Bez shaking his maracas and Debbie Harry looking cool. Love Will Tear Us Apart versus 24 Hour Party People. This is the inspiration behind the T-shirts and accessories of Pop Vulture. Not your ordinary T-shirt-printing venture; Pop Vulture has a mantra, a belief system, and a culture it wants to share. Creator Dominic Utton wants to invite you into his world – his love of Britpop and Madchester rave culture, his favourite film quotes and iconic T-shirt slogans. And he wants to continue the story by appropriating modern-day poster design and lyrics from more contemporary music…
Initially, he thought he’d attract a load of blokes like him who adore Joy Division, Oasis, Supergrass, Radiohead et al. But has been surprised that, at his weekly Friday stall in Gloucester Green Market, Pop Vulture has been drawing a distinctly Gen Z fanbase, with their love of anything that has a whiff of retro. He marvels that they had heard of and loved all the bands he did, and in turn, they’ve introduced him to new stuff he’s been quick to embrace. He attributes this to what he calls ‘the democratisation of music’ (by the likes of Spotify) and feels it’s no bad thing at all – especially as it has expanded his products’ appeal.
Grown in Manchester, living down in Oxford, Dominic Utton cut his teeth as a music journalist interviewing Ian Brown, Saint Etienne and Morrissey. This quickly led to him becoming Music Editor of the Sunday Express and on to an impressive thirty-year career working for The Guardian, the Daily Mail, Q Magazine and others. He’s been a happy Oxford resident for twenty years, with his wife and two teenage children. He was attracted here not only because it is ‘proper beautiful’, but also by the city’s great music scene, producing the likes of Radiohead and Foals, and continuing to spawn great new bands at venues such as Tap Social: impressive for a relatively small city.
A quick dip into Pop Vulture’s buttercup-yellow website draws you in. It’s simple and playful, and even the vulture logo and rallying cry, Believe What You Wear, make you smile. Everything created is either sustainable or upcycled, an admirable feat. And everything is derivative yet original.
Delving into Pop Vulture’s key T-shirt philosophies reveals three rather lovely calls to action…
The Most Influential Graphic T-Shirts Ever
Everybody – even those who were unformed genetic dots at the time – has seen Katharine Hamnett’s Choose Life (worn by the late George Michael) and her Choose Love slogan T-shirts; positive messages later parodied so ferociously in Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting. And we’ve all seen the spin-off Frankie Says Relax (if for no other reason than it’s the T-shirt Rachel nicked from Ross in Friends).
Utton aims to be similarly memorable. Why? Because he believes graphic T-shirts are the most democratic form of self-expression; a statement of culture, identity and belief, and the simplest of garments, worn by everyone, everywhere in the world. My favourites from his collection include ‘it’s a bad idea, right?’ (Olivia Rodrigo) and ‘burn down the disco’ (The Smiths).
Believe
Dominic says, ‘we all need something to believe in’ and I have to agree — especially in these strangely unenlightened days. Paying tribute to Shepard Fairey’s Obama ‘Hope’ posters, the Believe T-shirts feature four music icons. My favourite should be Debbie Harry (just because) but it has to be Bez: he never sang, didn’t write, and couldn’t play a musical instrument, but boy, could he dance and shake a maraca. “He was so weirdly inspirational,” Dominic told me. “We’d never seen anyone dance like that before — he just got up and did his thing. He had joy all around him.” And that’s a beautiful thing, wanting to jump up and down with joy. It’s a celebration of the moment, refreshingly printed on T-shirts that also pack a message, in a way that somehow reminds me of Banksy.
The Dads Who Shape Our Sound
With the manosphere, a certain orange gentleman, and a fair load of toxic masculinity, something that honours dads is just brilliant. This idea revolves around the fact that these dads can be anybody. It doesn’t have to be your actual dad. It’s your music dad, your DIY dad, your football dad. It’s the dad you go to who shares without mansplaining, who imparts his special sort of wisdom because he knows you’re going to understand and appreciate it. It’s a lovely thing. Dads who are the packhorses of a family or gathering; dads who quietly hand you a small, special something they know you will appreciate.
Dominic reminds me of a quote often attributed to Mark Twain: ‘When I was 14… I could hardly stand to have the old man around… When I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years…’ . His own dad has passed, Dominic explains, but he is trying to impart the same wisdom to his own kids in the same gentle way.
Now this brings me to coasters, for Pop Vulture sells some nifty accessories as well — slogan totes (we all love a tote), clocks made from iconic CDs and my personal favourite’ the coasters, which I hastily added to my basket and pressed ‘pay’. They are a set of four images — graphic reworkings of seminal album covers — Definitely Maybe, Parallel Lines, Autobahn and London Calling. When that package arrives, I’m gonna give the postie a hug. And talking of totes, I thought of Warrior in Woolworths, the excellent X-Ray Spex song. Now that would be a brilliant slogan to brandish around the supermarket. I told Dom he could have that one, and sincerely expect to see it on a bag – or a T. Yes, a T.
So I’ll leave you with a parting thought from Dominic: “Just be kind. Yeah, just be nice and just be kind. It’s a lot easier, you know, and just be cool. Let’s all just be cool, like nice stuff and say good things.”
Pop Vulture’s stand is at Gloucester Green Outdoor Market every Friday and most Saturdays, popvulture.uk
