Rag & Bone Buffet

Rag N Bone Buffet was a lot of stuff that had just been left to rot in the corner of the Virgin farm. What better than to illustrate it with junk? And like I said, it was probably the most flattering photo session we ever did. ~ Andy Partridge
In December of 2002 Andy and I discussed the fine art of creating XTCover art from rusty junk.
AP: The best photo session we ever did. [laughter] People think they're sculptures. They're not, that's really us!

WL: They really wanted you to shave all the rust off, but you didn't have time.

AP: [laughter] Yeah, you know, "We should clean up after our long journey up here to London." But no, we just left a bit of it encrusted on. That may not have worked. I think it did, but there was a chance that it wouldn't have, because I just asked Dave [Dragon]

Scarce promotional bandana.

and Ken [Ansel - both of Design Clinic] if they could find a lot of rusty junk and bring it to the photo studio in London. [laughter] We were going to meet up with them. And he said, "Well, I think I've got some good stuff. I went out to a farm and just picked up a load of old bits and pieces." And it was a real shot in the dark whether he was going to have stuff that was of any use. I mean, I don't think he knew why I'd asked for it. He just got this kind of skit full of rusty junk and we turned up and I said, "Okay, my idea is to make us in junk." And luckily we found kind of bits and pieces that suggested our faces.

WL: Yeah, it worked out well.

AP: You know, there was a long sort of cylindrical thing that looked like Colin's
head. There was a thing with, sort of a big rusty kind of hoops that looked like glasses. Dave really looks like Dave, for some reason. That little, sort of startled mouth. [much laughter] But that worked out okay. And then for the front, I really liked these handlebars they found, which looked part like a mustache and part like the sort of thing Marcel Duchamp would have put up in an exhibition. And we just put it on a plate and it sort of looked like a blank face with a mustache, and partly like this wonderful object served up to you, you know. This wonderful rusting object. This junk which is being presented for your delectation. Which really, Rag N Bone Buffet was a lot of stuff that had just been left to rot in the corner of the Virgin farm. What better than to illustrate it with junk? But it seemed to come out okay. And like I said, it was probably the most flattering photo-session we ever did.
The 4 song promotional sampler.