Today we highlight the plight of rock stars with astigmatism. Entire bands from the ’80s are now completely incapable of looking into a camera – 30-odd years of being moody and enigmatic mean that even simple tasks like having their photo taken have to be done using only peripheral vision. Below are some examples from one particularly badly affected band. Please give generously.
However, things are at least better than they were…
try again…
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d125/botlblonds/Unknown-1.jpeg
http://www.nacionrock.com/wp-content/uploads/tumblr_mne2m5Mmq01qzezj5o1_1280.jpg
Difficult shapes and passive rhythms (some people think it’s fun to not look at the camera properly).
Was there ever a band that looked more ‘wet’ than those guys?
Granted – they were trapped within many wet paper bags back in the 80s. But I think they were trumped by the Lotus Eaters :
It was easy when they started out
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d125/botlblonds/u2_01.jpg
But as their enigmatism mounted, things got worse
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d125/botlblonds/Unknown-2.jpeg
Here, Adam think’s he’s spotted the camera:
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d125/botlblonds/u241.jpg
These days they have developed subtle coping strategies to help each other find the photographer
http://i34.photobucket.com/albums/d125/botlblonds/703315-5a99ae1a-7105-11e4-88b3-d01681304e8c.jpg
Over on twitter, @minibreakfast posted this corker, from a recent car boot. Hope you don’t mind me posting this mini, but it amuses and appals me in equal amounts! What possibly could be so interesting to their right?
http://i1060.photobucket.com/albums/t449/GCU_Grey_Area/CC-lWtYWEAAcAK4_zps1oxf2fux.jpg
It turned out to be this. Those cheeky little Partridge lads.
http://i1350.photobucket.com/albums/p773/minibreakfast/surprise20party202_zps1spd895h.jpg
Swinging? Gate crashers? Surprise party?
Must we fling this filth at our pop grandads??
Me? The Thirteenth Earl of Wymburne? With a dray full of beer, a bevy of lovelies and two horses? What were they thinking of? Oh well . . .
Oh yes it’s easy to scoff, but it’s an established fact that gorillas will not buy an album featuring artists staring straight into the camera. That’s why Word magazine switched to those illustrated covers, to tap the lucrative gorilla market..
What’s really alarming is how in that first picture Charlie Birchill seems to have been replaced by Bob Servant.