Nightlife
Dare, actually. Legendary DJ, remixer and producer Jon of the Pleased Wimmin got in touch to ask me to design a flyer for his new club venture 'Dare!'. The previous flyer had featured Jon paying tribute to the Human League album which gave the club it's name, and for this he wanted his own take on another classic album cover - Pet Shop Boys, Actually, originally designed by Farrow. I wanted to keep the sleek minimalism of the original which posed a problem as there was a lot of text to go on the poster. The problem was overcome by having it look like an import copy, complete with cardboard strip on the left and Japanese text. There are a few design details which aren't immediately obvious which I worked in... the price sticker is also the entry fee, the Japanese words say 'Passion' (one of Jon's own chart hits) and 'disco music' which relates to the music policy. There are names of bands and singers listed in a font which looks Japanese at first glance, but is actually English. Photo by Nicola Bald.
Dare, Non-stop electro disco. In keeping with previous flyers I've done for Jon Pleased Wimmin, 'paying homage' to a classic synth LP, this one recreates the Soft Cell album cover for 'Non Stop Erotic Cabaret', arguably, one of the most influential electronic albums ever recorded. Unfortunately, we didn't have the budget to have neon signs made with the amazingly sleazy typeface, but Ryan McGoverne took some great photos of Jon and Donald as Marc and Dave and I managed to photoshop together the 'Dare!' logo into a believable fluoro-sign.
Come Together. These various designs were commissioned by Space Ibiza - for a club night which played indie and rock instead of the usual house and dance music. The flyers were given a spot UV treatment.
Gasoline Dance Machine. I was asked to design a logo and illustrate promotional materials for a commercial club night playing disco and house. The Top of the Pops-inspired logo was immortalised in neon.
The C90's.
Mustang.
Disco Skull. I created this disco skull from hundreds of mirrored tiles, then photographed it for this macabre rave flyer.
Erol Alkan - Gasoline Dance Machine. Erol Alkan visited G.D.M to play a 'Disco 3000' set, a collection of psychedelic, spaced-out disco beats. I wanted the poster to reflect the retro music vidoes and dated record covers of the music being played.
Tom of Finland. The Glasgow club night Menergy was named after the classic Patrick Cowley & Sylvester track of the same name. It was originally set up to play a mix of Hi-NRG, Italo and disco. I wanted to create an atmosphere similar to William Friedkin's 'Cruising' movie, a seedy magazine or an obscure disco record cover.
Sylvester, You make us feel (Mighty Real). As Menergy was set up to play Italo disco and classic europop from decades ago, I decided to pay homage to one of disco's most underrated stars - Sylvester.
Divine. This flyer was designed as a tribute to the queen of bad taste - the filthiest person alive - Divine.
Jem. Using a picture of 1980s cartoon pop star Jem, I redesigned the Menergy logo in the original 'Jem' typeface, which I recreated by hand.
Castro Zombie Prom. I decided to illustrate this Halloween poster with a combination of digital and hand-rendered processes, resulting in this sexual but scary fetish zombie.
Den Haan - live. This particular flyer was to advertise the last ever event at Glasgow School of Art bar before it was demolished and rebuilt. Glaswegian disco legends Den Haan played live that night. I wanted the visuals to have an apocalyptic feel.
Jackie Curtis. By the time Menergy had moved to the Glasgow Art School, it was becoming a bit of a drag queen hang out, so the image of one of Andy Warhol's famous 'superstars' - Jackie Curtis - was used as a nod to our art school origins and punk rock attitude.
Grace Jones. This party was advertised as a 'versus' night, with two guest DJ's going head to head on the decks. I used an image of Miss Grace Jones as the iconic cover star, and updated a boxing poster's template with the Menergy typeface for the graphic styling.
Menergy Mascara Massacre. I like to create my own images for the posters and flyers, so when time allows, I'll illustrate or photograph something myself. The model was photographed and styled by me, with an outfit, including the headpiece made from doll parts.
Suspiria. One of Menergy's earlier nights was a Dario Argento themed party. The gaudy and colourful often crosses over into the realms of nightmare, and I wanted to replicate this with the flyer which features a glamorous but horrifying image, and the poster, which draws on the film 'Suspiria's' most famous scene.
Yolandi Vi$$er. I decided to photoshop an octopus tentacle into Yolandi's mouth as I thought it made an interesting image, and because Die Antwoord's 'I Fink U Freeky' had become a Menergy anthem.
Menergeddon. Menergy has a habit of playing the last night of legendary Glasgow venues. Forbidden, a strip club complete with an illuminated catwalk and dancer's cages, was a venue Divine performed at in the 1980s. 'Menergeddon' fell on the end of the Mayan calendar, and the last night this venue was ever open. How fitting.
Menergy vs Basquiat. This Menergy flyer was created in response to being given an image of Madonna from one of her earliest photoshoots. I didn't like the image at all and wanted to obscure it in some way. Menergy's music policy and aesthetic is strongly influenced by early 1980s New York City, and as she was dating (my favourite) artist Jean Michel Basquiat at the time, I decided to create an image that was influenced by his work. The typeface at the top I made myself with a pair of scissors and some sticky backed plastic which I then scanned in.
All Stars Ball. Gary Wilson is Menergy's in-house fashion designer. Gary has created outfits for Sharon Needles, Nicki Minaj and Shystie. His angular designs informed the layout of the poster.
Menergy has become the only place in Scotland where stars of reality TV cult hit 'RuPaul's Drag Race' can perform live.
All the Menergy posters are for sale. These artworks are for sale. Please contact me for more information or a quote.
Sharon Needles. Menergy has played host to some of the biggest stars from cult TV show 'RuPaul's Drag Race'. Sharon Needles is the satanic winner of season 4. The promotional image I was sent by her manager to use on promotional materials had been circulating on the internet for a long time and I felt it was overused so I 'remixed' it using The Seal of Lucifer from the Grimorium Verum to play up the 'antichrist' theme. I also created these logotypes.
Adore Delano. I am currently obsessed with painting portraits so when I was asked to design the poster for Adore Delano, I decided to paint her and capture her glamorous punk attitude.
Phi Phi O'Hara. I wanted this to look like it was cut up with a pair of blunt scissors and stuck down with Pritt Stick.
Detox, Willam & Vicky. I cut up this image with lines coming from the girl's dresses.
Manila Luzon poster. Manila Luzon plays with her Asian heritage, so I thought I would do the same and make her into Dragzilla, a 1950s B-Movie monster. When Manila was over in Glasgow before her show, she struck a pose in front of her poster.
Latrice Royale poster. I created this 'cake kaleidoscope' with photos I took and photoshopped Latrice into the centre.
Raja Gemini. Menergy invited the winner of season 3 of RuPaul's Drag Race - Raja Gemini to perform. Raja has based many of her looks on her East Indian heritage and so I decided to make her a Kali-esque multi-armed deity. Coincidentally, her performance at Menergy consisted of an ingenious costume that dropped open to reveal six arms.
Disko Bloodbath. Shortly after graduating Edinburgh College of Art I decided to set up my own club night as a way of showcasing my art and design work. I treated the walls of a nightclub like a gallery and fly posters for the club as a way to experiment with design, illustration and typography.
During the first few parties, badges were handed out to help promote the club.
Disko Bloodbath - Mutilate Madonna. A teaser campaign preceded the first 'proper' poster with a number of pop music icons being destroyed, to make way for alternative choices. Obviously, this was tongue-in-cheek. I love Madonna.
Heroes flyers. Heroes was a club night I used to run with a jukebox-style music policy, and was my first foray into interior design, dressing up the various spaces we rented. Heroes was chosen to host the launch parties for 'Bleed Like Me' by Garbage, 'Witching Hour' by Ladytron and 'You could have it so much better...' by Franz Ferdinand, followed by the 'Meds' LP (Placebo).