Photograph
Alan Adler
1978

Apt of Tony Davidson to dedicate a chapter of his hot off the press book to another of Manchester’s influential creative forces of that time, illustrator Alan Adler (pictured).
Adler designed the record covers for us at TJM including the poster for the Identity Parade tour which included my group in the line-up. Adler's image of the decapitated HMV dog for the Slaughter & the Dogs single "It's Alright" became one of the iconic images of punk. Apart from being our resident artist Adler was of course a member of Manchester's most esoteric band from that era, the Thunderboys (also allocated a chapter in the book alongside The Buzzcocks, Joy Division et al).

Adler's time with us was formative for his trend-setting work and in interviews with amongst others the Guardian he cited his main inspirations as being the eruption of the Manchester new wave music scene and the challenge of trying to generate an equally strong reaction with a visual image as he could with his drum kit (even if the result simply involved people “running in the opposite direction”). This, together with a diverse and unusual combination of influences including Manchester’s rich textile industry heritage, Edward de Bono’s 1967 book “The Use of Lateral Thinking” and an interest in observing the patterns that emerged when he smashed breakable objects, gave Adler’s work a unique rhythm, pattern, movement and concept which, in turn, made him one of the UK’s most original visual artists.

It is with some pride that we acknowledge our part in the development of Adler’s pioneering visual approach. His images were often described as two-dimensional explosions, almost as if he'd bashed them out with his drumsticks. He was Britain's punkiest visual artist and his work went on to heavily influence the visual style of an era.

Note: Above portrait of Adler taken by photographer Richard Mann (most famous for his iconic portrait series of Sid Vicious & Nancy Spungen).

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