Ray Lowry (28 August 1944 – 14 October 2008) was an English
cartoonist
A cartoonist is a visual artist who specializes in both drawing and writing cartoons (individual images) or comics (sequential images). Cartoonists differ from comics writers or comic book illustrators in that they produce both the literary and ...
, illustrator and
satirist
This is an incomplete list of writers, cartoonists and others known for involvement in satire – humorous social criticism. They are grouped by era and listed by year of birth. Included is a list of modern satires.
Under Contemporary, 1930-1960 ...
, possessing a highly distinctive style and wit. He contributed to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', ''
Private Eye
''Private Eye'' is a British fortnightly satire, satirical and current affairs (news format), current affairs news magazine, founded in 1961. It is published in London and has been edited by Ian Hislop since 1986. The publication is widely r ...
'', ''
Punch
Punch commonly refers to:
* Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist
* Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice
Punch may also refer to:
Places
* Pun ...
'', ''
Tatler
''Tatler'' is a British magazine published by Condé Nast Publications focusing on fashion and lifestyle, as well as coverage of high society and politics. It is targeted towards the British upper-middle class and upper class, and those interes ...
'' and ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'', among many other publications. In his later years he lived in
Rossendale, Lancashire.
Life and work
Lowry was born the son of a bricklayer in
Cadishead, Salford
Cadishead is a village in the City of Salford in Greater Manchester, England, with a population of 10,739 in 2014. Within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Lancashire.
History
The earliest record of Cadishead date to 1212, a ...
, and attended
Urmston Grammar School
Urmston Grammar (known as Urmston Grammar School until September 2010), is a co-educational Grammar schools in the United Kingdom, grammar school in Urmston, Greater Manchester, England. It is an Academy (English school), academy located within ...
.
He worked in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
and London, and, although he had no formal art education, he became known as a cartoonist during the 1970s. It was less well known that he was also a painter of urban landscapes, following in the footsteps of his unrelated namesake
L. S. Lowry
Laurence Stephen Lowry ( ; 1 November 1887 – 23 February 1976) was an English artist. His drawings and paintings mainly depict Pendlebury, Lancashire (where he lived and worked for more than 40 years) as well as Salford and its vicinity ...
.
Ray Lowry drew cartoons for a wide range of publications. With the emergence of the underground press in the 1960s his work was published in ''
Oz'' and ''
International Times
''International Times'' (''it'' or ''IT'') is the name of various underground newspapers, with the original title founded in London in 1966 and running until October 1973. Editors included John "Hoppy" Hopkins, David Mair ...
'', which led to a long and better-paid relationship with the ''New Musical Express'' (better known as ''NME''), including a weekly cartoon strip, "Only Rock'n'Roll". Lowry's love of raw
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
was the perfect complement to the new punk mentality that emerged in the late 1970s. He saw the
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
at the Electric Circus in Manchester, on their Anarchy tour, and there met
the Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
. He struck up a friendship with the members of the Clash, which led to an invitation to accompany them on their tour of the United States in 1979. From this he created the artwork for the sleeve of their album ''
London Calling
''London Calling'' is the third studio album by English rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a double album in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 by CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 by Epic Records.
The C ...
'', using a photograph by
Pennie Smith
Pennie Smith (born in London) is an English photographer, known for her photography of the rock music industry. She specialises in black-and-white photography.
Early life
Smith attended art school in Twickenham in the late 1960s, studying gra ...
.
During the 1980s Lowry wrote a column in ''
The Face
The face is a part of the body, the front of the head.
Face may also refer to:
Film
* ''The Magician'' (1958 film) or ''The Face''
* ''The Face'' (1996 film), an American television film
* ''Face'' (1997 film), a British crime drama by Antonia ...
'' and was a regular contributor to ''The Guardian''. He remained obsessed with rock and roll. Near the end of his life, he produced a long series of colour images inspired by the tour of the UK by the American rockers
Eddie Cochran
Ray Edward Cochran (; October 3, 1938 – April 17, 1960) was an American rock and roll musician. Cochran's songs, such as "Twenty Flight Rock", "Summertime Blues", " C'mon Everybody" and " Somethin' Else", captured teenage frustration and desire ...
and
Gene Vincent
Vincent Eugene Craddock (February 11, 1935 – October 12, 1971), known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rockabilly and rock and roll. His 1956 top ten hit with his backing band the Blue Caps, " Be-Bop-a-Lula ...
.
Lowry eventually moved to Rossendale in Lancashire. Although he no longer worked for periodicals, he never stopped painting and drawing. Near the end of his life he was taken up by the See Gallery in
Crawshawbooth
Crawshawbooth is a small village on the edge of the Pennine hills in England just north of the market town of Rawtenstall, Lancashire, and just south of Loveclough. It is part of the valley of Rossendale, an ancient royal hunting ground. The m ...
, Rossendale. An exhibition at the See in 2008 proved very successful and he began to plan new schemes, including paintings inspired by the novel ''
Under the Volcano
''Under the Volcano'' is a novel by English writer Malcolm Lowry (1909–1957) published in 1947. The novel tells the story of Geoffrey Firmin, an alcoholic British consul in the Mexican city of Quauhnahuac, on the Day of the Dead in November ...
'', by another unrelated namesake,
Malcolm Lowry
Clarence Malcolm Lowry (; 28 July 1909 – 26 June 1957) was an English poet and novelist who is best known for his 1947 novel ''Under the Volcano'', which was voted No. 11 in the Modern Library 100 Best Novels list. .
After years of ill health, Ray Lowry died suddenly at the age of 64. He was found at his home in
Waterfoot, Lancashire
Waterfoot is a historic mill town in the Borough of Rossendale between Rawtenstall and Bacup in Lancashire, England. The B6238 road from Burnley meets the A681 road, and Whitewell Brook the River Irwell.
History
Like the majority of the in ...
, on the morning of 14 October 2008.
The Ray Lowry Foundation
The Ray Lowry Foundation was set up in 2009 by Lowry's son, Sam, and Julian Williams and Jackie Taylor of the See Gallery. The aim of the Foundation is to ensure that his work will be remembered and appreciated, and to create a fund in his name that will provide financial assistance and mentorship to individuals and art projects. This will include providing a scholarship to a student studying a course in art for a higher degree and making financial awards linked to individual art projects.
The Foundation has helped with placing Lowry's work as part of an exhibition about Malcolm Lowry at the BlueCoat Gallery,
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, and a major public exhibition of Ray Lowry's own work at the
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
Gallery and Museum in December 2009. A major exhibition was planned for
Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
in 2010.
A retrospective of Ray Lowry's work was held at the Idea Generation Gallery, London, from 18 June to 4 July 2010, in aid of The Ray Lowry Foundation. As part of the exhibition
Tracey Emin
Tracey Karima Emin, Order of the British Empire, CBE, Associate of the Royal Academy, RA (; born 3 July 1963) is a British artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Emin produces work in a variety of media including drawi ...
,
Nick Hornby
Nicholas Peter John Hornby (born 17 April 1957) is an English writer and lyricist. He is best known for his memoir ''Fever Pitch'' and novels '' High Fidelity'' and '' About a Boy'', all of which were adapted into feature films. Hornby's work f ...
,
Billy Childish
Billy Childish (born Steven John Hamper, 1 December 1959) is an English painter, author, poet, photographer, film maker, singer and guitarist. Since the late 1970s, Childish has been prolific in creating music, writing and visual art. He has le ...
,
Harry Hill
Matthew Keith Hall (born 1 October 1964), known professionally as Harry Hill, is an English comedian, presenter and writer. He pursued a career in stand-up following years working as a medical doctor, developing an off-beat, energetic performan ...
,
Paul Simonon
Paul Gustave Simonon (; born 15 December 1955) is an English musician and artist best known as the bassist for the Clash. More recent work includes his involvement in the supergroup the Good, the Bad & the Queen and playing on the Gorillaz alb ...
,
Humphrey Ocean
Humphrey Ocean (born 22 June 1951) is a contemporary British painter.
Early life
Humphrey Ocean was born Humphrey Anthony Erdeswick Butler-Bowdon, on 22 June 1951 in Sussex, England. He went to Ampleforth College and in 1967 went to Tunbridge ...
and 23 others contributed works and many produced reinterpretations of Ray Lowry's sleeve for ''London Calling'' (see above) in aid of the Foundation.
After several years, work on the Ray Lowry Foundation project came to a halt due to personal issues and Sam's near fatal battle with alcoholism.
All things regarding Ray's work were somewhat stalled until 2021.
Selected bibliography
;Collections of his work
* ''Only Rock 'n' Roll'' 1980
* ''This Space to Let'' 1986
* ''Ink'' 1998
;As an illustrator
* ''The Penguin Book of Rock and Roll Writing'' 1992
* ''Rock Talk'' 1994
* ''Funny Talk'' 1995
* ''A Riot of our Own: Night and Day with The "Clash"'' 1997
References
External links
Personal web siteraylowry.com
The Guardian obituaryBiography at the British Cartoon Archive, University of Kent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowry, Ray
People from Salford
People from Waterfoot, Lancashire
20th-century English painters
English male painters
21st-century English painters
English satirists
Punch (magazine) cartoonists
British comics artists
English cartoonists
English illustrators
British caricaturists
Private Eye contributors
1944 births
2008 deaths
People educated at Urmston Grammar
20th-century English male artists
21st-century English male artists