Malcolm Garrett

“Hi Jon

Good to hear from you. I suspected that KCID21 was you, but couldn't be certain!

I hadn't seen the Fireplace videos on YouTube until seeing this post yesterday. I never knew you'd had that TV appearance.

It was Roger that passed on the sad news about Trevor to me a year or so ago. I see him from time to time.

I am now working with Mcr School of Art helping coordinate alumni events in London (reconnecting people who once knew one another, and introducing those who should know one another) as well working with a team to establish 'Design Manchester' as an annual series of events celebrating the creative industries in the North. (designmcr.com)

It would be great to get your input. My email is malcolm.garrett@images.co.uk. Please get in touch direct and I can tell you more.

All the best
Malcolm”

“Yes, Trevor, John, Judy and I did all live at 199 Wilmslow Road (although I think John had moved to Whalley Range by the time Judy moved in). A few other people passed through those doors between 1975 and 1978 when I was there.

Trevor, and his musical partner John Chamberlain, never did manage to make anything more of Fireplace. But he did almost set fire to the kitchen on more than one occasion, forgetting that bread was toasting and catching fire, whilst he was in the other room playing the guitar.

The origin of the idea for the bag is not quite accurate as stated above though. My initial thought was to release the record in a plastic pouch with a sliding zip down the side, much like those A4 plastic folders you can buy in Ryman's. When I explained the idea of a plastic sleeve to Trevor he misinterpreted it and asked if I meant "like a carrier bag". This was a more appropriate notion, and much more realisable too, so I changed the plan following Trevor's comment.

The word 'Product' rather than the album's title featuring on the bag was suggested by Buzzcock's manager Richard Boon, whilst the large catalogue number on the other side was my typographic obsession. From the start I was insistent that catalogue numbers and other 'administrative' details should be prominent on packaging, to emphasise the mechanics of record production.

The carrier bag idea was resurrected by The B52s for their first album not long after, and again by Suede a good many years later.

All of which shows that creativity never exists in a vacuum and that ideas can have multiple origins. Indeed the use of metallic silver and fluorescent orange in the marketing materials for Another Music in a Different Kitchen, including the posters with their diagonal stripes, as well as the significant positioning of catalogue number as already noted, went on to influence our friends at Factory and their development of a solidly grounded visual aesthetic.

As a sad postscript, I learned recently from another Manchester Poly Fine Art graduate from that same period, that Trevor took his own life not so long ago. We read only of it in a newspaper so don't have more details. Trevor was a wonderful artist and an inspirational individual.”

“@JSZ The exhibition you are thinking of was called 'Sublime' and featured work by Malcolm Garrett, Peter Saville and many others. The excellent catalogue that accompanied it was designed by David Crow, who is now Dean of Manchester School of Art.”

“@tony/longfella The exhibition you are thinking of was called 'Ulterior Motifs' and was an exhibition of logotype design by Malcolm Garrett, including logos for bands such as Buzzcocks. It was shown in Salford Uni in about 1994. This was the last venue in a tour which took the exhibition to Tokyo, London, New York and Savannah.”