This is a weird one, while on eBay I spotted these band T-shirt sellers and amoung the more obvious bootleg shirts and designs.. who do I see but Veronica Lake’s famous hair-in-a-drill-press shot below a title of a The Smiths song.
For those not in the know The Smiths are an iconic English, 4 piece indie band rock band formed in Manchester in 1982 and lead by singer Morrissey and guitarist Johnny Marr.
They were known for their album and single covers which had a tendency to show movie stills and portrait shots of famous people, using a colour tint and without an obvious connection to the songs content. When it came the bands, post break up, Singles Collections they some how become even more iconic with emotive black and white actor shots.
These covers became instantly recognisable and people would riff on them for memes and parodies.. and that is what seem to be happening here for a mocked up shot for what could have been a 12" cover for the single "Pretty Girls Make Graves"
Interestingly it was never a single in its own right but a version was included as a B-side on the single "I Started Something I Couldn’t Finish" several years later.
Also, while I researched this article I saw several different images purporting to also be the cover for the single Pretty Girls Make Graves.. each one was highly plausible but equally fake.
I actually bought one of these shirts and am really pleased! Not the cheapest shirt I’ve bought on eBay (you always take a risk on quality) but I needn’t have worried.. it’s a great quality shirt and print. The lines are clear and the print sturdy. Looks great and already had comments.. which is an ideal kicking off point for talking about 2 of my favorite subjecdts.
