Nick Blinko

Last updated

Nick Blinko
Birth nameNicholas John Blinko
Born (1961-09-04) 4 September 1961 (age 61)
OriginEngland
Genres
Occupation(s)Musician, author, artist
Instrument(s)Vocal, guitar
Years active1977–present

Nicholas John Blinko (born 4 September 1961) is a British musician and artist, best known as the lead singer, lyricist, and guitar player for the anarcho-punk band Rudimentary Peni. [1] He is also known for being an "outsider" artist, whose pen-and-ink drawings and paintings have been shown in galleries worldwide. [2] Blinko also creates all the drawings used by the band for its artwork. [3] [4]

Contents

Career

Music

Nicholas John George Blinko's first recorded musical project was the Magits, who formed in 1977 and were primarily electronic. This band's only record, the 1979 7-inch EP Fully Coherent, was the first release on Blinko's Outer Himalayan Records label, and received occasional airplay by John Peel on Radio 1. [5]

His most well-known and longest running band, Rudimentary Peni, formed in 1980 and would go on to release three albums and six EPs spanning 1981–2009. A full-length collection of the first two EPs was also released in 1987. [6] [7]

Rudimentary Peni's concept album Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric was allegedly written while Blinko was being detained in a psychiatric hospital under Section 3 of the UK Mental Health Act 1983. The subject matter of the album was purported to be based on the delusions Blinko was experiencing at this time. [8]

Writing

Blinko has written and illustrated three books. The first, The Primal Screamer, was a fictionalized semi-autobiographical novel with horror elements. It was published in 1995 by Spare Change Books and received a second printing in 1997 and a third in 2002. The book is written as a series of journal entries made by the therapist of "Nathaniel Snoxell" (who starts a band which is never named but is similar to Rudimentary Peni in many ways). [9] This book was reprinted in 2011 by PM Press, and collected artwork used for several previous editions under one cover for the first time. [10] The 2011 edition was distributed by the Alternative Tentacles label. [11]

Blinko's second book, Haunted Head, was published in 2009 by David Tibet via Coptic Cat, in a limited edition of approximately 350 copies. An exclusive micro-edition of 60 copies was also published, featuring an original piece of art, while all copies of the book contained a postcard with a handwritten excerpt from the book. The edition size reflected the number of Blinko's handwritten postcards, from which the text of the book was transcribed, and which were included in the book. The book also included a one-track CD of a song by Rudimentary Peni called "Wilfred Owen The Chances" [12] [13]

His third book was titled Visions of Pope Adrian 37th. It was published in 2011, again by Coptic Cat, in two extremely limited editions which both included a small piece of original art by Blinko, drawn directly onto a page of the book. The "standard edition" was limited to 370 copies, while the "special edition" was limited to 37. The book included 87 drawings, an introduction by outsider art specialist Colin Rhodes and a brief introduction by Blinko. The artwork in this book was reproduced in its original A5 size. [14] [15]

Blinko also contributed to a collection of punk fiction short stories, Gobbing, Pogoing and Gratuitous Bad Language!: An Anthology of Punk Short Stories by Stewart Home (1996-04-06), published in 1996 by Spare Change Books. His story, "Punk Alice" (a reference to Rudimentary Peni's song "Alice Crucifies the Paedophiles"), is written in a sketchbook style of doodles and scribbled phrases referencing the death of punk, chess, Catholicism, depression, goth, Rudimentary Peni lyrics and drug chemicals. [16]

Art

Blinko has contributed album artwork to several musical projects aside from his own. Among these are Part 1's 1985 release Pictures of Pain, released on Pushead's label Pusmort; [17] Coil's 1997 release, Unnatural History III , released on Threshold House; [16] Iron Lung's 2007 Prank Records release Sexless//No Sex; [18] Omaniescum Aorisum's 2013 Solitude Records release Mademoiselle Hélène; [19] and Fire in the Head's 2010 release Confessions of a Narcissist. [20] He also contributed musically to two releases by Fire in the Head.

Blinko's artwork has been shown internationally and featured in books and magazines related to the field of outsider art. An exhibition at the National Schizophrenia Fellowship in 1994 first brought his art to public attention; he is now represented in the Collection de l'art brut in Lausanne. [21] He had a show at Kinz + Tillou Gallery in New York City in 2006. [22] Some of Blinko's artwork was featured at the Portland, Oregon art exhibit "Entartete Kunts" in June 2009. [23] In 2011, he had a solo exhibit titled "Visions of Pope Adrian 37th" at Pallant House Gallery in the U.K. [24]

Colin Rhodes' Outsider Art: Spontaneous Alternatives, published by Thames & Hudson in 2000, [25] featured Blinko's art and a description of his working process. [26] [21]

Personal life

Blinko currently resides in Abbots Langley, Hertfordshire. [27] He has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder. [28] Blinko's younger brother is Timothy Blinko, composer and Professor of Music at the University of Hertfordshire. [29]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Suicide (band)</span> American musical duo

Suicide was an American musical duo composed of vocalist Alan Vega and instrumentalist Martin Rev, intermittently active between 1970 and 2016. The group's pioneering music utilized minimalist electronic instrumentation, including synthesizers and primitive drum machines, and their early performances were confrontational and often ended in violence. They were among the first acts to use the phrase "punk music" in an advertisement for a concert in 1970—during their very brief stint as a three-piece including Paul Liebegott.

Rudimentary Peni are a British anarcho-punk band formed in 1980, emerging from the London anarcho-punk scene. Lead singer/guitarist Nick Blinko is notorious for his witty, macabre lyrics and dark pen-and-ink artwork, prominently featured on all of Rudimentary Peni's albums. Bassist Grant Matthews has also written several songs for the band, though his lyrics primarily focus on sociopolitical themes. Very few photos exist of the band, as their albums feature Blinko's drawings instead, but Pushead published a few in an early edition of his magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ralph Steadman</span> British cartoonist

Ralph Idris Steadman is a British illustrator best known for his collaboration and friendship with the American writer Hunter S. Thompson. Steadman is renowned for his political and social caricatures, cartoons and picture books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alan Vega</span> American singer (1938–2016)

Boruch Alan Bermowitz, known professionally as Alan Vega, was an American vocalist and visual artist, primarily known for his work with the electronic protopunk duo Suicide.

<i>From Enslavement to Obliteration</i> Album by Napalm Death

From Enslavement to Obliteration is the second studio album by English grindcore band Napalm Death, released in 1988. It is the final studio album with vocalist Lee Dorrian and guitarist Bill Steer, and the first to feature bassist Shane Embury, the band's longest-tenured member. A remastered version was released on 2 April 2012. Loudwire put it on the list of the 10 best metal albums of 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lowbrow (art movement)</span> Underground visual art movement

Lowbrow, or lowbrow art, is an underground visual art movement that arose in the Los Angeles, California area in the late 1960s. It is a populist art movement with its cultural roots in underground comix, punk music, tiki culture, graffiti, and hot-rod cultures of the street. It is also often known by the name pop surrealism. Lowbrow art often has a sense of humor – sometimes the humor is gleeful, impish, or a sarcastic comment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abbots Langley</span> Human settlement in England

Abbots Langley is a large village and civil parish in the English county of Hertfordshire. It is an old settlement and is mentioned in the Domesday Book. Economically the village is closely linked to Watford and was formerly part of the Watford Rural District. Since 1974 it has been included in the Three Rivers district.

Bruce Clifford Gilbert is an English musician. One of the founding members of the influential and experimental art punk band Wire, he branched out into electronic music, performance art, music production, and DJing during the band's extended periods of inactivity. He left Wire in 2004, and has since been focusing on solo work and collaborations with visual artists and fellow experimental musicians.

Mark Stewart is an English singer and founding member of The Pop Group. A pioneer of post-punk and industrial hip-hop, he has recorded for On-U Sound Records and Mute Records.

<i>Jeopardy</i> (album) 1980 studio album by The Sound

Jeopardy is the debut studio album by English post-punk band the Sound. It was released on November 1, 1980 by the record label Korova.

<i>Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric</i> 1995 studio album by Rudimentary Peni

Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric is a concept album by the band Rudimentary Peni. It was recorded in 1992 and released in 1995. The majority of the album was written while lead singer/guitarist Nick Blinko was being detained in a psychiatric hospital under Section 3 of the 1983 Mental Health Act. The subject matter of the album relates to the delusions Blinko was experiencing at the time, particularly the idea that he was "Pope Adrian 37th" — a reference to Pope Adrian IV.

Gayleen Aiken was an American artist who lived in Barre, Vermont. She achieved critical acclaim during her lifetime for her naive paintings and her work has been included in exhibitions of visionary and folk art since the 1980s. She is considered an Outsider artist.

The E.P.s of R.P. is a compilation of the anarcho-punk band Rudimentary Peni, released on LP in 1987 on Corpus Christi Records. It contains both of the band's first two 7" EPs, Rudimentary Peni and Farce. In 1994, it was reissued on CD on the band's own Outer Himalayan Records.

<i>Death Church</i> 1983 studio album by Rudimentary Peni

Death Church is the first studio album by the anarcho-punk band Rudimentary Peni. It was released in 1983 on Corpus Christi Records. The recording and mixing took place at Southern Studios in April 1983 and was engineered by John Loder. "Rotten to the Core" is a direct verbal attack against John Lydon and Joe Strummer, accusing them of being hypocrites.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Morris (photographer)</span> British photographer

Dennis Morris is a British photographer, best known for his images of Bob Marley and the Sex Pistols.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toby Mott</span>

Toby Victor Mott is a British artist, designer, and sometime Punk historian known for his work with the Grey Organisation, an artists' collective that was active in the 1980s, and for his fashion brand Toby Pimlico. More recently he has become known for his Mott Collection, an archive of UK punk rock and political ephemera that includes over 1,000 posters, flyers, and fanzines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey Organisation</span>

The Grey Organisation (GO) was an artist collective active from 1983 to 1991. GO worked in several media including film and video and participated in over 20 international exhibitions. In January 1985 the group committed an act of 'art terrorism' by smuggling one of its paintings into the International Contemporary Arts Fair in London. The following year it mounted an attack on Cork Street, then the centre of the London art world, splashing grey paint on the windows of a number of galleries. After this, members of the group were arrested and for a time banned from central London. This resulted in them relocating to New York City where they exhibited at The Civilian Warfare Gallery in the East Village. The members of the group were Toby Mott, Daniel Saccoccio, Tim Burke and Paul Spencer. Their activities and attitude towards the traditional British art establishment greatly influenced The Young British Artists from 1988 onwards.

<i>Cacophony</i> (album) 1988 studio album by Rudimentary Peni

Cacophony is the second studio album by English anarcho-punk band Rudimentary Peni. It was released 17 November 1988 on their own label, Outer Himalayan Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Helland</span> Musical artist

Scott Helland is an American alternative rock musician, acoustic guitarist, bassist and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Deep Wound, Outpatients, and Frenchy and the Punk. He also performs instrumental music as Guitarmy of One. Helland was born in Centralia, Illinois and raised in Westfield, Massachusetts.

<i>Hepatitis Bathtub</i> 2016 EP by NOFX

Hepatitis Bathtub is an EP by NOFX released on December 23, 2016 through Fat Wreck Chords. The EP was released as a four-song 7". The EP was recorded in a basement in Omaha, Nebraska in 1987 by Dereck Higgins and consists of never re-recorded songs of NOFX. It was also available as a deluxe package in limited edition color vinyl with a hardcover copy of NOFX's book The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories and a NOFX towel. The Hepatitis Bathtub and Other Stories was eventually released in April 2016.

References

  1. ↑ Gardner, Noel (20 April 2021). "The Strange World Of... Rudimentary Peni". The Quietus . London: Black Sky Thinking Ltd.
  2. ↑ "Nick Blinko profile at Henry Boxer Gallery". outsiderart.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 March 2005. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  3. ↑ "Discogs.com Collection of albums & EPs featuring artwork by Nick Blinko". discogs.com. Archived from the original on 2 August 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  4. ↑ "Kinz and Tillou Fine Art 2006 Gallery profile". ktfineart.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  5. ↑ "The Magits Fully Coherent 7″ review". goodbadmusic.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  6. ↑ "Discogs.com listing for Rudimentary Peni". discogs.com. Archived from the original on 7 January 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  7. ↑ ""Somewhere Out There", 2008 Article/interview in Plan B Magazine by Noel Gardener". pissinapod.com. Plan B Magazine. Archived from the original on 21 December 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  8. ↑ "Southern Records listing for Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric". Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  9. ↑ Blinko, Nick (12 December 2011). The Primal Screamer. ISBN   9781604863314.
  10. ↑ "Primal Screamer on Independent Publishers Group". ipgbook.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  11. ↑ "Primal Screamer listing on Alternative Tentacles". alternativetentacles.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  12. ↑ "The Haunted Head by Nick Blinko archived on copticcat.com". copticcat.com. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  13. ↑ "brainwashed.com listing - Haunted Head". brainwashed.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  14. ↑ "Nick-Blinko-Visions-of-Pope-Adrian-37th-now-available-for-order". copticcat.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  15. ↑ "Visions of Pope Adrian". spectacularoptical.ca. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  16. 1 2 "Blinko profile at British Outsider Art.net". britishoutsiderart.com. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  17. ↑ "Part 1 Pictures of Pain at Discogs.com". discogs.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  18. ↑ "Iron Lung Sexless-No Sex at Discogs.com". discogs.com. Archived from the original on 10 February 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  19. ↑ "Omaniescum Aorisum Mademoiselle Hélène" at Discogs.com". discogs.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 12 October 2014.
  20. ↑ "specialinterests.net listing of F/I/T/H "Confessions of a Narcissist"". special-interests.net. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  21. 1 2 "The Devil is in the Detail, article by Tony Thorne in Raw Vision Magazine, issue 17 Winter 1996/97". Archived from the original on 12 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  22. ↑ "Nick Blinko Viewing Gallery May 11 - July 8, 2006". Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  23. ↑ "ENTARTETE KUNTS returns to Portland in June 2009!". 4 April 2009. Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  24. ↑ "Colin reviews Nick Blinko's 'Visions of Pope Adrian 37th' on show at Pallant House Gallery, Chichester until 14 August" . Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  25. ↑ "Thames & Hudson Catalogue listing". Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  26. ↑ "Nick Blinko profile at Henry Boxer Gallery". Archived from the original on 6 March 2005. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  27. ↑ "Nick Blinko profile at discover outsider art.com". Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
  28. ↑ Daniel Wojcik (2016). Outsider Art: Visionary Worlds and Trauma. University Press of Mississippi. p. 124. ISBN   978-1-4968-0807-3. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  29. ↑ "Professor Timothy Blinko - Research Database - University of Hertfordshire". Researchprofiles.herts.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 27 April 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.