The Art of The Button Badge: Blondie

When I first started up the Blog just over two years ago, it was really just meant to be somewhere to share some of my music related "stuff" such as Button badges, 7" Single picture covers, Gig tickets and Photos. I didn't really expect things to expand so quickly into doing Reviews and Podcasts and Gig promotions and such-like so I kind of lost touch with the original idea a bit. Hopefully I will get round to scanning and sharing some of my items soon, but in the meantime, Blog reader Marc Talbot kindly submitted some of his huge collection of Blondie badges. It's quite an impressive haul, so here is just a small part of it...

Marc has been collecting Blondie button badges for over 35 years and has amassed over 400 of his own and has scans of about 500 different designs. He is always looking to add to his collection and is considering setting up a web-site to share other badges, so if you have any spares for sale, swap or share then contact the Blog and I'll hook you up with Marc. All Badges and Photos contributed by Marc Talbot.

Button Badges Part 9 - Paul Slattery

Here is an excellent collection of assorted badges from Rock Photographer Paul Slattery, including many rare promo badges. Having such access to bands, gigs and festivals plus working for major music papers enabled Paul to amass an impressive box full of badges. 

Many thanks to Paul for sharing his collection with us. 

One his many photos of The Manic Street Preachers can be seen on the cover of the latest NME and the new issue of Vive le Rock magazine features his superb cover shot of The Specials.

Some classic late 70's early 80's political badges along with Undertones, Simple Minds, Lurkers, Blockheads and more

Assortment of band and promo badges

Badge mania - Stiff Little Fingers, Wayne County, UK Subs, Thee Milkshakes plus lots more

Ramones, The Beat, Dexys, The Cramps, The Skids, John Cooper Clarke etc

Rezillos, The Pirates, Buzzcocks, Spizz, The Damned, Adam &The Ants, Grateful Dead and more

Ian Dury & The Blockheads badge collection



Stiff Records Collection

     





Button Badges Part 8 - Peter Skidmore's Punk & Mod Badges

Peter Skidmore from Back In The Fire Blog, has kindly sent in this superb collection of Punk and Mod badges with the odd Football and Reggae one thrown in too. There's The Clash, The Jam, The Stranglers, The Skids and The Boys and some 80's Mod Revival from The Chords, Labrettas and Secret Affair. These designs are actually for sale from his Punk and Mod Badges site here where you can also find a comprehensive selection of Paul Weller, Beady Eye and Pretty Green badges in addition to those featured in the photo above.

Peter's Back In The Fire Blog is excellent and well worth checking out here. 

Band Button Badges Part 7 - Miscellaneous Contributions

Here's a selection kindly contributed by Fiona Menzies featuring The Jam, Undertones, Sex Pistols, The Damned and The Stranglers as well as a rather fetching "Sid Did It" badge. Creamola Foam was not a band (although I'm sure I heard them do session on the John Peel show once...!) but a Scottish drink of soluble crystals that when stirred into water foamed up into a bubbling fruit flavoured concoction...yum!

Helen Goldsmith contributed a Ramones "Mondo Bizarro" badge and probably the ultimate in band logos, the Rolling Stones famous lips. There's also one from the all-girl Japanese pop-punk group Shonen Knife.

Thanks to Helen and Fiona for the contributions, I'm still on the look-out for more so please feel free to get in touch.

Band Button Badges Part 6 - Punk & Post-Punk contributed by Neil Menzies

Neil Menzies, the bassist from Glasgow's excellent The Goldenhour, and now The Fast Camels, kindly got in touch and contributed a great scan of his badge collection. Now this lot is right up my street and takes me back to what I still consider to be my "golden age" of music. There are some examples of The Stranglers, The Damned, Nina Hagen, Devo, Dead Kennedys, The Cure, Crass, The Birthday Party and Killing Joke amongst others.

There's quite a few here that I had in the bag that I sold all those years ago, in fact it's almost as though Neil was the one that bought it from the record store! I'm a bit misty eyed looking at The Stranglers "Raven" badges, which were always my favourite. So kids, a word of advice - never sell anything music related, no matter how hard up you are or how you think you will grow out of it. Your parents might say "it's just phase", but don't listen to them, it's a phase that can last a hell of a long time! 

Thanks to Neil for contributing, The Fast Camels are working on their second album so watch out for that.

Band Button Badges Part 5 - The 80's contributed by Ruth

Ruth has kindly contributed a selection of classic '80's pop badges including A Flock of Seagulls, KajaGooGoo, Wham, Bucks Fizz and Deep Purple to rock it all up a bit!

Here's some Stray Cats, Specials, Adam Ant and The Beat - I like the Bad Manners Buster Bloodvessel badge top right.

Thanks very much to Ruth for sending the scans in, I appreciate that! Don't forget if you want to contribute some of your own then please email a jpg and I will post them up. 

Band Button Badges Part 4 - Miscellaneous

Here's a bit of a mixed bag, clockwise from top right: Swedish punk icons Union Carbide Productions (forerunners of The Soundtrack of Our Lives), promo Pixies badge given away with the DVD of the "Loud Quiet Loud" DVD, special Teenage Fanclub.com forum badge given to me by a member at a gathering before a show at the Forum Kentish Town. Teenage Fanclub "Bandwagonesque" swag-bag badge.

Robyn Hitchcock "Jewels For Sophia", great badge from Killer B's given to me by the band's guitarist/vocalist Chris Thompson who used to play bass in one of my favourite bands, The Screaming Blue Messiahs. The Sonics "Boom", the most recent addition, picked up at their blinding show for Ray Davies' Meltdown Festival.

In the centre is a promo from the superb Norwegian garage rock band Cato Salsa Experience. 

These badges were given away with an issue of Mojo music magazine:

Badges created by Drakeygirl for a Word magazine forum regulars booze-up:

Promo badges for Yep Rock Records and Riot On The Rocks fanzine:

Brian Jonestown Massacre have an excellent classic logo, shown in the centre here:

Finally, cannot go without a selection from my all-time favourite band -

The Soundtrack of Our Lives!

If you have any cool badges or music memorabilia that you'd like to share here then please drop me a line with some scans or photos, be great to see some of your favourite items and even better if there's an interesting anecdote behind them.

Band Button Badges Part 3 - Post-Punk and 80's Pop

Here are some badges from 80's Post-Punk and Indie bands, starting off with Echo & The Bunnymen, Aztec Camera and Orange Juice.

Next up is a collection of Smiths badges, I like the simple logo one in the centre best of all.

These are quite nice black and white designs.

And some Pop and Electronic bands from the 80's too (errr, these are not mine, honest...!)

Finally, the fantastic Monochrome Set and singer Bid's side project Scarlett's Well.

If you have any cool badges or music memorabilia that you'd like to share here then please drop me a line with some scans or photos, be great to see some of your favourite items and even better if there's an interesting anecdote behind them.

Band Button Badges Part 2 - Mod, Reggae, Ska & 2-Tone

Some Mod badges, clockwise from top: The classic Mod target/roundel, The Who "Maximum R&B" logo, The Mods target, The Jam "Down In The Tube Station at Midnight", two more from The Who and in the centre a bit of a naff Jam one from the late 70's!

Here's an assortment of Ska, 2-Tone and Reggae badges. The Beat had a fantastic logo and their badges and T-Shirts were superb - the "dancing girl" logo got copied onto many a school exercise book and satchel!

Here's some colourful Reggae badges including Steel Pulse, Bob Marley and Aswad.

If you have any cool badges or music memorabilia that you'd like to share here then please drop me a line with some scans or photos, be great to see some of your favourite items and even better if there's an interesting anecdote behind them.

Band Button Badges Part 1 - Punk & New Wave

I was never a great hoarder or collector of stuff when I was younger, something that is still slightly annoying to the older "anorak" nostalgic oldie that I have become! I even sold  a huge stash of original Punk and New Wave vinyl albums and 7" singles, along with a big bag of classic button badges, due to financial woes in my twenties. Of course I really regret this now as I realise that I am still actually going through the phase that I was meant to have grown out of. In fact a great deal of my mid-thirties and forties has been spent trying to track down copies of those very records that I stupidly sold. Anyway, myself and Mrs Retro have cobbled together as much as we can from our meagre left-over collections and  here are some of them.

Pictured above clockwise from the top: the classic Public Image Ltd logo, three Siouxsie & The Banshees badges, Undertones "Hypnotised" lobster, The B-52's and The Slits. 

In the centre is a great XTC "Drums & Wires" badge.

Here are a selection of Clash badges including some unusal promos from Japan (top row).

These are a selection of Blondie badges:

If you have any cool badges or music memorabilia that you'd like to share here then please drop me a line with some scans or photos, be great to see some of your favourite items and even better if there's an interesting anecdote behind them.