Central Station Design

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The "Madchester" logo Madchester Rave On EP.jpg
The "Madchester" logo

Central Station Design is a Mancunian design company founded by Pat Carroll, Karen Jackson, and Matt Carroll. It is usually associated with Factory Records and the Madchester scene of the early 1990s. The company created album cover artwork and posters for Factory artists including The Happy Mondays, Black Grape, and James. Their design for the Happy Mondays' Madchester Rave On E.P. in late 1989 became the iconic logo for the movement. Their work came to represent the movement so clearly that Factory Records owner and radio presenter Tony Wilson said, "The second half of the Factory story is best summed up by the painterly eccentricity of Central Station." [1] Speaking about Manchester in the 1980s and 1990s, Karen Jackson said, "At some point you need an incubator and a home for all this energy, which for us became Factory Records, Dry Bar and The Haçienda. Tony Wilson articulated the value of this energy, people like Kevin Cummins photographed and documented it, the bands soundtracked it, and we tried to paint it." [2]

Contents

History

In 1990, Central Station members Pat Carroll, Karen Jackson, and Matt Carroll appeared in the documentary TV series Celebration: Madchester — Sound of the North produced by Granada Television. [3]

In 2008, Central Station's cover design for the Happy Mondays' 1988 album Bummed was featured in Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller's installation piece Shaun Ryder's Family Tree, shown at the Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design. "With its close-cropped, acid-pink portrait of Shaun Ryder, designed by Central Station, Deller displays the album alongside a vinyl-text genealogy of Ryder’s family, designed by Scott King." [4]

Exhibitions

In 1990, Central Station held their first exhibition, entitled Hello Playmates, at Manchester City Art Gallery from 29 July to 9 September. [5] The exhibition featured "a collection of larger-than-life portraits of famous faces from British TV including Ken Dodd, Kenneth Williams, Bob Monkhouse and Barbara Windsor" [6] as well as Arthur Askey (whose catchphrase was "Hello playmates!"), Tommy Cooper, and Tony Hancock. [7] British music magazine NME reported on the opening night of the exhibition, describing it as "cheap pop graphics masquerading as fine art—or what?" and hailing Central Station as "awfully cool chaps" and "the design company responsible for the odd Happy Mondays record sleeve (the odder the better)." [8] The opening was attended by such musicians as Reni of The Stone Roses, Graham Massey of 808 State, Graham Lambert of Inspiral Carpets, Bernard Sumner of New Order, Northside, Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys, and Johnny Marr of The Smiths. Later that year, the exhibition was transferred to London's Decorative Arts Group, then located at 9 Church St, NW8, where it was shown from 20 November to 1 December 1990.

Central Station had their first large-scale retrospective exhibition, called Faç Off, at Richard Goodall Gallery in Manchester, England in July 2008. It was a 25-year retrospective and encompassed work from throughout their career, offering for the first time the chance to buy silkscreen and pigment prints in signed and numbered editions of their works including the Faç Off and Madchester designs. It featured artwork from their Factory Records days, various fine art paintings and portraits of TV and radio personalities like Tommy Cooper, Ken Dodd, and Kenneth Williams. [9]

In 2010, Central Station Design collaborated with ITV to celebrate the 50th anniversary of TV series Coronation Street, producing "a series of technicolour portraits of the soap's most famous stars." [10] The prints were displayed at the Richard Goodall Gallery in Manchester in an exhibition entitled Central Station Paint Coronation Street Part 1 which ran from Friday 3 December 2011 to 15 January 2011.

Title Sequences and Film Work

Operating under the names Central Station Art [11] and Central Station Technicolour, [12] the trio has designed numerous title sequences and graphics for feature films.

In 2002, they created the opening title sequence for the film 24 Hour Party People , a British comedy-drama directed by Michael Winterbottom about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. [13] Along with the main titles, Central Station created the film's poster and its interstitial graphics, imbuing each piece with their signature "manic energy and bold swaths of colour." [14] Central Station would go on to collaborate with Winterbottom on several more films, including The Killer Inside Me (2010) and The Look of Love (2013), for which they also designed title sequences. Talking with Art of the Title about their work on The Killer Inside Me, Karen Jackson said, "We tried to create our own contemporary take on ’50s title sequences." Sam Carroll describes their title sequence for The Look of Love as "an opening 3 minute film-within-a-film and various montages that would bring this eccentric, wild and colourful world to life." [15]

In 2006, they worked with Director Antonia Bird to create the opening title sequence for the two-hour Cracker TV special.

Filmography

Personal life

The Carrolls are cousins of Shaun and Paul Ryder of the Happy Mondays.

Related Research Articles

Factory Records

Factory Records was a Manchester-based British independent record label founded in 1978 by Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus. The label collapsed in 1992 and was bought by London Records.

Madchester was a musical and cultural scene that developed in the English city of Manchester in the late 1980s, closely associated with the indie-dance scene. Indie-dance saw artists merging indie music with elements of acid house, rave music, psychedelia and 1960s pop. The term Madchester was coined by Factory Records' Tony Wilson, with the label popularised by the British music press in the early 1990s, and its most famous groups include the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Inspiral Carpets, the Charlatans, James and 808 State. It is widely seen as being heavily influenced by drugs, especially MDMA. At that time, the Haçienda nightclub, co-owned by members of New Order, was a major catalyst for the distinctive musical ethos in the city that was called the Second Summer of Love.

The Haçienda

The Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, North West England, which became famous during the Madchester years of the 1980s and early 1990s.

Happy Mondays English alternative rock band

Happy Mondays are an English rock band formed in Salford in 1980. The band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder (vocals), his brother Paul Ryder (bass), Mark Day (guitar), Paul Davis (keyboard), and Gary Whelan (drums). Mark "Bez" Berry later joined the band onstage as a dancer/percussionist. Rowetta joined the band as a vocalist in 1990.

Tony Wilson

Anthony Howard Wilson was a British record label owner, radio and television presenter, nightclub manager, impresario and a journalist for Granada Television and the BBC.

<i>24 Hour Party People</i> 2002 film by Michael Winterbottom

24 Hour Party People is a 2002 British biographical comedy-drama film about Manchester's popular music community from 1976 to 1992, and specifically about Factory Records. It was written by Frank Cottrell Boyce and directed by Michael Winterbottom. The film was entered into the 2002 Cannes Film Festival to positive reviews.

Bez (dancer) British dancer, percussionist, author and media personality

Mark Berry, better known as Bez, is an English percussionist, dancer, and media personality. He is best known as a member of the rock bands Happy Mondays and Black Grape.

Shaun Ryder English singer and musician

Shaun William George Ryder is an English singer-songwriter, television personality and author. As the lead singer of the Happy Mondays he was a leading figure in the Madchester cultural scene in the late 1980s. In 1993 he formed Black Grape, with Happy Mondays dancer Bez.

<i>Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile (White Out)</i> 1987 studio album by Happy Mondays

Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile was the first album by British band Happy Mondays. It was released in 1987 on Factory Records and was produced by John Cale. The album features many characteristics that would be further developed on the band's second LP Bummed, such as Shaun Ryder's seemingly nonsensical lyrics combined with funk rhythms.

<i>Bummed</i> 1988 studio album by Happy Mondays

Bummed is the second album by English alternative rock band Happy Mondays, released in November 1988 on Factory Records. Produced by Martin Hannett, the album was recorded over six weeks in Driffield's Slaughterhouse recording studio. The sessions were noted for heavy drug use by the band and Hannett, particularly the rave drug ecstasy.

<i>Pills n Thrills and Bellyaches</i> 1990 studio album by Happy Mondays

Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches is the third studio album by English alternative rock band Happy Mondays, released on 5 November 1990 by Factory Records. The band chose British DJ Paul Oakenfold and his frequent collaborator Steve Osbourne to produce the album based on their work on various remixes for the band's previous singles. It was recorded at Eden Studios in London throughout 1989 and early 1990.

Manchester Central Convention Complex Exhibition and conference centre in Manchester, England

Manchester Central Convention Complex is an exhibition and conference centre converted from the former Manchester Central railway station in Manchester, England. The building has a distinctive arched roof with a 64-metre span - the second-largest railway station roof span in the United Kingdom, and was granted Grade II* listed building status in 1963.

<i>Yes Please!</i> 1992 studio album by Happy Mondays

...Yes Please! is the fourth studio album by British band Happy Mondays, released in 1992. It was their final album recorded on the Factory Records label; the album's high recording costs and commercial failure would end up driving the record label bankrupt just two months after its release.

Peter Saville (graphic designer) British graphic designer

Peter Andrew Saville is an English art director and graphic designer. He came to prominence for the many record sleeves he designed for Factory Records, which he co-founded in 1978 alongside Tony Wilson and Alan Erasmus.

Manchester's music scene produced successful bands in the 1960s including the Hollies, the Bee Gees and Herman's Hermits. After the punk rock era, Manchester produced popular bands including Joy Division, New Order, the Smiths and Simply Red. In the late 1980s, the ecstasy-fuelled dance club scene played a part in the rise of Madchester. In the 1990s, Manchester saw the rise of Britpop bands, notably Oasis.

Mike Pickering is a British musician and DJ, associated with the "Madchester" scene.

Culture of Manchester

The Culture of Manchester is notable artistically, architecturally, theatrically and musically. Despite being the 5th largest city in the United Kingdom by population and the second largest conurbation, Manchester has been ranked as the second city of the United Kingdom in numerous polls since the 2000s (decade), with an influential culture scene helping to elevate Manchester's importance in the national psyche. This has helped the city's population grow by 20% in the last decade, and made the universities the most popular choices for undergraduate admission.

Kevin Cummins is a British photographer known for photographs of rock bands and musicians including Mick Jagger, Ian Curtis, Joy Division, Morrissey, Courtney Love, Patti Smith, George Clinton, Thomas Dolby, and David Bowie.

Art of the Title

Art of the Title (AOTT) is an online publication dedicated to title sequence design, spanning the film, television, conference, and video game industries. The publication is both an educational and historical resource and a contemporary publication, focusing on the creative process behind the design of title sequences. It combines interviews with filmmakers and directors, designers, and craftspeople with in-depth analyses and behind-the-scenes materials.

<i>Angry Indian Goddesses</i> 2015 Indian Hindi-language drama film

Angry Indian Goddesses is a 2015 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Pan Nalin and produced by Gaurav Dhingra and Pan Nalin under the banner Jungle Book Entertainment. It stars Sandhya Mridul, Tannishtha Chatterjee, Sarah-Jane Dias, Anushka Manchanda, Amrit Maghera, Rajshri Deshpande, and Pavleen Gujral with Adil Hussain. It was screened in the Special Presentations section of the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival, where it finished second for the People's Choice Award.

References

  1. ↑ Flynn, Paul (23 October 2016). "The unsung Madchester artist". The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  2. ↑ Landekic, Lola (21 October 2014). "24 Hour Party People (2002) on Art of the Title". Art of the Title. Art of the Title. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  3. ↑ Landekic, Lola (21 October 2014). "24 Hour Party People (2002) on Art of the Title". Art of the Title. Art of the Title. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  4. ↑ "Museum of Art Rhode Island School of Design presents 'Jeremy Deller: Manchester Tracks'". Art Daily. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  5. ↑ "Hello Playmates". Factory Records. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  6. ↑ "Central to a city's legend". Manchester Evening News. 19 April 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  7. ↑ "Hello Playmates". Factory Records. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  8. ↑ "Ideas Above Their Station". NME. July 1990. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  9. ↑ Landekic, Lola (21 October 2014). "24 Hour Party People (2002) on Art of the Title". Art of the Title. Art of the Title. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  10. ↑ "Central Station Design Paint Coronation Street Part 1". Richard Goodall Gallery. Retrieved 16 October 2018.
  11. ↑ "Central Station Art on IMDB". IMDB. IMDB. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  12. ↑ "Central Station Technicolour on IMDB". IMDB. IMDB. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  13. ↑ Gavin Lucas. "Central Station: 24 Hour Arty People". creativereview.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 8 August 2014.
  14. ↑ Landekic, Lola (21 October 2014). "24 Hour Party People (2002) on Art of the Title". Art of the Title. Art of the Title. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  15. ↑ Landekic, Lola (21 October 2014). "24 Hour Party People (2002) on Art of the Title". Art of the Title. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  16. ↑ Landekic, Lola (21 October 2014). "24 Hour Party People (2002) on Art of the Title". Art of the Title. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
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