Uncovered: Beggars Arkive - BBC Radio Sessions, Vol. 1 Various Artists
The highly anticipated 2024 BBC Radio Sessions vinyl series from the Beggars Group is released with a brand new cohesive box set re-design consisting of ten separate 12” vinyl records featuring ten performances recorded for John Peel.
All incorporated into a bespoke foil-numbered record box, this super collectable limited edition box set from the Beggars archives, is available exclusively for subscribers and we were lucky enough to speak to Designer, Carter O'Sullivan and Archives Manager, Florence Pick from the Beggars Group, to find out more about the project.
The sessions on each of the records span 30 years, from the 1970s to the 2000s and capture the raw, unfiltered essence of BBC radio performances recorded for John Peel. The famous Peel Sessions were always renowned for featuring both emerging and established artists, providing a platform for exclusive and ground-breaking recordings. And this unique limited-edition boxset brings these rare recordings, from some of the most influential artists in Beggars’ extensive archive, together with a design sense of uniformity and simplicity, whilst ensuring each record had its own unique character.
Florence explained that the inspiration for the design was inspired by BBC branding and artwork from the 70s and 80s, “A lot of early BBC artwork inspired us, very boxy plain artwork and simple bold colours.”
Carter elaborates, “We were under some strict design constraints, as we couldn’t use original artwork as there was none for these specific radio sessions. We also didn’t want to use photographs of the different bands as it could start to look very mismatched with the different visual aesthetics of photography. So we had to start from scratch and find a way to represent all of the radio sessions in a cohesive box set. I started to look at BBC branding and infographics from the 70s and 80s, as a lot of the recordings were made around that time.”
Carter continues, “We then spoke as a team about refining the design down to 3 simple things, block shapes, colour and texture. Each of these visual characteristics create a visual language that can be played with, chopped and changed to represent the music inside. Once we had settled on the shapes and layout of the text for each record, we then had the fun task of selecting a range of 10 pairs of colours that flow cohesively, so when you collect all 10 records they fit together on your shelf.”
The creative was taken back to basics as Carter told us, “With the artwork being very stripped back focusing on three simple principles of colour, shape and texture. The technique of creating a tight grid system was used for each of the blocks on the front and back cover. Along with using the beautiful range of colours Pantone has to offer so when printing the colours were as close to what we had envisioned as possible.”
Tubeway Army
Bauhaus
Electrelane
The Beggars group has an impressive heritage with origins stemming from the Beggars Banquet record shops in London, whose first branch opened in 1973 in Earls Court. The label was born in 1977 with the 7” release of the ‘Free Admission Single’ by The Lurkers. Success was quick to follow via one of the first signings, Gary Numan. Chaired by founder Martin Mills, Beggars Group now comprises many of the world’s most respected independent labels and is home to 4AD, Matador Records, Rough Trade, XL Recordings and Young, in addition to a growing publishing wing ‘Beggars Music’ and the successful catalogue imprint ‘Beggars Arkive’ from which this release hails.
Florence Pick works in the archive department at Beggars and helps to release their back catalogue in new and interesting ways, working closely with the art department and music artists. She comes from a record shop background and says “vintage vinyl & sleeve art is something I have always cared about and understand the importance of preserving and crafting exclusive products for music fans.”
Carter O'Sullivan joined the art department at Beggars during the midst of 2020 covid and has have worked across projects from new releases such as Queens of the Stone Age’s ‘In Times New Roman…’ to reissues like Death Cult’s ‘Paradise Now’. He says, “Getting to be a part of the creative process for such artists and bands I grew up on has been a life achievement and continuing to push what’s possible where art and music meet will be forever interesting to me.”
We couldn't put it better ourselves...exploring what's possible where art and music meet is our passion and we can't wait to get all 10 of these beautifully packaged records framed and displayed on the office walls!
BBC Radio Sessions, Vol. 1 Various Artists is released on Beggars Arkive as a subscription service that started in January 2024 with the final record of the series, 'Electrelane' released at the end of October. An Annual Vinyl Subscription for the Collector's Box Set Promo includes:
The Fall BBC Radio Sessions 1 Vinyl, 12”
Folk Devils BBC Radio Sessions 2 Vinyl, 12”
Stereolab BBC Radio Sessions 3 Vinyl, 12”
Moonshake BBC Radio Sessions 4 Vinyl, 12”
Bauhaus BBC Radio Sessions 5 Vinyl, 12”
China Drum BBC Radio Sessions 6 Vinyl, 12”
Tubeway Army BBC Radio Sessions 7 Vinyl, 12”
Mouse on Mars BBC Radio Sessions 8 Vinyl, 12”
BBC Radio Sessions 9 Vinyl, 12”
BBC Radio Sessions 10 Vinyl, 12”
