Electric Colour Company coming through

The contribution to 20th century commercial design by pioneering Shoreditch art collective Electric Colour Company has been overlooked for far too long; among their achievements was the realisation of fabulous frontages and retail environments for a clutch of the most important boutiques in fashion history, not least Mr Freedom, Paradise Garage and City Lights Studio.

//Trevor Myles receives a parking ticket outside 430 Kings Road, spring 1971. Pic: David Parkinson//

Now THE LOOK presents for the first time a selection of the photographs taken by the group and the late photographer David Parkinson to document their commissions, which included trade show displays, nightclubs, accessories, custom cars, furniture and signage.

Among the images are never-seen-before exterior and interior shots of 430 King’s Road in its Paradise Garage incarnation, prior to the takeover by Malcolm McLaren in November 1971.

Electric Colour Co was formed in 1969 by artists Andrew Greaves, Jeffrey Pine, David Smith and Roderic Stokes. “It was originally supposed to support our fine art practice but became so involving that it took up all our time, ” says Andrew.

//The premises in Phipp Street, Shoreditch. Pic: David Smith//

ECC also proved geographical pioneers, settling in Phipp Street, Shoreditch. “There wasn’t a particular ethic or collective aesthetic, except perhaps a reaction to the conservatism of the existing fine art establishment,” says Andrew. “We had an amount of conceptual freedom which, when coupled with a vaguely maverick attitude, could have given us a broader working platform than more design-focused groups.”

Rod Stokes emphasises the importance of music. “We’d meet in the evenings to compare favorites, or attend gigs, from Jimi Hendrix, The Doors and Captain Beefheart to Albert Ayler, The Incredible String Band, Varese and others.”

//Electric Colour’s work in Design magazine, February and April 1971//

David Smith says they responded to “music that ‘took it to the next level’, whether it was the Beatles, King Crimson, Soft Machine, Velvet Underground or Mothers Of Invention”. He adds: “This now sounds like a playlist for the average American oldies station, but at the time it was a continuous stream of innovative music and our own affirmative soundtrack.”

An important factor is that, like McLaren, they sprang out of the 60s art scene rather than pop or fashion. “We tended towards what was happening with Fraser, Waddington or Kasmin rather than Twiggy or Jagger,” says David.

//Mr Freedom, 430 Kings Road 1969. Pic: David Parkinson//

This was evident from the get-go. EEC’s first project was the shop front for Trevor Myles and Tommy Robert’s Mr Freedom at 430 Kings Road in the former Hung On You premises operated by Michael Rainey  - you can read the full Mr Freedom story in Chapter 16 of THE LOOK.

As with their other commissions, the team were given a brief description of the concept, for which they produced non-technical drawings and illustrations.

//Exterior of Blueberry Hill, 89 King’s Road 1970. Pic: David Smith//

Late in 1970 ECC fitted out the mysterious and short-lived King’s Road fashion outlet Blueberry Hill, which lasted all of six weeks before the landlords closed in and converted it into a betting shop. None of the Electric crowd nor Trevor Myles can recall who operated or designed the clothes for this unusual and forward-looking shop; can anyone out there be of assistance?

//Andrew Greaves, Paradise Garage, 430 King’s Road, 1971. Pic: David Parkinson//

Better known is Paradise Garage, the outlet Trevor Myles opened at 430 King’s Road in the spring of 1971 after splitting from Tommy Roberts (see Chapter 18 of THE LOOK). These and a number of other images supplied by the ECC team provide intriguing interior aspects to the premises which have subsequently housed Let It Rock (1971-72), Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die (1973-74), Sex (1974-76), Seditionaries (1976-79) and World’s End (1980 to date).

//Interior, City Lights Studio, Covent Garden 1972. Pic: Jeffrey Pine //

As well as customising Myles’ Mustang, complete with tiger-stripe flock covering, ECC designed City Lights Studio, Tommy Roberts’ darkly glam reaction to the failure of the Mr Freedom Kensington store. The first fashion outlet to open in Covent Garden, City Lights was a powerful influence on the Japanese designers then making an impact in the West.

In the mid-70s the members went their separate ways: Andrew into teaching and fine art, which he continues to practice to this day while Rod is also a working artist with a riverside studio in Cadiz.

Jeffrey Pine designed such shops as Trevor Myles’ Secret Ingredient, Howie in the Fulham Road and the third version of Mr Freedom (opened in the middle of the Kings Road in 1973 by Roberts’ former partner John Paul). He also created stage sets for Roxy Music gigs, and went on to work with his partner Katharine Hamnett. Jeffery has since returned to sculpting and painting.

David returned to art teaching briefly and now lives in California where he also continues to paint. “By coincidence I’ve resumed contact with my ex-art school tutor Derek Boshier,” he says.

In David’s words, Electric Colour Co “helped shape and fulfill our ideology”.

And what was that?

“To produce work which freely crossed between the worlds of fine and applied art.”