Alan Aldridge facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Alan Aldridge
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Alan Aldridge (1971)
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| Born | 8 July 1938 London, England
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| Died | 17 February 2017 (aged 78) |
| Nationality | British |
| Occupation | Artist, illustrator, graphic designer, creative director, graphic entertainer |
| Years active | 1965–2017 |
| Spouse(s) | Rita Farthing Laura Lyons |
| Partner(s) | Andrea Gayler |
| Children | 8 |
Alan Aldridge (born July 8, 1938 – died February 17, 2017) was a super talented British artist. He was also a graphic designer and illustrator. He became famous for his amazing, colorful artwork. This art was often called 'psychedelic' because it was so bright and imaginative. He created many famous designs for books and album covers. Some of his most well-known work was for bands like The Beatles and The Who.
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About Alan Aldridge's Life
Alan Aldridge was born in North London, England. Later in his life, he lived in Los Angeles, California. He had eight children, many of whom are also creative! His children include the fashion photographer Miles Aldridge and models Saffron Aldridge, Lily Aldridge, and Ruby Aldridge. Alan Aldridge also had eleven grandchildren. He passed away on February 17, 2017. His daughter Lily shared the sad news.
Alan Aldridge's Creative Career
Alan Aldridge started his career as an illustrator. He worked for The Sunday Times Magazine. He also designed book covers for Penguin Books. In 1965, he became the art director at Penguin. For two years, he focused on science fiction book covers. He introduced his unique art style, which perfectly matched the exciting mood of the 1960s.
Working with The Beatles
In 1968, Alan Aldridge started his own design company called INK. This company worked closely with the Beatles and their company, Apple Corps. He helped create the cool graphic look of that time. He designed many album covers. His illustrations for the book The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics were especially popular.
His Unique Art Style
Aldridge's art was known for its flowing, cartoon-like style. He often used soft airbrushing techniques. This style fit right in with the 'psychedelic' art of the 1960s and 1970s. One of his famous works is a 1971 anti-war poster. It was called A great place for hamburgers but who'd want to live there!.
The Butterfly Ball and Other Works
One of his most famous works is the picture book The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper Feast (1973). He created this book with Harry Willock. It features amazing illustrations of insects and other creatures that look like humans. William Plomer wrote the poems that went with the pictures. This book was inspired by an old poem. It also came from a funny idea that a famous artist once said it was impossible to draw a wasp wearing a wig!
Alan Aldridge also designed the artwork for Elton John's album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy in 1975. He even created the famous logo for the Hard Rock Café. In 1977, he made an advertisement for the Dutch beer brand Heineken.
Awards and Recognition
Alan Aldridge won many awards for his incredible work. One of these was the Whitbread Children's Book Award in 1973. This was for The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper Feast.
His art was so important that a special exhibition was held. It was called Alan Aldridge – the Man with the Kaleidoscope Eyes. This show was at the Design Museum in London. It ran from October 2008 to January 2009. People said it was "The trip of a lifetime."
Selected Artworks and Books
Here are some of the cool projects Alan Aldridge worked on:
- Cover for Boswell's London Journal 1762–1763, Penguin (1966).
- Cover design for A Quick One by The Who (1966).
- Poster for Andy Warhol and Paul Morrissey's film Chelsea Girls (1966).
- Covers for Penguin Science Fiction books (1967).
- The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics (1969) – he was the editor and did some illustrations.
- Ann in the Moon (1970), with a story by Frances D. Francis.
- The Penguin Book of Comics (1971), with George Perry.
- The Ship's Cat (1977), illustrated with Harry Willock.
- The Peacock Party (1979) and The Lion's Cavalcade (1980) – these were sequels to The Butterfly Ball.
- Phantasia: Of Docklands, Rocklands and Dodos (1981).
- The Gnole (1999), with Steve Boyett and Maxine Miller.
- Illustrations and logo design for Everybody Loves a Happy Ending (2004). This was an album by the band Tears for Fears.
- Art Direction and Illustration for Light Grenades (2006). This was an album for the band Incubus.
- The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes (2008), a book about his art.
