Adam & the Ants’ Kings of the Wild Frontier album sparked more than just a fleeting interest in music, for me, it was the beginning of a lifelong and continued passion.

I’ve (unintentionally) spent most of my adult life working in post-production and tape archives, plus an unhealthy love of spending time, and money, in record shops, watching (following around in the case of some) bands, both home and abroad.

Best described as varied, my musical taste as a child, veered from Glenn Miller to David Soul to Leo Sayer to classical music. I was in senior school between 77 and 83, arguably, the most creative period in popular music. 

The music that the cool kids were listening to wasn’t passing me by either. The late 70’s saw me loving Blondie, The Stranglers, Boomtown Rats and Tubeway Army. A special mention to Jean-Michel Jarre, whose Equinoxe album blew my young mind, it still does today.

It was Adam Ants’ style and his “Antmusic” that captured my 13-year-old attention. Flaky teenage loyalty soon gave away to an enthusiasm for synth-driven sounds, after hearing Japan’s European Son. OMD, The Human League, Depeche Mode, Fad Gadget, Kraftwerk and others, followed, and electronica became my musical world.

Then the musical education really started.

My working life has included PolyGram, Decca, The Audio Archiving Company and UMG. I’ve listened to music for a living, ranging from Vera Lynn and Edmundo Ros to Hawkwind and Faust, via Pavarotti and Kiri Te Kanawa. Of more importance, I've known and worked with incredibly knowledgeable people, who have shaped a lot of my listening.

My habits haven’t really changed. I still attempt trips to record shops on release day, Sister Ray being a particular favourite. Whilst the initial thrill has lessened with age, the core excitement remains. Live music is still vital, discovering new artists important, especially now that I produce Transmissions, a regular show on Mixcloud.

Post-lockdown, I experimented with an unused microKorg, that my mum had got me for Christmas 2012. My small home studio expanded, and now, humorously dubbed “twiddling knobs” by my wife, this “twiddling” has led me to release (so far) 3 albums, under the name Experiments & Observations on Electricity.

And then there’s Cult Image…

In 2020 I resurrected an early 21st century idea, of producing merchandise featuring old record label and studio logos. I named it Eclectic Friend and based it around the synth music I loved. However, whilst working for Audio Archiving (1998-2012) my love of Progressive, Psychedelic and most of all Krautrock grew, and my idea evolved, and that's how it stayed, as an idea consigned to memory.

It's been a long gestation period for Cult Image; I’ve certainly hit more than a few potholes since 2020; I won’t bore you with the details. For Cult Image to exist, I’ve had to dig deep, research artists, owners and labels, contact people, re-interpret designs, create my own mainly music influenced artwork. I’ve had to teach myself how to use Affinity software, build websites, and I’ve even created 3 music videos for my music project. It has been quite the journey, but this is just the start, and now the time is here for Cult Image to become real.

Why the name?

Cult, because most of my idea derives from music, Krautrock in particular. Though now accepted as a hugely influential genre, it was once niche, music with a “cult” following. Growing up listening to the likes of OMD and Japan, these artists and others all at some point cited a Can or a Kraftwerk as an influence. I equally love Ultravox marks 1 and 2, and both versions worked with pillars of the Krautrock scene, in Conny Plank and Brian Eno. The reason for the exclamation mark in my logo, my nod to Neu!

Image, because record labels like Sky, Brain and Ohr, and recording studios like Trident, or Martin Rushent’s Genetic had fabulous logo designs, and these need to be remembered and celebrated.

Manifesto

No, not the Roxy Music album!!!

As mentioned, I’ve seen a few gigs and certainly purchased a few t-shirts.

The first thing on the drawing board was quality. People work hard, and money is tighter than ever, so you want a product that will last. Fruit of the Loom, Gildan, Stanley/Stella have all passed through my hands as samples (and gig merch), but one brand have always stood out, Earth Positive and their EP-01 tees. They wash up well and hold their shape, they’re comfortable, and they also tick the eco-friendly box.

So, who to produce them? I’ve tried a few companies, but one have stood out. Recommended by Mark Powell, of Esoteric Recordings, TOT Shirts have been perfect in everything they have done. They’re UK based and local to where I live.

I aim to add more designs to my shop but let’s walk before we can run. I’m just selling tees for now, however, if it’s more than a t-shirt that you need, a hoodie, a beanie or a tote-bag, or perhaps you’d like a different colour in a t-shirt? If so, then please drop me a line on the contact page and we can discuss your requirements. 

And finally, I am eager to work with record shops and labels and anyone else for that matter. If you’d like to produce some merchandise, but don’t have the time or inclination to investigate this, then maybe I can help? I’d like to test myself with some designing, although I hasten to add, I’m not a designer, I’m just an eager hobbyist. If you’d like to stock any of my designs, then please contact me, and we can talk some more.

Regardless, I would love to hear from you, so please do drop me a line.

Craig @ Cult Image