This silkscreen print features artwork for an album by The Who that is now rare and valuable in itself. In 1985, with The Who virtually retired (for the next four years at least), MCA Records brought out an album in the US of unreleased and rare Who recordings under the title Who’s Missing. Richard Evans decided he would like to design a sleeve that had the look and feel of a record cover from the first days of The Who, a cover with a late 50s/early 60s feel. The front would be full colour image, gloss laminated and the back, matte white with black type and clean graphics plus real old-fashioned-style sleeve notes by Pete Townshend.

Four years earlier in 1981, Richard had the pleasure of working with Peter Blake on the cover for The Who’s album Face Dances and it was Peter’s enormous influence on Richard that led him to produce this homage to his hero. Who’s Missing was inspired by an early work of Blake’s entitled Got A Girl, and both feature the strong red, white and blue chevron. The chevron for Who’s Missing was painted on wood from a packing case that Richard found outside the old Marquee Club in Wardour Street, Soho. Now, how authentic is that?

The four faces of the band members are a montage of postcards, sepia photos and pages torn from magazines, retouched and repainted. The military ribbons were part of a collection that Richard was using at the time for his cover for Pete Townshend’s solo album White City. The back cover layout was based on the oldest album in Richard’s collection, that of 16-year old teen sensation Ricky Nelson. It’s somewhat poignant that these two Who artworks have a such a double entendre associated with them today.

Who’s missing? Well, we all know who’s missing; two’s missing, John and Keith, that’s who. Both prints are available in a limited quantity countersigned by Pete Townshend.

Signed by: Richard Evans and Pete Townshend

Image size: 19 x 19 inches / Paper size: 27 x 28 inches

Edition size: 250

Print type: Silkscreen

Customers purchasing the pair (Who’s Missing and Two’s Missing) will receive an automatic discount of 10% at checkout)

ABOUT RICHARD EVANS