The Man with Kaleidoscope Eyes quotes
‘Alan Aldridge is a genius; he created a style of artwork which well represented the romanticism of the sixties. Alan’s beautiful and sensitive work made our minds dance. It was Beardsley in colour with the innocence of the flower children. Thank you, Alan, for your inspiration. Yes, you should look at Alan’s artwork, and know that that was us – in the English gardens.’ – Yoko Ono Lennon
‘Who needs drugs when Alan is available to translate music into visual imagery?’ – Nick Mason, Pink Floyd
‘I can’t remember whose idea it was to ask Alan to work on the Captain Fantastic album. Whoever it was I am so grateful to them. For a start I didn’t think we’d get him – and when we did he delivered a visual package beyond my wildest dreams. Never have I been so pleased with the artwork for an album – and I do mean Art. Alan delivered something that still looks amazing today – a true test of any artist. His amazing mind plus his incredible visual skills gave us what we wanted and more. Plus, he’s an extremely nice chap. I am forever grateful to him.’ – Sir Elton John
‘The temptation with Aldridge is to place his work firmly in the sixties; this is a mistake, because his work is timeless.’
– Sting
‘Whenever I put on the eyeballs I wore in the sixties and seventies, I find Alan’s coruscating images and colours still seared onto the retinas. No amount of scrubbing gets them off.’ – Terry Gilliam
‘In the mid-seventies Alan and I were inseparable friends. It was a curious collaboration of eccentricity and dangerous curves taken at an ever increasing speed and joyous abandon. During this time I truly felt that I was rubbing shoulders with such an enlightened and extraordinary talent it would be beneficial to my own lesser scribble. His vision was, is and always will be a cherished fragment of time. He’s a brilliant soul, bountiful creator and a man of other worlds and time. I’m thankful he allowed me access to his eyes, his beautiful vision and inspired madness. It remains with me and I benefit from it all to this day.’ – Bernie Taupin
‘I handed him the lyrics to thirteen songs that were still in the process of recording, and without hearing a lick of music Alan created their perfect visual accompaniments. I was almost nervous to show him the finished album, out of fear that the music wouldn’t stand up next to his drawings.’
– Brandon Boyd, Incubus
‘Alan Aldridge has carried on the great British tradition of illustration. He has been called the contemporary Aubrey Beardsley, which seems a fairly accurate description of his mysterious, fascinating work. His work is contemporary, imaginative and truly original in a rather dumbed down world of illustration and design.’ – Sir Terence Conran
‘Alan Aldridge has been one of the defining illustrators of the last forty years, and through his work for the Beatles, Elton John and countless others – including, recently, GQ – he has continually redefined the genre.’ – Dylan Jones, Editor of GQ