Logo #117: Amebix

This stylized version of an Austin Osman Spare painting was appropriated by Amebix founder Rob "The Baron" Baron in 1983. Noted Osman Spare expert Robert Ansell: "The title of the picture is "The Vampires are Coming" and it was most probably item no.152 in Spare's exhibition at the White Bear Tavern in 1953. That show was not successful and the picture reappeared as item 132 in his final exhibition at the Archer Gallery in 1955. Spare usually worked through the summer for a winter show, so yes, I would suggest 1953 is the likely date it was produced. It is currently in the private collection of Kenneth and Steffi Grant."

Logo #92: Subhumans

Designed by the band in 1981 for their first 7".

Logo #71: The Exploited

Drawn by Brian "Pushead Lamort" Schroeder for the hardcore anarchist hardcore band's "Let's Start A War...Said Maggie One Day" LP in 1983. The LP was based on the seemingly whimsical reasoning behind Margaret Thatcher's invasion of the Falkland Islands off Argentina. I say "whimsical" because, for one reason, since when had you heard of any kind of benefit to Great Britain emanating from the Falklands save for sovereignty and an easier ride around Cape Horn? Possibly one of the most difficult-to-discover creators of a logo I've yet had the pleasure of pursuing. Usually things like that happen if there's some kind of ownership dispute about the image between its creator and the band itself (see the upcoming entry detailing the desperately sad circumstance behind the woman who designed the Circle Jerks' "Skank Kid" logo for more on this). The face that launched a thousand kids, all clad in denim emblazoned with the bone-hawked cartoon exploitee. The Exploited's finest moment comes in "UK82", which blasts with rare and terrifying anger across the opening and closing titles for "Made in Britain," Tim Roth's acting debut in which he becomes like unto a living laser of contempt. That it comes highly recommended from this part of the world is perhaps the greatest understatement since "I'm not going to pay a lot for this muffler."

Logo #69: 999

This ticket logo was designed for British punk band 999 by George Snow in 1977. Formed Sunday the 5th of December 1976 - amidst a cultural maelstrom that included the Sex Pistols scandalizing Britain on Bill Grundy's Thames TV talk-show, the Eagles' "Hotel California" and seemingly endless ABBAmania - here they are now, doing their smash hit "Homicide," which features some of the most ineffectual condenser mics imaginable to capture some of the worst lipsynching conceivable that's only saved by some of the most triumphal harmonies ever delivered by a punk rock band. Another 999 hit, "Emergency," is not to be confused with Motörhead's "999 Emergency." Their newest LP, "Death in Soho," is available now on Voiceprint. Here is where you can buy an original poster on which this logo appeared in 1977. The logo is symbolic of the thought - in those early happy and hectic days of endless energy fueled by both soul and substance (so the books tell us) - that it was all for a lark, any amount of attention came from no small amount of luck, and it could all vanish up into a trivia question at any moment. That it could all come flying back on the wings of nostalgia was but an all-too-distant dream. Like winning the lottery.

Logo #68: The Adicts

About Smart Boy Alex, the overall look for British punk band The Adicts and mascot gestalt for the band, Adicts Central reveals, "The Adicts logo and Image was designed by Pete ("Pee Dee" Davison, guitarist) of the band. The "Clockwork Orange" Imagery is a piece of each member of the band put into one mask, therefore it represents the band as a whole. Keith "Monkey" Warren the singer has developed the image over the years with different colours and slightly different strokes with his make-up, but one cannot get away from the original design. We aren't really sure when it first appeared, it was so long ago - maybe 1978! But it was when punk rock had lost its way, so we went with what we were into prior to it...the whole Image now has become known as "Ziggy's Bastard Son"." The longest-lived punk band with its original line-up, they tour incessantly and likely shall all be buried together in the same bowler hat. Here they are discussing what punk means to them. Has Malcolm McDowell ever gone to an Adicts live action? That would be a beautiful moment of total awareness, really. Add Lower Class Brats to the bill and you hit the cosmological trifecta!

Logo #44: Stiff Little Fingers

A note from Stiff Little Fingers about their 1978 logo: "The band's bass player, Ali McMordie, came up with the design. It was originally a spoof on the Tom Robinson Band's "clenched fist" design as on the cover of their first album. SLF were about to tour, supporting the TRB and this was an affectionate jibe in their direction." A nice example of an instantly identifiable logo springing from social phenomenon that - when it started, at least - could in no way be co-opted by The Man. The double-entendre, at the very least, thrust into pop culture consciousness as it was in the ‘70s and ‘80s by the abundance of “jiggle TV” programs like “Three’s Company,” made what would have been borderline obscene a couple of decades earlier gradually something at which to merely titter - the implicit meaning becoming almost as obvious as the spoken word. For more on how language shapes our experience even more than we possibly know, one can do no better than to read Steven Pinker's "The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window Into Human Nature". Recently published, it's deftly adept at simply explaining why we say what we say and thus do what we do.q