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95.
UFO Nite Tripper 1.
A poster announcing the first two events at the UFO Club in Tottenham Court Road, London, December 23/30, 1966. Offset lithograph, monochrome, reproducing a large photograph of Karen Astley with the words ‘Nite Tripper’ painted in psychedelic lettering on her face by Michael English, imitatating the effect of Pink Floyd’s light show (Astley, Pete Townshend’s girlfriend at the time, was a UFO regular). 59.6x43.7cm.
The first poster for UFO, and one of Michael English’s earliest designs. It highlights Pink Floyd’s appearances, as well as movies by Andy Warhol and Kenneth Anger, and provides a reassuring mention of ‘heating - warm’, probably a reference to the conspicuous lack of it at the Roundhouse for the launch party of International Times two months earlier.
The club was launched by Hoppy and Joe Boyd in late 1966 with the intention of raising money for IT, as well as, in Joe Boyd’s words, “to provide a place for experimental pop music and also for the mixing of medias, light shows and theatrical happenings”. It became, as Miles later wrote, “synonymous with the Pink Floyd’s rise to fame”.
Only a handful were printed, of which few have survived, and its encapsulation of the early, pre-technicolor underground scene marks it out as one of the period’s most significant posters.
Tiny crease to lower left corner; slight age-related discolouration to white paper; a few faint blemishes to verso; o/w an excellent copy of this rare poster. Provenance: Graham Keen.
