Capturing the spirit of our city's musical soul
The man whose artwork was as much a part of the Sheffield music scene as the bands he featured has brought out a book of his work. David Todd talks to Martin F Bedford.
MARTIN BEDFORD doesn't play an instrument and happily admits he can't sing a note. Yet his place in Sheffield music folklore is secure.
His legendary posters from the birth of the Leadmill in 1980 captured the spirit of the city's musical soul. Now the pick of them are about to be published in a book, Up Against The Wall*.
Martin F Bedford ("My middle name is Frederick and I got so much stick about it at school I made sure I kept it in there'') came to Sheffield as a 20-year-old and fell in love with the place. Originally from Kent, having studied at Canterbury Art College, he had been living in a squat in London but, with his long hair at the time, got fed up with being chased by skinheads or hassled by the police.
He started a fine art degree at Psalter Lane, switched to a photography course but continued with his art and illustrations and eventually left with the fine art qualification.
The young Bedford then worked for six months as a graphic designer at Sheffield University but loved music ("blues and early psychedelic stuff'') and always wanted to work in that field.
"I couldn't play an instrument or sing a note but I knew I could do posters and album covers,'' he said.
He joined The Damned and The Adverts on tour in 1977, doing backstage photographs, and went on to work with many other bands.
Then in 1980 he was part of the co-operative, along with Chris Andrews, John Redfearn and others, who launched the Leadmill.
The first gig was on May 23 1980, with Sheffield band Artery among the line-up.
He said: "It was full of hippies, punks and reprobates. It was a special time to be involved in the Sheffield music scene.''
The founders were influenced by venues like the Roundhouse in London, the Fillmore in San Fransisco and Amsterdam's Melkveg. They were more than simply music venues, staging theatre and markets, and the Leadmill followed the same concept.
He said: "I was on board mainly to do the artwork, all the posters and flyers. I'd be given a name and date for the gig and then they left me to it. Sometimes I'd have to have a poster out on the streets that afternoon, other times I'd have a bit longer to think about it.
"I thought it was a very important part of what the Leadmill was all about. It showed that we had enough respect for the bands to put that amount of time and effort into it. Along with all the other things that were going on, I think it was one of the reasons why we attracted so many top bands.
"I've still got all the original artwork and I suppose I did more than 2,000 posters between 1980 and 1992.''
Around 250 of them are featured in the book, which starts with a glowing tribute from Richard Hawley, for whom Martin did the photoshoot and artwork for his first band, Treebound Story.
Hawley said: "Martin is such a great bloke and an immense talent. I'm glad he is at last getting the recognition he richly deserves.
"Those times were great. When you got booked at the Leadmill you went to talk to him about your poster, which was so fantastic as a young lad.
"I wish they did the same thing nowadays. Marketing people can take hours and still not manage what Martin could think up in two seconds.''
So does Bedford have any personal favourites? "There's a few, to be honest. One for Omega Tribe, one for The Mysterons and one for They Must Be Russians spring to mind.''
He produced his final Leadmill poster in 1992, as the demand for his silkscreen work dried up, although Martin maintained a studio there until 1996.
"Everybody wanted the artwork done digitally at that time, not just in Sheffield but everywhere. I couldn't have afforded a computer even if I'd wanted one but managed to make a living as a freelance illustrator.
"The posters and the book form part of my back catalogue and we'll be doing prints, postcards, T-shirts and the rest.''
Bedford, 53, is about to move into a new studio in John Street and says: "I want to use the book to celebrate a special time in Sheffield music history but also as a springboard for the next part of my life.
"Some people have always stuck by me through some lean times. They know who they are without me naming them and they know how much it means to me.
"Now more work is coming in, mainly music-related for posters and album covers.
"I don't think it's a question of coming back into fashion – I'm still a bit of an old hippy!''
Bedford spent three weeks in US last year and linked up with some of the people who had the greatest influence on him. He worked with Chuck Sperry and Ron Donovan, producing posters for the Warfield Theatre, following up on a promise to look them up if he ever made it to San Fransisco after meeting them when they exhibited at Sheffield's Archipelago gallery.
He also met Wes Wilson, Lee Conklin (who created the famous Lion line drawing for Santana's debut album cover) and Mouse (responsible for much of the Grateful Dead's early artwork). Those links were cemented when he recently visited the South By South West Festival in Austin, Texas, to promote his book.
Back in his adopted home city, Bedford has designed the poster for The Beat Is The Law, Eve Wood's follow-up film to the critically-acclaimed Made in Sheffield, which is out towards the end of the year.
The Beat Is The Law looks at music in the city from the early Eighties through to 1996 and features, among others, Pulp, Clock DVA, Chakk, Longpigs, Moloko and Richard Hawley. Director Eve Wood said: "The Leadmill was obviously a big part of music in Sheffield at that time and we were blown away by Martin's work.
"I was very excited when Martin agreed to revisit that period and style to produce artwork that summed up for him what the Eighties were all about. The result is very powerful and really does sum up an era beautifully.''
A preview of Part One of the film will be screened at the Sensoria festival on April 30 as a preview to the main launch later in the year.
Bedford himself features in the film and his artwork provides a visual backdrop. He will be at the preview to sign copies of his book, as well as limited edition film poster prints.
He said: "Sheffield is a fantastic city. I've travelled a fair bit but I've never really wanted to live anywhere else. I've been here more than 30 years, so I should be eligible for a green card soon!
"I love the people. They are so laid back and tolerant compared with some other places. Even when I first arrived here with my long hair, no-one gave me grief like they had in London.
"On my first day here I was stood at a bus stop at Banner Cross and the wind was whipping my hair all over. I apologised to the old bloke behind me in the queue and he said: 'I've lived through two world wars so the length of your hair is not going to bother me'. Then he took me on my first Sheffield pub crawl. I thought: 'I'm going to like it here'.
"You'll never be disappointed in Sheffield. This is an incredibly creative city – even if it's not always the best at telling the rest of the world about it.
"It's especially creative in the face of adversity, which is why I feel very optimistic about the future.''
lUp Against The Wall by Martin F. Bedford, is published by ALD Design and Print, Sharrow Vale Road, Sheffield, 14.99.
lA limited edition silkscreen version of the poster for The Beat Is The Law is being sold to support the film. Signed and numbered by Martin Bedford, just 100 are available, priced 95 unframed. See www.thebeatisthelaw.com
It is also available from Rare and Racy, Devonshire Street, or the Archipelago Gallery, Sidney Street.
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Wednesday 23 May 2012
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