Words BEN TIBBITS

George Underwood’s unassuming legacy precedes itself, and sprawls across decades. The visionary artist behind a plethora of era-defining album artworks – his impact, in many ways, is timeless. You may not have heard of him, but you’ve certainly seen his work; from the illustration fronting T-Rex’s debut LP, to, most significantly, his work with one of pop’s most totemic presences, whose influence reverberates across the modern landscape to this day: David Bowie.

Bowie and Underwood met at school at the age of nine. They became close friends, sharing a love for music, and forming various bands together. They experienced the peaks and troughs of any school boy relationship – George once punched David in a fight over a girl – but their deep-seated connection lasted a lifetime. Underwood crafted the covers for Bowie's iconic 1971 Hunky Dory and its successor one year later, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and the pair were still very much entwined in friendship when Bowie sadly passed on 10th January 2016. His final and arguably now most impactful album, Blackstar, was released two days prior to his death, and Underwood finds a dichotomy of emotions in the incredible record. “Blackstar does resonate with me,” he tells Man About Town. “It makes me a bit sad and at the same time reminds me of what a great friend he was.”

A highly accomplished and revered artist with a career showered in achievement, Underwood continues to break new ground with his work to this day. With his latest philanthropic endeavour, he pays tribute to his old friend in a profound manner. This September, Underwood and other leading contemporary artists come together to support a charity that Bowie often supported, War Child – the only specialist nonprofit supporting children in conflict – with a new exhibition, Sound & Vision. Curated by Gemma Peppé, founder of charity auction initiative Art on a Postcard, the project sees the coterie of artists – also including National Portrait Gallery BP Portrait Award-winning painter Ishbel Myerscough – all reacting to a singular Bowie lyric. Plucked from “Rebel Rebel”, a cut from the Diamond Dogs LP which turns 50 this year, the artists share their visual takes on the line – “We like dancing and we look divine”. Sound & Vision will be exhibited at 180 Strand 26th-27th September, with an accompanying auction running from 17 September-1 October online via Art on a Postcard.

Before it all kicks off, Man About Town connected with Underwood, looking back on his personal and professional relationship with Bowie and what it means to him to be involved in the exhibition.

Hi, George! Talk us through your current work with War Child on the project Sound & Vision. How did it come about, what has influenced your involvement?
I was invited together with 33 other artists to create an image with the theme: 'We like dancing and we look divine”. [I was] reminded that David supported the War Child charity 30 years earlier, so I was happy to be involved.

How did you go about creating your own piece for the Sound & Vision exhibition? What was the process?
The painting I submitted was based on a painting I did in 2004, titled “Dancing With Giants”. It depicted two figures (satyrs) dancing on water in front of a landscape of half-submerged giant heads. I decided to take the two figures and dress them in similar outfits that Lindsay Kemp used for his dancers, The Astronettes, who performed with David in 1972 at The Rainbow Theatre in London.

Do you have any other current philanthropic endeavours?
Earlier this year, I did a painting of a playing card along with 56 other artists for TLC (Transplant Links Community). It's the third one I have done and another worthwhile charity. The original artworks go to auction and the sets of playing cards are sold to hopefully raise lots of money.

Talk us through your early years with David. What was he like at school? You were in a band together?
I first met David in 1956, both aged nine years old, when we were enrolling for the 18th Bromley Cubs. We became very close friends. Our shared interests in all kinds of popular music meant that we would eventually form various bands together.

What are your favourite Bowie memories?
I get asked about my favourite Bowie memories but quite honestly, there were so many, I can't pick one out.

You created the artwork for David’s Hunky Dory and Ziggy Stardust. How did those opportunities come about? How does looking at these artworks make you feel today?
In 1969, David asked me to illustrate the back cover of his album titled David Bowie on the Mercury label now sometimes known as the Space Oddity album. On that one, David wanted me to illustrate all the songs. He did some little sketches for me to follow. He knew exactly what he wanted. In 1971, David came to me with a beautiful monotone print of a photo that Brian Ward had taken of him looking a bit like Lauren Bacal. He wanted to use it on his next album cover Hunky Dory and asked if I could colour it in a similar way to an old photo he had seen of my mother which used to hang on the wall at my house. I decided that tinting the photo with coloured inks using an airbrush was the answer, so I got that organised and David loved it. The same process was used on The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust album sleeve also using a brilliant photo by Brian Ward. whose studio was in Heddon Street where the photos were taken. I remembered David coming into the street in his Ziggy outfit and it started pouring with rain, so he ducked into the phone box. That photo went on the back cover. They are now iconic images but we had no idea at the time how important they were to become.

What is the conceptualisation behind creating album artwork? Do you sit with the music for a period of time and react to it instinctively? Do you work to a brief?
With album covers, I always have to get involved in listening to the music. In the same way, I would have to read the book before I could come up with an idea for a cover.

How do you reflect on your career and legacy? Are there any boxes left to tick for you? What else do you want to achieve?
When I was a working illustrator I sometimes had to work from a brief. I didn't like that much and decided that one day I would get away from commercial illustration and concentrate on painting for myself. That's what I have been doing for quite a few years now and hopefully I am getting better at it.