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What's the Story?
Picture this... Summer 1986, a 10 year old boy is being dragged around a busy city, too many shops, nothing interesting, until... at the back of a cluttered shop of Rubik's cubes, Coca Cola ephemera and novelty mugs, he finds a poster rack. Huge clattering pages mounted on the wall; sports stars, inethical monkey photos and band photos. They're all there, Bon Jovi, Janet Jackson, The Police, nothing interes... wait a minute. Run DMC. Raising Hell. The logo, the photo, the Adidas sneakers, the lot.
I brought that poster home and I put it on the wall, it made a big statement about who I was (I actually still have it, it's listed on the store, although I foolishly cut the 'Raising Hell' text off the bottom of it some years later). That poster started everything, where music and design collide, where 'merchandise' becomes 'art'. From then on I was hooked, I'd visit record shops and ask for the promotional posters before they could bin them, I'd sign up to every mailing list I could (3, Alveston Place, Leamington Spa, you know the score), I'd pick up legit posters when I could afford them, and illegit posters when I couldn't. I even crossed paths with fly-posterers and snagged freebies off them before they could slap the paste on the backs and get them on the walls.
Fast-forward a couple of decades, and I get a message from my Mum "Ben, there's still a lot of your old stuff in the garage". I had no idea, I thought everything had been lost in time. Apparently not, somehow my entire history of posters, postcards, flyers and scrapbooks survived. Add in everything I've been lucky to get hold of since my youth, and my knack of still finding these objects of joy, and now here we are, Repeat to Fade is born.
It's it. What is it?
Repeat to Fade... Your one-stop-pop-rock-and-hip-hop-shop for unique pieces of original merchandise, collectibles, t-shirts, posters and printed ephemera! I'm keen to pass my own collection on to other music-lovers and seek out more wonderful nostalgic pieces for everyone to enjoy. Everything sold on Repeat to Fade is an original vintage good, no reproductions.
Who Am I (What's My Name)?
I'm Ben... Born in 1976, raised on music and ventured myself into the world of art and design. I have worked as Ben the Illustrator for 25 years, including designing official emojis for Elton John, Blondie, David Bowie, The Cure and Mariah Carey, directing music videos for Sony Japan, Domino Records and Skint Records, creating tour merchandise for The Polyphonic Spree and FUN, and various collaborations with Tim Burgess (The Charlatans), Rega Turntables and Universal Music.
I'm also the artist behind Cover Versions, an online store of 12" prints, paying tribute to record covers old and new.