This is art that really rocks (From Swindon Advertiser)

This is art that really rocks

6:00pm Tuesday 14th February 2012 in News

WORKS of art made from rock’n’roll ephemera are the latest draw at Swindon’s only specialist vinyl record shop.

Gary Stebbing takes vinyl records by a huge range of artists and combines them with other items relating to those artists, from back stage passes and concert tickets to commemorative phone cards, and arranges them in frames.

After the works proved a hit at fan conventions he approached Derrick Brown, who owns Music Mayhem in the tented market, and Derrick agreed to stock them. Prices range from £15 to about £35, depending on the size.

Derrick, who stocks thousands of vinyl records covering all genres, said: “These are great for fans and they’re to do with music – and anything to do with music comes in my shop.”

Gary, 50, is a dad of three and granddad of four who works as a scaffolder and lives in Park North.

About three years ago he saw a record in a frame on the wall of a shop in East Anglia and inspiration struck.

“My first piece started with four phone cards from China that I stumbled across by accident on eBay,” he said.

That first piece was devoted to Gene Vincent, the American rock star who gave the world Be-Bop-A-Lula and who survived the Chippenham minicab crash that killed fellow rocker Eddie Cochrane in 1960.

Gary said: “About six months later I realised I could get hold of a lot more of these phone cards. There is such a variety.

“I started with black vinyl and phone cards, but I’ve diversified from that to include things like back stage passes, original sheet music, magazines, postage stamps and postcards.”

Coloured vinyl, picture discs, CDs and DVDs are also used.

Gary has been selling the pieces for about a year. They cover artists ranging from pioneers such as Buddy Holly and Ricky Nelson to later stars such as The Beatles and Queen, right through to more modern acts such as Amy Winehouse.

He has also created pieces relating to films including the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Gary’s website is www.garysmusicframes.com