The Fratellis’ debut Costello Music has been honoured for National Album Day and to mark the occasion a mural has been created re-imagining the artwork as a Jack Vettriano painting.
In association with Bowers and Wilkins and BBC Sounds, National Album Day returns for its 5th edition this weekend (Saturday, October 15) celebrating this year’s theme of debut albums. Global hit Costello Music - which brought us Chelsea Dagger - had a pin-up style look for the artwork, in keeping with the signature song.
So the new take by Scots artist Gerry Gapinski, which is today unveiled outside Avalanche Records in Edinburgh's Waverley Centre, fits nicely with elements of Vettriano’s iconic style.
Frontman Jon Fratelli said: “We’re really pleased Costello Music has been chosen to be part of National Album Day – for us recording an actual album with an incredible producer in a studio that we’re still not sure really exists all felt magical enough.
“To see it for sale in the record stores that we’d spent half our lives in was surreal. To hear that people were actually buying copies was just about the best news we’d ever heard. The artwork for the album almost perfectly captured the character of the band and the music at that time.
“Reimagining it in the style of Jack Vettriano makes sense to me and we are all really happy with the result – it’s a clever interpretation and we feel honoured to have been chosen for the mural. “If it encourages people to pick up an album, whether it’s ours or someone they maybe haven’t really heard before, then that’s great. Whatever the art form, an artist being influenced or inspired by something we created is always a good thing.”
The Fratelli’s 2006 debut was chosen by Avalanche Records owner Kevin Buckle because of the iconic artwork – and the album’s continued popularity among record-buyers of all ages. Kevin said: "I wanted to choose an album that gave the artist something to work with image-wise and would be recognised by all ages. Costello Music is still a big selling album for
Avalanche especially with younger buyers and Gerry has captured the original fifties feel while cleverly referencing a famous painting." Artist Gerry Gapinski said: “I was asked to reimagine The Fratellis’ debut album, Costello Music. The image I painted is a play on Jack Vettriano’s famous painting, The Singing Butler.
“The idea was to present the butler and the maid having a party on the beach, listening to The Fratellis, after their classical dancing employers had left the beach. A contrast between high culture and popular culture in a musical sense.
“This contrast is mirrored by the stencil graffiti art style I used to paint it, in contrast to the classical painting style of Vettriano’s original painting. I decided in the design stage I would try to keep the vintage, ‘pin-up’ feel of the original Fratellis album cover, so there would be a connection and continuity with it, that hopefully folk could recognise.”
The album delivered a series of hit singles and set the band on their way to international stardom, which continues to this day – their most recent record Half Drunk Under A Full Moon delivered hugely in both critical acclaim and commercial success.
The band play the OVO Hydro with the Kaiser Chiefs on November 11, with tickets on sale now.
Since its launch in 2018, National Album Day has been supported by a diverse range of artists including Kylie Minogue, Joy Crookes, Sharleen Spiteri, Ray BLK, Lewis Capaldi, Mark Ronson, Elbow, Paloma Faith, Blossoms, Alice Cooper, Novelist, Tom Odell, Mahalia, Toyah Willcox and Jazzie B among others. Ambassadors this year are Franz Ferdinand, India Arkin, Jake Bugg, KSI, The Mysterines, Pip Millett, Sam Ryder, and The Staves.
Renowned audio brand, Bowers and Wilkins, continues its support for National Album Day as official audio partner. Built on a passion for music, Bowers and Wilkins has been on an unrelenting pursuit of the highest quality listening experiences for music fans for over 60 years, always delivering sound that remains true to how the artist intended their album to be heard.
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