RETROSPECTIVE EDITIONS
November 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the rebirth of the iconic RAINBOW THEATRE in Finsbury Park, London and 45 Original are proud to mark the occasion with the release of their first ever design collection: four strictly limited-edition artworks celebrating a unique venue’s heritage.
Designed in collaboration with leading artist/designer Steve Mitchell of 57 Design, these bespoke illustrations bring together in one place for the first time an amazing legacy covering ROCK, SOUL, PUNK and REGGAE: four genres, four stunning designs.
Available as a limited edition of only 100 signed, stamped and numbered 50x70cm and A3 litho prints and screen printed t-shirts.
The Rainbow Theatre… Everything about the place was breathtaking, a venue that audiences loved as much as the incredible artists they flocked there to watch. Astonishingly given how cherished it became, the former Finsbury Park Astoria, later an occasional musical hall venue, was only at the cutting edge of live music for one short decade. The stars that burn brightest burn quickest…
A trip to The Rainbow was unforgettable before a single note was played.
Emerging from Finsbury Park Tube Station, fans were greeted by the imposing signature art-deco frontage, jutting out dramatically like a white cliff-face on a peninsular between Seven Sisters Road and Isledon Road. With its iconic retro-style red lettering tattooed onto the facade, the effect was even more spectacular at night, floodlights literally making the building glow.
And that was before stepping inside.
Hand in your ticket, enter through classic framed glass doors and an illuminated fountain set within an eight-sided raised star pool confirmed you were in the presence of opulence from a bygone era when every inch of decor mattered.
And as for the auditorium, the ornate proscenium arch dating back to the building’s opening n 1930, framed every performance with a stamp of sheer class.
From 1971 to 1981 – yes that’s all it was – this incredible venue crammed in thousands of gigs featuring EVERY name that counted in music. No self-respecting act’s CV was complete without at least one date at what quickly became a venue of mythical status – the list of those having plugged in and strutted across its legendary boards is basically an A-Z of 70s music.
To reflect this, four re-imagined designs bring together on separate canvasses some of the true immortals in each genre. Memories really are made of this:
‘RAINBOW ROCK’ RE-IMAGINED ART
AC/DC, Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath, David Bowie, The Byrds, Deep Purple, ELO, The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, The Faces, Frank Zappa, Genesis, Grateful Dead, Hawkwind, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, The Kinks, King Crimson, Love, Lou Reed, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Mott The Hoople, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, Queen, Rainbow, Roxy Music, Santana, Status Quo, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Thin Lizzy, Van Halen, Whitesnake, The Who, Yes.
‘RAINBOW SOUL’ RE-IMAGINED ART
Al Green, Barry White, Bill Withers, Billy Preston, Curtis Mayfield, Donna Summer, Edwin Starr, Herbie Hancock, Isaac Hayes, Jackie Wilson, James Brown, The Jacksons, Junior Walker, Kool & The Gang, Marvin Gaye, The Meters, Richie Havens, Rose Royce, The Staple Singers, Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, War.
‘RAINBOW PUNK’ RE-IMAGINED ART
Adam and The Ants, The Adverts, Blondie, Buzzcocks, The Clash, The Damned, Devo, The Fall, Generation X, Iggy Pop, The Jam, Johnny Thunders & The Heartbreakers, Johnny Moped, The Only Ones, Public Image Ltd, Penetration, The Ramones, The Rezillos, Richard Hell and The Voidoids, The Ruts, Sham 69, Siouxsie and The Banshees, The Stranglers, The Slits, Stiff Little Fingers, Subway Sect, UK Subs, Ultravox, The Undertones, The Vibrators, XTC.
‘RAINBOW REGGAE’ RE-IMAGINED ART
Aswad, Big Youth, Black Slate, Black Uhuru, Bob Marley & The Wailers, Burning Spear, The Cimarons, Culture, Dennis Brown, Desmond Dekker & The Aces, Dillinger, Gregory Isaacs, Inner Circle, Jimmy Cliff, Keith Hudson, Ken Boothe, Matumbi, Misty in Roots, Peter Tosh, The Pioneers, Prince Far I, Sly & Robbie, Steel Pulse, Tapper Zukie, Third World, Toots & The Maytals.
These four design are on sale now!
In view of COVID’S decimation of the live entertainment sector, 10% of 45 Original’s The Rainbow Theatre Retrospective Edition sales profits will be donated to the Music Venue Trust’s ‘Save Our Venues’ campaign.