Today we suggest you remember the most famous band logos from around the world that have long lived outside of music and do not seem to be associated with specific musicians at all anymore.
AC/DC
It is hard not to note that the band’s name AC/DC was not difficult to portray in graphic style. Sharp and angular letters, which were more rounded in the original version, came out of the hands of American designer Gerard Wirth in 1977, becoming one of the components of hard rock. The logo was given special recognition by the zipper sign in the middle—one of those logos that will be understood even by those who have never heard their music.
The Rolling Stones
Surely everyone knows these “lips” from their childhood – and it doesn’t matter if you’ve heard of rock and roll at the time. The author, John Pace, was 24 years old when Mick Jagger asked him to design a logo for the Rolling Stones. Using the prototype of the Hindu goddess Kali and Jagger’s wishes, the designer prepared an ambiguous image of lips and tongue that looked a little provocative and vulgar, especially for the early ’70s. However – doesn’t all this best describe rock ‘n’ roll? Almost 50 years after its appearance, the logo has not lost its popularity, and according to many music magazines, it is the most successful and recognizable in the world.
Slayer
Thrash metal band Slayer, just like Motorhead musicians, were many times accused of sympathy to nazism. The main reason for this was their logo, which is very similar to the emblem of the Third Reich. For the first time, the crossed swords with the band’s name in the center appeared on the first album, “Show No Mercy,” in 1984. The author of the drawing was the father of one of the members of the “road crew. At the beginning of their way, the guys from Slayer used satanic images. Different crosses and images of demons were regularly added to the allegory of pentagram three sixes. Today, the legendary print appears on all sorts of clothing for people who are far from heavy music and from understanding the meaning of this image.
The Ramones
The Ramones logo is the full-fledged seal of the fathers of punk rock, similar in style to the official seal of the President of the USA. The logo’s author was the old friend of the musicians Arturo Vega, in whose opinion the band was the best in America and had the full right to use the seal of the President. The eagle holds a baseball bat for the band’s opponents and an apple tree branch for the followers by design. Biographers have noted that the musicians made a tidy sum from selling T-shirts with this image, and some punk bands are still inventing logo variations.
Misfits
The ghost of the band Misfits first appeared on the cover of their third single, “Horror Business.” The musicians, inspired by the mid-40s TV series The Crimson Ghost, took as their inspiration the appearance of the main character, the Crimson Ghost. The image is used everywhere, anywhere, and seems to already exist separately from its cinematic and musical progenitors.
Nirvana
Kurt Cobain drew the logo himself for his main project, the band Nirvana. Despite the apparent simplicity, the image quite clearly conveys the nature of the music and style of the grunge band. The smiley face with dead eyes, known to millions of music lovers, did not appear on any of the studio or concert albums of the band. Reflecting ambiguous emotions, the picture became popular by itself and is associated with the prototype of Kurt Cobain himself with all his inner struggles and contradictions.
Motorhead
The legendary “Snaggletooth,” aka “War-Pig,” appeared on the first studio album by Motorhead in 1975. The main author of the drawing was artist Joe Petagno, who combined the skulls of a gorilla, a dog, and a boar to create a “fighting pig.” Lemmy later stylized the character, adding brutality with chains and spikes. “War-Pig” in various variations appeared on 20 covers of 22 studio albums by the band. The Motorhead merch with the trademark logo hasn’t lost its popularity for several decades.
