What To Look Out For
“The cover of Handsworth Revolution shows that nature will outlast whatever we think of as modern. Yes, it is about destruction, pollution, industrial poverty; but also about a return to a greener place, a greener planet. The buildings represent what we thought was futuristic back then; multi-storey flats and so on.” - Basil Gabbidon
Who is the running man?
“He’s the Biblical Prodigal Son – one of the tracks on the album. Out into the wilderness and coming back. It’s one of the nice mysteries about the picture. Sometimes you listen to a song and you hear something you didn’t hear. It’s the same with this cover.” - Selwyn Brown
“Wild one, you are like the Prodigal Son, yeah. And if you’re the Prodigal Son, my friend, then you’re the one – you – left taking your only possession; your culture” - From “Prodigal Son”, STEEL PULSE
The children in the sunbeam
“Who will be the survivors of this mad industrial chaos? Nature belongs to us all, but especially the youth. Instead of sitting at home they make discoveries, ask questions – “what’s the name of that tree, that plant?” - Basil Gabbidon
Steel Pulse logo on mountain
“The STEEL PULSE logo started off as a photo etching made from one piece of metal; that’s what gives it that look of strength and simplicity.” Martin Fuller
“We put it carved up on the mountain to show our strength and endurance – mountains last!” - Basil Gabbidon
Is that a VW?
“The Volkswagen Beetle we chose just because it’s an icon. Even in a thousand years, people will still recognise a Beetle!” - Basil Gabbidon
Handsworth Revalation
“The Bible verse – Revelations 17 – was DAVID HINDS’ idea. It’s also there on the drum on the front cover. In those days,’Babylon’ was a Roots Reggae reference, and it did feel like a Babylonian world to us then; “suss” laws and so on. But we wanted to show a bigger vision of Babylon” - Basil Gabbidon
“The main topic was black life in Babylon. But on reflection, we were also debating the challenge of being first generation, black British born individuals, exploring how best to express ourselves through music.” - Mykaell Riley