The Metal Files

‘The ‘New Day’ EP was done by a guy called Dave Rowe and I felt it was too hippy-trippy so I said to Philip, ‘I know an artist called Jim FitzPatrick in Ireland’ and that is how you got involved’.

Both myself and artist Tim Booth were asked to do roughs for the forthcoming album and both Philip and Frank reckoned my more elaborate rough was nearer to what they wanted plus the fact that Tim was very busy with his own band, ‘Doctor Strangely Strange’.

If I remember correctly the album art for Tim’s band was my friend Roger Dean’s first album cover –Roger went on to design all ‘Yes’ albums. I used to buy those albums just for the beautiful covers!)

Frank’s understanding was that Philip knew Tim, probably didn’t know me but he knew my work, Tim was a friend and had done a Thin Lizzy logo for Philip while I was a friend of Frank from a few years before when we played football for a team called ‘Energy Reserves’, captained by Peter Fallon, now a highly regarded poet in Ireland.

Peter Fallon was a friend who I collaborated with as an artist via Ireland’s only beat group, Tara Telephone; Peter’s brother B.P.Fallon was publicist for John Lennon and later Marc Bolan and T-Rex. We had a magazine/booklet published by Tara Telephone called ‘Capella’ and my work was on every cover, pretty wild stuff too, while luminaries like Lennon, Bolan, David Bowie, Allan Ginzberg and Adrian Henri all contributed their talents and verses for our modest little publication.

After Frank had discussed this with Philip he got on the phone to me and briefed me that the title would be ‘Vagabonds of the Western World’,
I loved the title with it’s sideways nod to Irish writer John Millington Synge, author of The Playboy of the Western World’ which caused a riot in the Abbey Theatre in Dublin , calmed only by poet W.B.Yeats himself when he o roared down from the stage:

‘Dubliners, you have disgraced yourselves again!’

Philip always had this literary instinct and it flourished in this early writing too.

Frank told me over the phone the idea in their heads was that Lizzy were supposed to be some kind of band of rock ‘n roll gypsies, roaming vagabonds and general mischief makers. He gave the same brief to both myself and Tim and myself.

‘You came back, said Frank, with the most complete version (that was the gatefold idea in full colour) and Tim sent one; I forget what Tim’s idea was but I know it didn’t strike me immediately and I was getting on to Tim and saying ‘Can you do this, can you do that’ and Tim was saying; ‘How many of these do you want me to do?’ and there was the question of payment for so many roughs and add the time element with Tim being so busy always -all that would be a red rag to a bull to Philip, who just wanted it done.

I remember ringing you again and telling you to add in the little totems Philip wanted, for himself, Eric and Brian (the little spider, frog and mouse) and you sent over the best design; I remember it was on tracing paper with little notes added all over it so when myself and Philip were on the plane to Dublin, Philip said to me ‘Well, what are we doing about the sleeve?’ I said, ‘well, we will meet up with Jim FitzPatrick and sort out the cover, Jim, I think has come up with the best idea, Tim is very busy at the moment, so we will meet up with Jim’.

Philip replied ‘Ok, give him a shout and let’s meet up’, and that’s how it came about.

‘Wow!’ I said to Frank, ‘I didn’t know that’.

I had presumed it was via our mutual friend Peter Fallon and the a work I had done for Capella because when Philip, Frank and myself met for the very first time in Nearys Pub, Philip had a copy of Capella with him and told me how much he liked it. Never knew the other side of the story. Myself and Frank need to sit down and talk some more. ☺