Hi, and welcome to another of my cartoons mocking the Tories. This one’s satirising our buffoonish prime minister and his utter inability to keep to his marriage vows and maintain a monogamous relationship. And he definitely still has questions to answer about his relationship with Jennifer Arcuri. Did he really give her all that money and contracts because of her technological skills? No, I don’t think so either.
The cartoon’s inspired by that great Punk band, the Buzzcocks, and their hit, ‘Orgasm Addict’. Please note – I’m lampooning Boris, and not Punk rock. Some of the best people I know spent their teenage years bouncing around their bedrooms and discos listening to bands like the Sex Pistols, the Damned, Siouxsie and the Banshees and so on. I am very definitely not sneering at any Punk band, living or, like Dave Vanian and Bela Lugosi, undead. But as far as I’m concerned, BoJob has done far more to create anarchy in the UK than ever Johnny Rotten and Sid Vicious ever did. Oh, and Boris is wearing a T-shirt marked ‘Crass’, because not only was that the name of another band of that era, it’s also a fair description of the mentality of Boris and his wretched ministers and party.
Rock on!
Tags: Bela Lugosi, Boris Johnson, Conservatives, Crass, Dave Vanian, Jennifer Arcuri, Punk Rock, Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Buzzcocks, The Damned
March 26, 2020 at 3:26 pm |
I remember that Buzzcocks song, think it was a B-side to one of their singles. I know a woman who sings and tours with Steve Ignorant still performing the old Crass material. I loved the artwork of the Punk era, on posters and LP covers, it was essentially Dada re-invented.
March 26, 2020 at 4:07 pm |
That’s interesting – I didn’t realise that some remnant of Crass was still going, although I shouldn’t be surprised. If you look on YouTube, you can find a video of the Damned performing from a year or so ago. Vanian’s a little too old to dress like Dracula, so he went for the bald Nosferatu look instead, and sang Bauhaus’ ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’. I’d never really connected the Punk artwork with Dada, but you’re right. There’s also supposed to be a connection with the Italian Futurists as well, even though the Punks and Futurism were right at the opposite ends of the spectrum politically.
March 26, 2020 at 5:24 pm
Well there was Russolo’s ‘Art of Noise’, I suppose connections there could be drawn between Futurists and Punk, maybe, and possibly with the phonetic poetry of Tristran Tzara and Hugo Ball at the Cafe Voltaire?
The visual artwork was very much inspired by Dada, with the cut-out typography and the photomontage style. Even the nihilistic Punk ethic was very Dada, just a different historical context.
I saw The Damned many times, in the 70s performing in the Student Union at Huddersfield Polytechnic, and later at Rio’s nightclub in Bradford. Always guaranteed a good show!