This is a much better book than I think people give it credit. Phantasia Is almost ignored and forgotten. Alan Aldridge presents his meteoric rise from a down-and-out on the streets of London in the early sixties 'sitting alongside the meths drinkers of Commercial Road around their blazing fruit-box bonfires', begging for booze, shop-lifting tins of fish from Tesco just to survive; till one day spotting a tiny poster in Bunnies Coffee Shop calling out for something called 'Graphic Artists' and offering 'free coffee' and tuition.
Aldridge quickly rose to become the darling of the psychedelic scene in London and Visual Consultant to their exalted majesties The Beatles. Rubbing shoulders with the Rolling Stones, Andy Warhol, Elton John, and forming a long friendship with John Lennon.
The book contains over 80 illustrations (many of them full or even double page spreads, including one fold out poster). It is packed with great stories and anecdotes from these amazing times.
Aldridge provides a frank and honest tale of how by pure luck and encouragement he rose from the naive psychedelic style which made him popular to being one of the first to spot the potential of the airbrush gaining him and his art team massive popularity and opening doors and providing the opportunities to indulge himself in his own creative flights of fancy which sparked huge successes such as The Butterfly Ball.
A fascinating read, and a worthy addition to anyone's art studio bookshelf. ( )