Born in Croydon in 1953, Panter graduated with a degree in Fine Art from Coventry’s ‘Lanchester Polytechnic’ in 1975. It was there that he met Jerry Dammers and, together with Lynval Golding, they formed The Specials. Although better known as a musician, Horace has always kept up with his art practice, gradually moving away from the ethos of ‘art language’ to return to painting, influenced by the artists he had first encountered as a child of the 60s: Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, Edward Hopper and Peter Blake. He says “ It was art I could relate to, alongside my other predilection for the 12” vinyl record ... for an impressionable youth this collision of art and music was magical!”
The Pop Art concept of elevating the mundane has had a strong influence on his work; the talisman-like qualities afforded to everyday objects continue to guide his subject matter, especially the CASSETTE series. Panter says the original Pop Art explosion “was akin to what Punk Rock was for the music industry ... it shook things up, turned art on its head”; these cassettes are an updated take on what is now a traditional art form.
“The studio demo contained the bare bones of a song before it was finished/edited/mixed... crucial tool for musicians to hear how they sounded.” The cassette itself turned out to be ephemeral but, together with the Sony Walkman, it was revolutionary: “For the very first time, music was portable and individual; making mixtapes was just so liberating in terms of choosing what to listen to... I still don’t get Spotify!”
American comedian, Fred Armisen, owns the orignal GHOST TOWN cassette painting: “When I saw the images of the paintings, they were better than I could ever imagine... beautiful and straight to the point... there’s no begging in them”. (Fred Armisen 2016).
HORACE PANTER
JANUARY 2019
Signed limited edition cassette print by Horace Panter of The B-52's
Signed limited edition technicoloured cassette art print by Horace Panter featuring 24 different images including The Clash & Sex Pistols
Signed limited edition fine art cassette print by Horace Panter of The Specials 'Ghost Town'
Signed limited edition fine art cassette print by Horace Panter of The Clash's 'Rock The Casbah'
Signed limited edition fine art cassette print by Horace Panter of Bruce Springsteen's 'Born in the USA'
Signed limited edition fine art cassette print by Horace Panter of David Bowie's 'Heroes'
Signed limited edition cassette print by Horace Panter of Free's All Right Now
Signed limited edition fine art cassette print by Horace Panter of Pulp's 'Common people'
Signed limited edition fine art cassette print by Horace Panter of Chic's 'Good Times'
The Clash Pop Art limited edition fine art print by Horace Panter
Signed limited edition multicoloured cassette art print by Horace Panter featuring 24 different images including Madness, Blur & David Bowie
Joe Strummer Pop Art limited edition fine art print by Horace Panter
Morrissey performing upside down on a monitor during his Kill Uncle Tour at the Jones Beach Theatre, Wantagh, New York in July 1991
I was asked to shoot a band session at Abbey Road, about a month after the media furore that was going on at the time.
John Lennon performing at Madison Square Gardens, New York in August 1972
Bob Dylan hanging out on the streets of Portland, Orgeon prior to performing there as part of his Gospel Tour in January 1980.
Referred to as rock music's 'Prince of Darkness', Nick Cave's music is characterised by emotional intensity & a wide variety of influences.
Liam Gallagher is best known as the charismatic, self-assured front man of Manchester Britpop band Oasis.
Johnny Cash was known for his deep, calm bass-baritone voice and a trademark look, which earned him the nickname "The Man in Black"
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk.
Our contact sheet collection is a rare opportunity to look back at the hidden moments surrounding some of rocks most iconic images.
For eight years photographer Brian Duffy worked with David Bowie and shot his most iconic and enduring images. View his fantastic collection
The USA has given us many of the world's greatest music artists - we celebrate the best of the best
We are all still reeling from the tragic loss of David Bowie. Here is a wonderful tribute from one of our photographers, Mark Mawston.
