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.