| Description | This collection consists of original artwork and print matter by the graphic designer Barney Bubbles, the majority of which covers his later period between 1978-1983. It includes: sketchbooks; drawing equipment; reference ephemera; original completed artworks; gouaches; collages; photographs and negatives; slideshows; printed work including promotional material such as posters, flyers, letterheads, badges, stickers, and t shirts; album, record, LP, and singles covers; books and brochures designed by Barney Bubbles; exhibition material including catalogues; gifts from colleagues; six promotional DVD videos; published works about Barney Bubbles; and other related reference material. |
| AdminHistory | Barney Bubbles was a graphic designer born Colin Fulcher on 30 July 1942 in Whitton, Middlesex. He attended Isleworth Grammar School and in 1958 enrolled at Twickenham College of Technology to study for five years on the National Diploma in Design Retail Display course. The training he received in packaging design would later be utilised in his iconic record sleeve design. In 1963 Bubbles worked as an assistant at the design company Michael Tucker + Associates in London, and in 1965 he worked as a senior graphic designerat The Conran Group. Between 1965-1966, Bubbles organised parties and events under the name A1 Good Guys with two graduates of Twickenham Art College, David Wills and Roy Burge. He began adopting the name Barney Bubbles in 1967, a reference to a light show with a bubble effect which he operated, although did not change his legal name by deed poll until later. Around this time he began to acept freelance design commissions.
In 1969, Bubbles leased a building in Notting Hill Gate and converted the ground floor into an art studio which he named Teenburger Designs, establishing a business association with Edward Molton and Stephen Warwick, with John Muggeridge from The Conran Group briefly serving as an assistant. The design company mainly produced work for the music industry, with his first sleeve design being for Quintessene's 1969 LP In Blissful Company. The company closed in 1970 as a result of the disappearance of Molton and Warwick, and Bubbles then began work as the designer of the underground newspaper Friends, laer renamed Frendz. During this time, Bubbles formed an association with the band Hawkwind and designed a run of album sleves for them.
From 1973 onwards, Bubbles increasingly avoided credits on his artwork, typically working anonymously or adopting alternative pseudonyms. In 1977, Bubbles joined Stiff Records as a designer and art director alongside the label's co-founder Jake Riviera, whom Bubbles followed when Riviera left Stiff Records to join Radar Records in late 1977, and later at F-Beat Records. During this period, Bubbles created some of his iconic designs for Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Carlene Carter, Ian Dury, and The Damned. In 1979, Bubbles redesigned the NME magazine logo, which heralded the title's change from New Musical Express to just NME.
Bubbles also directed several music videos, including iconic videos such as The Specials' Ghost Town. He engaged in other design work too, including designing the catalogue and poster for Derek Boshier's 1979 exhibit at the Hayward Gallery in London, which Bubbles also exhibited at. In the early 1980s, Bubbles created some furniture designs which featured in The Face in November 1981, the same article featuring a rare interview with Bubbles who was known to shy away from publicity. Bubbles also painted privately increasingly into the 1980s. On 14 November 1983, Bubbles sadly committed suicide. |
| CustodialHistory | Accepted by HM Government in 2020 under the Cultural Gifts Scheme from Belinda Syme and allocated to LJMU Special Collections & Archives. |