MALCOLM GARRETT, who designed Buzzcocks’ striking cover designs, is behind this week’s stunning New European front page. Download it here
Next year will be the 50th anniversary of John and Yoko’s original War Is Over If You Want It poster campaign, which led a couple of years later to the Happy Xmas (War Is Over) single, writes MALCOLM GARRETT.
When I was growing up, those message singles – All You Need is Love, Give Peace a Chance, Happy Xmas (War is Over) – had a big impact on me.
I picked up on it as the perfect message about leaving the EU because what we have learned during the past two and a half years if that Brexit is impossible. And if nobody wants something, then that something is over. So I’m saying, ‘let’s all just admit this thing is over and move on’.
It starts with a single voice. For the image itself I was very careful to match the new one with the original. So it was not just about selecting the right font – which is Franklin Gothic, classically American – but also getting the very tight letter spacing right.
I want to make the image as widely available as possible. I’ve emailed Yoko Ono and had no objections. I think our message chimes with the message of the John and Yoko original – a call for peace, hope and compassion.
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