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You may ask...
Who is Dudley Edwards?
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Back in the "Swinging 60's", Dudley Edwards was one of the UK's leading "Pop" artists hanging out with The Beatles. He is probably most recognized for having painted Sir Paul McCartney's psychedelic piano.
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“I wrote ‘Getting Better’ on my 'magic' Binder, Edwards & Vaughan piano... One raised the lid and one heard this magic sound... ...of course the way in which it was painted added to the fun of it all.” |
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A brief background about Dudley...
After art school in both Halifax and Bradford, Edwards went to London where he first came to prominence as co-founder of a ground-breaking 'Pop' collective with fellow artists Douglas Binder (now Curator at Dean Clough in Halifax) and David Vaughan (father of actress Sadie Frost).
His work with 'Binder, Edwards & Vaughan' (BEV), would go on to define the era. 'BEV' painted murals in and on houses, designed furniture, and customized cars.
During the mid to late 60’s, Dudley's psychedelic murals appeared everywhere from the boutiques of Kings Road and Carnaby Street to Paul McCartney’s ‘magic' piano... ...and his collaborations with artists like The Beatles, The Faces and Pete Townshend are the stuff legends are made of. |
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A picture postcard of Carnaby Street showing "Lord John's" mural. |
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"Lord John's"...a Carnaby Street boutique. |
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The Dragon Cafe, a macrobiotic restaurant on King's Road...painted (post BEV) by Dudley and his partner, Mike McInnerney ...collectively known as "Om Tentacle" |
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A brush with the Fab Four...
"At one point, I was doing murals for the Beatles. I did a mural in Paul's house and lived with him for about six months. I later painted a mural for Ringo and lived with him for a bit as well. This was around the time of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Paul's girlfriend at the time, actress Jane Asher, was away doing some theatrical production in America."
"Consequently, Paul liked having me around as a sort of companion. "Every time I got started painting, Paul would say, "Come on, let's go off to the recording studio! ...Come on, lets go off to a nightclub!" or, "I've got a meeting with Epstein, will you come along?" "When Jane came back, Paul told me that Ringo had wanted a mural too. So, I went over to live with Ringo."
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Ringo's mural...
I read the news today, oh boy...
Dudley did not confine his painting to other people's walls:
"I was painting a car for a guy named Tara Browne (heir to the Guinness fortune)
who was the person mentioned (in A Day In The Life) on the Sgt. Pepper
album for blowing his mind out in a car. He was actually killed in a car crash."
On December 18th 1966, Browne was killed when his Lotus Elan collided with a van
in Earls Court. A month later, John Lennon read a report on the coroner's verdict
in London's "Daily Mail" newspaper and worked the story into "A Day In The Life".
Incidentally, Browne's father was a member of the House of Lords.
He blew his mind out in a car,
He didn't notice that the lights had changed,
A crowd of people stood and stared,
They'd seen his face before,
Nobody was really sure
If he was from the House of Lords.
Dudley and Doug Binder posing with the
Cobra painted for Tara Browne.
A front end view of Browne's
psychedelic sports car.
Dandy Fashions was also a
boutique in the Kings Road
which was owned jointly by
Tara Browne and John Crittle.
This was the shop where
The Beatles bought most
of their clothes.
Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie
got all their clothes there as well,
including Bowie's famous
Ziggy Stardust outfit.
front: Binder, Edwards & Vaughan
back: Browne (center) & friends
Browne's Dandy Fashions boutique...
Kings Road, Chelsea.
Dedicated Follower Of Fashion...
Another "BEV" creation on wheels
...this one a Buick.
It was featured on the cover of
The Kinks "Sunny Afternoon"
compilation album.
Also pictured in it
(on the left) are
The Move and Roy Wood.
Watch this short, promotional
video clip taken from
60's British television about
"Binder, Edwards & Vaughan"
and their customized car painting.
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"BEV" were also renowned for their seminal light shows, the likes of which had never been seen in the UK. On January 28th, 1967 they staged ‘The Million Volt Light & Sound Rave’ at London’s Roundhouse (a former London tram shed turned psychedelic central) which featured the only known public airing of the legendary 'Carnival Of Light' recording; an experimental sound collage created for the occasion by McCartney during the early stages of the Sgt. Pepper recording sessions.
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Dudley also contributed to Alan Aldridge's book, "The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics (Volume 2)" with his own illustrations for "One After 909" and "Come And Get It".
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One After 909 |
Alan Aldridge's The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics 2 |
Come And Get It |
Some very recognizable pop images of Dudley's...
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Dudley Edwards in 1967... |
Dudley Edwards today... |
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“Paul took us into his music room and showed us around. It has a piano painted by Dudley. That piano is the freakiest thing you’ve ever seen. It’s lavender, gold, blue, orange...everything you could imagine. ...it’s got millions of colours”. - Micky Dolenz of The Monkees
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A beautiful shot of McCartney's piano...
This is a limited edition poster and is NOW available for purchase, signed by Dudley.
$50.00 each plus $5.95 shipping & handling
Please contact Melanie at:
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