A RECORD sleeve (or CD cover) represents as much about a musical artist as the music and songs in the record’s grooves. For his upcoming album, Limerick’s Theme Tune Boy made the novel and unusual move of putting the artwork and final decision on his new record sleeve up for sale as part of his ongoing FundIt campaign.
Theme Tune Boy is the most recent incarnation of Niall Quinn, drummer/songwriter with The Hitchers whose debut album ‘Its all fun and games till someone loses an eye’ won much critical acclaim and support from the late John Peel, Steve Lamacq, Bob Geldof a host of others back in ‘97.
A FundIt campaign enables artists to accumulate funding for projects such as recording or promotion and Theme Tune Boy’s Fundit campaign has almost reached its goal of raising money for CD manufacture. TTB aka Niall Quinn put his CD cover design up for grabs as a bit of a novelty at a cost of €200. TTB told MusicLimerick, “It’s entirely artless and no small bit cheeky I know. If I were a graphic artist or photographer I’d reasonably expect to be paid to provide artwork and I’d find this concept as offensive as I’d have found gig promoters in our fair capital who expected bands to pay-to-play.
But it’s more the enthusiastic amatuer I was trying to bait. Someone looking for a novel Christmas present maybe. I’m just sorry I didn’t ask for more and sell the back cover, the spine and the ondisc as well.”
He surprisingly got multiple bids for the CD design but as the rules of FundIt state you have to honour the first bid that comes in. Now an anonymous bidder has bought himself the cover of the first album in over a decade from the ex-Hitcher. As the bidder has not identified himself Theme Tune Boy has been left clueless as to what CD cover will look like. But a deal is a deal and MusicLimerick as well as TTB will be keeping a keen eye out for the conclusion to this quandary.
Theme Tune Boy told MusicLimerick, “Now I’m just hoping the person who bought what is surely the smallest piece of real estate on the market isn’t the TTB fan whose lifelong dream is to see a picture of his own red-raw spanked arse on an album cover.”
The Return of the Living Dead will be released in January 2013. Recorded between Limerick and The Hague the album features Quinn’s rabid rants swept along by Coopers insanely energetic, ridiculously tight juggernaut of power-pop and pounding punk. You can check out Theme Tune Boy’s FundIt campaign and bag yourself a recording for just a fiver at www.fundit.ie/project/theme-tune-boy-album-manufacture-fundit.
Theme Tune Boy’s FundIt campaign finishes this Sunday November 11.
