Jamie Reid (born 16 January 1947 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

) is an English artist and

anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessar ...

Career

His work, featuring letters cut from newspaper headlines in the style of a ransom note, came close to defining the image of punk rock, particularly in the UK. His best known works include 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 ...

album ''

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols ''Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols'' is the only studio album by English punk rock band the Sex Pistols, released on 28 October 1977 by Virgin Records in the UK and on 11 November 1977 by Warner Bros. Records in the US. The alb ...

'' and the singles " Anarchy in the UK", " God Save The Queen" (based on a Cecil Beaton photograph of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

, with an added safety pin through her nose and

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. I ...

s in her eyes, described by Sean O'Hagan of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

'' as "the single most iconic image of the punk era"),Heard, Chris (2004)
Art and style of punk's shocking past
, BBC, 7 October 2004. Retrieved 2 February 2010O'Hagan, Sean (2007)
Art anarchy in the UK
, ''

'', 3 June 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2010Donald, Ann (1998) "The angry revolt into style; Punk's explosion still reverberates in the world of graphic design. Ann Donald catches the echoes", ''

Glasgow Herald ''The Herald'' is a Scottish broadsheet newspaper founded in 1783. ''The Herald'' is the longest running national newspaper in the world and is the eighth oldest daily paper in the world. The title was simplified from ''The Glasgow Herald'' in ...

'', 9 February 1998. " Pretty Vacant" and "

Holidays in the Sun Holiday(s) in the Sun may refer to: * ''Holidays in the Sun'' (album), by Yui * ''Holidays in the Sun'' (EP), by Cornelius * ''Holiday in the Sun'' (film), starring Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen * "Holidays in the Sun" (song), by the Sex Pistols * ...

".Ross, Peter (2001)
Toxteth Shock
, '' Sunday Herald'', 4 March 2001. Retrieved 2 February 2010 He was educated at John Ruskin Grammar School in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an exten ...

. With

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English impresario, visual artist, singer, songwriter, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, notable for combining these activities in an inventive and provo ...

, he took part in a

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

at Croydon Art School. Reid produced a series of screen prints in 1997, the twentieth anniversary of the birth of punk rock. Ten years later on the thirtieth anniversary of the release of "God Save the Queen," Reid produced a new print entitled "Never Trust a Punk," based on his original design which was exhibited at London Art Fair in the Islington area of the city " ". Reid has also produced artwork for the world music fusion band

Afro Celt Sound System Afro Celt Sound System is a British musical group who fuse electronic music with traditional Gaelic and West African music. Afro Celt Sound System was formed in 1995 by producer-guitarist Simon Emmerson, and feature a wide range of guest artists ...

. Jamie Reid created the ransom-note look used with the Sex Pistols graphics while he was designing ''Suburban Press'', a radical political magazine he ran for five years. His exhibitions include ''Peace is Tough'' at The Arches in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

, and at the Microzine Gallery in

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, where he now lives."Pistols cover man Reid continues to pierce consciousness", ''

Liverpool Daily Post The ''Liverpool Post'' was a newspaper published by Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The newspaper and its website ceased publication on 19 December 2013. Until 13 January 2012 it was a daily morning newspaper, with the tit ...

'', 19 December 2005 Since 2004, Reid has been exhibiting and publishing prints with the Aquarium Gallery, where a career retrospective, ''May Day, May Day'', was held in May 2007.Sex Pistols artist announces exhibition
, '' NME'', 20 March 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2010 He now exhibits and publishes work at Steve Lowe's new project space the L-13 Light Industrial Workshop in

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after which it was named was redis ...

, London. In 2009 following allegations Damien Hirst was to sue a student for copyright infringement, Reid called him a "hypocritical and greedy art bully" and in collaboration with

Jimmy Cauty James Francis Cauty (born 19 December 1956), also known as Rockman Rock, is an English artist and musician, best known as one-half of the duo The KLF, co-founder of The Orb and as the man who burnt £1 million. He is married to artist and m ...

produced his ''For the Love of Disruptive Strategies and Utopian Visions in Contemporary Art and Culture'' image as a pastiche replacing the God Save The Queen with God Save Damien Hirst. He is also represented by John Marchant Gallery who look after Reid's extensive archive. In October 2010, US activist David Jacobs – founder of the early 1970s Situationist group Point-Blank! – challenged claims that Reid created the "Nowhere Buses" graphic which appeared on the sleeve to the Sex Pistols' 1977 single " Pretty Vacant" and has subsequently been used many times for limited edition prints. Jacobs said that he originated the design, which first appeared in a pamphlet as part of a protest about mass transit in San Francisco in 1973. Reid has also been involved in

direct action Direct action originated as a political activist term for economic and political acts in which the actors use their power (e.g. economic or physical) to directly reach certain goals of interest, in contrast to those actions that appeal to oth ...

campaigns on issues including the

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. Head taxes were important sources of revenue for many governments f ...

, Clause 28 and the Criminal Justice Bill. His former partner was actress Margi Clarke, with whom he had a daughter, Rowan.

References

External links

L-13 Light Industrial Workshop

John Marchant Gallery
* https://web.archive.org/web/20171210141958/http://www.jamiereid.org/about/
Interview with Reid at 3:AM Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Jamie 1947 births Living people English anarchists English graphic designers British graphic designers Album-cover and concert-poster artists People educated at John Ruskin Grammar School Sex Pistols Alumni of Croydon College Place of birth missing (living people) English contemporary artists