My copy of Band ID arrived during the week and today I finally had a chance to take some pics of the book. First impressions are that it's good quality – it's reassuringly weighty and the hard cover is sturdy and nicely textured. The pick image on the front is slightly raised and plasticated which is a nice touch, although ironically the logo for the book itself is a bit half-assed. The internal spreads are well laid out with plenty of white space and well set type.




The logos are divided up into different genres of music (the extra-heavy section is a particularly good laugh) and the stories behind several of the more iconic logos are well told, including interviews with the designers and musicians involved. I particularly enjoyed reading the back-story to the creation of the Rolling Stones iconic “tongue” logo, contributed by the marque’s designer John Pasche. The book is mostly devoted to the logos themselves, but where there is writing it’s insightful and entertaining.

Rather than bore you all to tears with an in-depth review, I've decided instead to list my ten favourite logos from the book. I've chosen the logos I think represent good examples of logo design rather than those representing bands whose music I like, or about whom I feel a misty-eyed nostalgia. This means I consider them well drawn or typeset, memorable and having stood the test of time.

1. Rolling Stones “Tongue”

Designed by John Pasche in 1970, the tongue has become one of the most recognisable symbols in the world. At heart it's simple, memorable and nicely drawn.

2. Slayer

Steve Craig’s spiky yet minimal lettering is in my opinion the best of the heavy-metal marques. It was created in 1983 and still looks fresh today.

3. AC/DC

Gerard Huerta’s 1983 logo for AC/DC has graced a million maths books, school bags and t-shirts across the globe. It's compact, direct and has loads of balls, just like the band it represents.

4. Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Swiss surrealist artist H.R. Giger’s 1973 marque for ELP is elegant, graceful and wouldn't look out of place in Bauhaus era Germany.

5. Metallica

Designed by band member James Hetfield in 1983, this one rivals AC/DC as the ultimate metal logo.

6. Kiss

Created by the band’s lead guitarist and former graphic designer Ace Frehley in 1973, the Kiss logo courted controversy on the German legs of their tours with it's SS inspired aesthetic. It's the perfect corporate logo for Gene Simmons' money-making rock machine.

7. Thin Lizzy

Jim Fitzpatrick’s chunky 1976 creation for Thin Lizzy is everything a no-nonsense rock band’s logo should be.

8. New York Dolls

The coolest of the bunch, the Dolls’ distinctive lipstick lettering was created in 1973, yet looks like it could have been made yesterday.

9. The Monkees

The Monkees weren’t even a proper band, but they definitely had a proper logo, a slice of beautifully crafted lettering designed by Nick LoBianco in 1966.

10. Run DMC

Bold and shouty, the chunky type and heavy horizontal rules of the Run DMC logo do justice to the hip-hop legends’ explosive sound.

Attempting to find links to information about the creators of these ten logos threw up a few interesting bits of trivia:

The ELP logo was designed not by a graphic designer, but by the Swiss surrealist artist H.R. Giger, who is also the creator of the Alien creature from Ridley Scott’s pant-soilingly scary sci-fi film of the same name.

The Monkees logo was designed by legend of lunch box (yes those things that kids take to school with flask, apple and very thin ham sandwich in) design Nick LoBianco.

The Thin Lizzy marque was created by Jim Fitzpatrick a fellow Irishman whose lengthy artistic career completely bamboozles me. How can the same man who created the image of Che Guevara which became an icon of popular culture, have gone on to create some of the most ghastly pseudo-celtic crap ever to blight the world of art. These days he seems to spend his time photographing beautiful women and his latest work can be found at his Flickr stream.

Band ID, The ultimate book of band logos by Bodhi Oser is available from the publishers, Chronicle Books for the entirely reasonable price of $40. I picked mine up from Amazon UK where it was a steal at £13. This is one coffee table book which your friends will actually pick up and read, so if you love music and you were the type of kid who drew band logos on their schoolbag, then grab yourself a copy without delay.