Periodically, we receive
email from people wanting to
know who drew the Stray Cats' "Pin-Up" logo that was
widely used in the early 1980s on a variety of UK and
European record releases as well as merchandise and
backstage pass laminates. Well, much like we did when
we clued you in on the "Gonna Ball" diner mystery, we're
going to do the same with the curvy blonde you all loved
so well. The interesting thing is that what we uncovered
was a complete surprise to even Brian.
Although it was widely
believed (even by the Cats it seems)
that Arista Records in England commissioned an artist to
draw the "Pin-Up" logo, it was in fact "borrowed" from
an
illustration dating back to 1955. The first appearance of the girl
used by Arista was in an English "Men's Magazine" called,
"Blighty". A rather timid affair by today's standards, the
magazine
was available every Monday for 6 pence and teamed up
pin-up style cartoons, with black and white photos of girls
in bathing suits and semi-revealing evening-wear.
The issue with our girl
(as seen above) featured a beautiful
cover shot of Elizabeth Taylor. Clocking in at 98 pages, the
magazine also contained articles and short stories, one in
particular that caught our eye was called, "An Edwardian
Courtship". Don't let the title fool you, that odd little tale
had nothing whatever to do with Teddy Boy suits.
In any case, what you
see below is our "Pin-Up" girl
in her first incarnation. We'd also like to do something
that we suspect has never been done, give the illustrator
a credit. The gent's name was Robert Patterson.
A selected display of the "Pin-Up"
appearances on Stray Cats vinyl...
|
From
1981, Patterson's pin-up as she
appeared on the a-side of the UK "Gonna Ball" LP label. |
1981,
the a-side label of the self-
titled debut LP (UK pressing). |
|
The
a-side label of the UK
"Rock This Town"/"Can't Hurry Love" 7 inch vinyl 45. (Paper label) |
The
b-side label of the UK
"Rock This Town"/"Can't Hurry Love" 7 inch vinyl 45. |
|
From
1981, the Italian pressing of the
"Runaway Boys"/"My One Desire" 7 inch vinyl 45. (Paper label) |
From
1981, the English pressing of the
"You Don't Believ Me"/"Cross That Bridge" 7 inch vinyl 45. (Paper label) |