Art of British Rock: 50 Years Of Rock Posters, Flyers And Handbills - Tapa dura

The pictures may induce nostalgia - such as the days when Jimi Hendrix played a hotel in Windsor - but they are also a warning that we all grow up and calm down. People who bought The Clash's first single, White riot, in 1977 are now more interested in their morgages; and most of those drawn to the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival by the event's poster, could now get there with their pensioners' free bus pass. Fans of virtual band Gorillaz have been warned.

All the heroes of British music graphics are here, including Hipgnosis, Barney Bubbles, Michael Garrett and Peter Saville. Caution: the psychedelic green-orange DayGlo cover is as eye-watering as a protracted guitar solo.

Nothing transports us back more than rock posters for gigs in the provincial ballrooms of our youth. And now, 50 years of classic UK rock'n'roll graphics have been brought together in The Art of British Rock. Bet you'll spot examples you had on your bedroom walls.

As the music industry becomes ever more digitised, it might seem that this sort of graphic ephemmera is losing its importance. This book shows that apparent trivia can ultimately prove something to treasure.

This is a truly wonderful book for anybody who's ever looked at an album sleeve or advert and thought, maybe even unconsciously, how great it not only sounds but looks. Designs like these are the mark of genius - and sadly these days, there's far too little of that around.

Music fans should enjoy this artistic trawl through the 50 years of rock posters, flyers and album cover art. Worth the money alone for the explosion of colour and style an the late 1960s.

Everybody will find an image that triggers a host of memories.

A worthy addition to any bookcase... Informative as well as easy on the eye, while pithy observations abound.

The writing by Mike Evans is succinct and entertaining, and the book's design by Paul Palmer-Edwards is really stunning.

Celebrating a half century of design in posters, flyers and advertising ephemera, The Art of British Rock highlights the UK’s distinct contribution to rock’n’roll graphics. From custom designed posters for provincial ballrooms in the late 50s to the computer-generated images of today, rock music illustration has reflected – and influenced – crucial changes in popular visual art. With classic examples (some unseen for many years) of key styles including pop art, psychedelic illustration, punk 'do-it-yourself' and digital imaging, the book documents the stunning visual style of British rock from the era of the Beatles

and Rolling Stones to the present-day art of indie guitar bands, cutting-edge soloists and contemporary clubland.

Arranged chronologically, The Art of British Rock features more than 350 posters

ranging from the work of anonymous artists to internationally acclaimed designers

including the Hapshash group in the 60s, Hipgnosis and Barney Bubbles in the 70s, and

Malcolm Garrett, Peter Saville and Vaughan Oliver in the 80s and beyond. All are the subject of special features within each chapter. Concluding with the mix of retro and state-of-the-art design that has characterised rock poster illustration in the first decade of the 21st century, this is a unique account of more than 50 years of British rock’n’roll art.