Ray Lowry

In the 1970s Ray Lowry drew cartoons for a number of publications including the New Musical Express. He first saw The Clash on 9 December 1976 at the Electric Circus in his hometown in Manchester. He struck up a friendship with the band’s road manager Johnny Green who suggested he should come on The Clash’s Take the 5th tour in the autumn of 1979. Lowry recorded his impressions in several notebooks and also sent five reports to the NME.

While on tour, Lowry began to think about the album design for London Calling. An early version already based on the iconic cover of Elvis Presley’s first album is included in Lowry’s NME report published on 13 October. It was Lowry who chose the cover photo, against photographer Pennie Smith’s wishes who disliked that it was out of focus. Lowry was also responsible for the design of the inner sleeves and wrote the band’s lyrics in his own hand.