“They asked me to design a poster for a doubleheader that they were having at the Civic Hotel in Pitt Street Sydney in 1978.”

From 1978 to 1988 John Foy designed posters for cult bands like the Beasts of Bourbon, the Riptides, and Lubricated Goat, and for international artists including Deborah Harry, Lou Reed, and UK Squeeze.

Foy took a more artistic approach, including graphics and photos on his posters taking inspiration from pop culture, movies and television.

As he recalls, it wasn’t really the done thing. “Bands didn’t have artwork on their posters. The only people using artwork on their posters were political posters, especially for Indigenous and women’s politics,” he said.

“In the ’70s and ’80s, most band posters were very generic, with just the name of the band, the venue and the date.”

“When I was designing posters it was whatever I was into that week or whatever I saw on TV. I was even inspired by the Laminex patterns in my local coffee shop.”

For most jobs, there were only 100 of each poster printed, and some of those posters are now going for thousands of dollars to collectors.

Posters designed by John Foy have a distinctive YOF triangle, which was FOY spelled backward. If John also printed the poster, Skull Printworks was credited at the bottom in a minuscule font as a nod to his surroundings at Phantom.

Screen printed by hand, usually on his Paddington balcony, Foy’s posters featured images adapted from his favourite cult TV shows, such as The Avengers and Danger Man.

Even though he has designed hundreds of posters, there is one Foy feels best represents his work –Tex’s Chainsaw Massacre for the Beasts of Bourbon.

Loading

“I recently put a post up on social media about how all poster designers inevitability have a poster that is chosen by the public to define that artist.

“For Rick Griffin, it was the flying eyeball he designed for Jimi Hendrix, and for me it seems like the general public has chosen Tex’s Chainsaw Massacre poster, which I’m very happy with.”

After travelling the globe and getting married in Cuba, the world citizen is now back in Australia to launch an international reissue of his book Snaps Crack Pop!. It was first released in 2018 as a compendium of his work and featured more than 100 of his posters.

“The first issue was only 500 books, which I mainly did to cement my copyright,” Foy said.

“The new international edition has new posters, and we have shortened the page count, changed the chronology and ordered a larger print run, which means we can bring the price down.”

Loading

While compiling the second book, John rediscovered prints that had vanished over the years. “I once printed a poster for the Hells Angels and I was complaining to Spencer P. Jones that I couldn’t remember who I gave the poster to for safekeeping; he admitted that he had it rolled up in his wardrobe at his home,” Foy said.

“It’s been great to see those old posters again after all these years. I’m also hoping the new book will also inspire a new generation of graphic designers.”

Snap Crack Pop!, the International edition, is available now at skullprintworks.

A cultural guide to going out and loving your city. Sign up to our Culture Fix newsletter here.