cover An album cover (also referred to as album art) is the front packaging art of a commercially released studio album or other audio recordings. The term can refer to either the printed paperboard covers typically used to package sets of and 78-r ...

s, and helped create the graphic style of that era. He designed a series of science fiction book covers for Penguin Books. He made a big impression with his illustrations for the book ''

The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics ''The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics'' is a set of two books combining the lyrics of songs by the Beatles with accompanying illustrations and photographs, many by leading artists of the period. Comments from the Beatles on the origins of the songs are ...

''. He also provided illustrations for ''The Penguin Book of Comics'', a history of British and American comic art. His work was characterised by a flowing, cartoony style and soft airbrushing – very much in step with the psychedelic styles of the times. His work includes the 1971 anti-war poster entitled ''A great place for hamburgers but who'd want to live there!'' In the theatre, in February 1969 he designed the graphics for the controversial Jane Arden play '' Vagina Rex and the Gas Oven'' at the London Arts Laboratory,

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks ...

. He is possibly best known, however, for the picture book ''

The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper Feast ''The Butterfly's Ball, and the Grasshopper's Feast'' is a poem by William Roscoe, written in 1802, and telling the story of a party for insects and other small animals. Background Two anonymous sequels were ''The Peacock 'At Home' ''and ''The L ...

'' (1973), a series of illustrations of

anthropomorphic Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, or intentions to non-human entities. It is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology. Personification is the related attribution of human form and characteristics t ...

insects and other creatures, which he created in collaboration with Harry Willock. William Plomer wrote the accompanying verses. This was based on William Roscoe's poem of the same name, but was inspired when Aldridge read that John Tenniel had told

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

it was impossible to draw a wasp in a wig. Aldridge also created the artwork for ''

Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy ''Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy'' is the ninth studio album by English musician Elton John. The album is an autobiographical account of the early musical careers of Elton John (Captain Fantastic) and his long-term lyricist Bernie ...

'' by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

in 1975. In 1977 he created an advertisement illustration for the Dutch beer brand Heineken. He was also the creator of the ''

Hard Rock Café Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and rol ...

'' logo.

Honours and awards

A retrospective ''Alan Aldridge – the Man with the Kaleidoscope Eyes'' featured at the

Design Museum The Design Museum in Kensington, London exhibits product, industrial, graphic, fashion, and architectural design. In 2018, the museum won the European Museum of the Year Award. The museum operates as a registered charity, and all funds generat ...

in London from 10 October 2008 to 25 January 2009, and was reviewed as "The trip of a lifetime". Over the years Aldridge won many awards for his work, among them

Whitbread Children's Book Award The Costa Book Awards were a set of annual literary awards recognising English-language books by writers based in UK and Ireland. Originally named the Whitbread Book Awards from 1971 to 2005 after its first sponsor, the Whitbread company, then ...

(1973).Costa Book Awards.

Selected works

*Cover for ''Boswell's London Journal 1762–1763'', ed. Frederick Pottle, Penguin (1966). *Cover design for '' A Quick One'' by

(1966). *Poster for

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

and

Paul Morrissey Paul Morrissey (born February 23, 1938) is an American film director, best known for his association with Andy Warhol. He was also director of the first film in which a transgender actress, Holly Woodlawn, starred as a girlfriend of the main cha ...

's film '' Chelsea Girls'' (1966). *Covers fo
Penguin Science Fiction books
(1967). *''

'' (US,

Houghton Mifflin The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often voc ...

; UK, MacDonald Unit 75, 1969) editor, select illustrations. *''Ann in the Moon'' (1970), with story by Frances D. Francis. *''The Penguin Book of Comics'' (1971), with George Perry, published by Penguin Books. *''

The Ship's Cat ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1977), illustrated in collaboration with Harry Willock, with verses by

Richard Adams Richard George Adams (9 May 1920 – 24 December 2016) was an English novelist and writer of the books ''Watership Down'', ''Maia'', ''Shardik'' and ''The Plague Dogs''. He studied modern history at university before serving in the British Army ...

. *''The Peacock Party'' (1979) and ''The Lion's Cavalcade'' (1980), sequels to ''The Butterfly Ball'', based on anonymous sequels to Roscoe's version with verses by George E. Ryder and

Ted Walker Edward Joseph (Ted) Walker FRSL (28 November 1934 – 19 March 2004) was a prize-winning English poet, short story writer, travel writer, TV and radio dramatist and broadcaster. Early life Ted Walker was born in Lancing, West Sussex, the son of ...

respectively. Illustrated in collaboration with Harry Willock. *''Phantasia: Of Docklands, Rocklands and Dodos'' (1981) *'' The Gnole'' (1999), with

Steve Boyett Steven R. Boyett, also known as DJ Steve Boyett, is a writer and disc jockey based in Northern California. Early work Boyett sold his first novel, ''Ariel'', at the age of 21, and went on to publish ''The Architect of Sleep'', ''The Gnole'' (wit ...

(writer) and

Maxine Miller Maxine Miller (born June 18, 1928) is a Canadian actress who appeared in the first three seasons of ''Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''. In the 1980s, she voiced True Heart Bear in '' The Care Bears Movie II: A New Generation'' (1986) and appeared ...

(colorist). * Illustrations and logo design for '' Everybody Loves a Happy Ending'', the sixth studio album by British pop rock/new wave band

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new wav ...

, 2004. * Aldridge is also credited for Art Direction and Illustration on ''

Light Grenades ''Light Grenades'' is the sixth studio album by alternative rock band Incubus, released on November 28, 2006, on Epic. The album sold 359,000 copies during its first week of release worldwide, and debuted at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' 200, sel ...

'' (2006), the sixth studio album for Incubus. * ''The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes'' (

Thames & Hudson Thames & Hudson (sometimes T&H for brevity) is a publisher of illustrated books in all visually creative categories: art, architecture, design, photography, fashion, film, and the performing arts. It also publishes books on archaeology, history, ...

, 2008), 240 pp, ; also published as ''The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes: The Art of Alan Aldridge'' (

Abrams Books Abrams, formerly Harry N. Abrams, Inc. (HNA), is an American publisher of art and illustrated books, children's books, and stationery. The enterprise is a subsidiary of the French publisher La Martinière Groupe. Run by President and CEO Michael ...

, 2009), 240 pp,

References

External links

Picture of Alan Aldridge @ The Design Museum
* *
Alan Aldridge agent website
* . Alan Aldridge is one of six people interviewed during the 29-minute BBC2 program. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aldridge, Alan 1943 births 2017 deaths English illustrators English graphic designers Artists from London Album-cover and concert-poster artists Advertising artists and illustrators English expatriates in the United States Penguin Books people Science fiction artists