Jamie Macgregor Reid (16 January 1947 – 8 August 2023) was an English visual artist. His best known works include the record cover for the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

single " God Save the Queen", which was lauded as "the single most iconic image of the

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

era."

Early life and education

Jamie Macgregor Reid was born in London on 16 January 1947 and grew up in

Croydon Croydon is a large town in South London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a Districts of England, local government district of Greater London; it is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater Lond ...

. He was educated at John Ruskin Grammar School. In 1962, he began to study at Wimbledon Art School, then enrolled in Croydon Art School in 1964. With

Malcolm McLaren Malcolm Robert Andrew McLaren (22 January 1946 – 8 April 2010) was an English fashion designer and music manager. He was a promoter and a manager for punk rock and new wave bands such as New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Adam and the Ants, and ...

, he took part in a

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

at Croydon Art School.

Career

Reid's work often featured letters cut from newspaper headlines in the style of a

ransom note Ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extortion, extort money or property to secure their release. It also refers to the sum of money paid by the other party to secure a captive's freedom. When ransom means "payment", ...

, particularly in the UK; he created the ransom-note style while he was designing for '' Suburban Press'', a radical political magazine he founded in 1970. His best known works include the Sex Pistols album ''

Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols ''Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols'' (often shortened to ''Never Mind the Bollocks'') is the only studio album by English punk rock band the Sex Pistols, released on 28 October 1977 through Virgin Records in the UK and on 11 Novem ...

,'' and the singles "

Anarchy in the U.K. "Anarchy in the U.K." is a song by English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released as the band's debut single on 26 November 1976 and was later featured on their album ''Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols''. "Anarchy in th ...

", "God Save the Queen" (based on a

Cecil Beaton Sir Cecil Walter Hardy Beaton (14 January 1904 – 18 January 1980) was a British fashion, portrait and war photographer, diarist, painter, and interior designer, as well as costume designer and set designer for stage and screen. His accolades ...

photograph of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, with an added

safety pin A safety pin is a variation of the regular Pin (device), pin which includes a simple Spring (device), spring mechanism and a clasp. The clasp forms a closed loop to properly fasten the pin to whatever it is applied to and covers the end of the p ...

through her nose and

swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍, ) is a symbol used in various Eurasian religions and cultures, as well as a few Indigenous peoples of Africa, African and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, American cultures. In the Western world, it is widely rec ...

s in her eyes, described by Sean O'Hagan of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' as "the single most iconic image of the punk era"),Heard, Chris (2004)
Art and style of punk's shocking past
,

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, 7 October 2004. Retrieved 2 February 2010O'Hagan, Sean (2007)
Art anarchy in the UK
, ''

'', 3 June 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2010Donald, Ann (1998) "The angry revolt into style; Punk's explosion still reverberates in the world of graphic design. Ann Donald catches the echoes", '' Glasgow Herald'', 9 February 1998. " Pretty Vacant", and " Holidays in the Sun".Ross, Peter (2001)
Toxteth Shock
, '' Sunday Herald'', 4 March 2001. Retrieved 2 February 2010 The image from "God Save the Queen" was named "the greatest record cover of all time" by ''Q'' magazine in 2011 and later became part of the collection in the National Portrait Gallery. Reid produced a series of screen prints in 1997, the twentieth anniversary of the birth of punk rock. Ten years later, on the thirtieth anniversary of the release of "God Save the Queen", Reid produced a new print entitled "Never Trust a Punk", based on his original design which was exhibited at London Art Fair in the

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

area of the city. He also produced artwork for the

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

fusion band Afro Celt Sound System. Reid's exhibitions included ''Peace is Tough'' at The Arches in Glasgow, and at the Microzine Gallery in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, where he lived."Pistols cover man Reid continues to pierce consciousness", ''

Liverpool Daily Post The ''Liverpool Post'' was a newspaper published by Reach plc, Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The newspaper and its website ceased publication on 19 December 2013. Until 13 January 2012 it was a daily morning newspaper, wi ...

'', 19 December 2005 From 2004, he exhibited and published prints with the Aquarium Gallery, where a career retrospective, ''May Day, May Day'', was held in May 2007.Sex Pistols artist announces exhibition
, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'', 20 March 2007. Retrieved 2 February 2010 Starting in 2004, he exhibited and published work at Steve Lowe's new project space the L-13 Light Industrial Workshop in

Clerkenwell Clerkenwell ( ) is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the medieval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The St James's C ...

, London. In 2009, following allegations

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...

was to sue a student for copyright infringement, Reid called him a "hypocritical and greedy art bully" and, in collaboration with

Jimmy Cauty James Francis Cauty (born 19 December 1956), also known as Rockman Rock, is an English artist and musician, best known as one-half of the duo the KLF, co-founder of the Orb and as the man who K Foundation Burn a Million Quid, burnt £1 million ...

, produced his ''For the Love of Disruptive Strategies and Utopian Visions in Contemporary Art and Culture'' image as a

pastiche A pastiche () is a work of visual art, literature, theatre, music, or architecture that imitates the style or character of the work of one or more other artists. Unlike parody, pastiche pays homage to the work it imitates, rather than mocking ...

, replacing the God Save The Queen with God Save Damien Hirst. In October 2010, U.S. activist David Jacobs, founder of the early 1970s Situationist group Point-Blank!, challenged claims that Reid created the "Nowhere Buses" graphic which appeared on the sleeve to the Sex Pistols' 1977 single "Pretty Vacant" and has subsequently been used many times for limited edition prints. Jacobs said he created the design, which first appeared in a pamphlet as part of a protest about mass transit in San Francisco in 1973. Reid was also involved in

direct action Direct action is a term for economic and political behavior in which participants use agency—for example economic or physical power—to achieve their goals. The aim of direct action is to either obstruct a certain practice (such as a governm ...

campaigns on issues including the

poll tax A poll tax, also known as head tax or capitation, is a tax levied as a fixed sum on every liable individual (typically every adult), without reference to income or resources. ''Poll'' is an archaic term for "head" or "top of the head". The sen ...

, Clause 28, and the Criminal Justice Bill.

Personal life

His former partner was actress Margi Clarke, with whom he had a daughter. Reid's great-uncle was George Watson MacGregor Reid, a modern Druid who established and led the Church of the Universal Bond. Reid was an honorary bard in the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids and worked with Philip Carr-Gomm, the order's former Chosen Chief, to produce a book on the eight festivals of the Druidic calendar. Reid died on 8 August 2023, at the age of 76, at home in Liverpool.

References

External links

John Marchant Gallery

Official site
*
Interview with Reid at ''3:AM Magazine''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reid, Jamie 1947 births 2023 deaths Alumni of Croydon College Artists from London English album-cover and concert-poster artists English anarchists English contemporary artists English graphic designers People educated at John Ruskin Grammar School Punk people Sex Pistols

Early life and education

Career

Personal life

References

Further reading

External links