Graphic designer Andie Airfix is best known for the album covers he created for some of the biggest bands of the 1980s: Def Leppard, Metallica and The Thompson Twins. His style was amongst those that shaped the look of the era and will forever be associated with those bands lucky enough to work with him.
BORN IN 1946
Andie Airfix grew up in Chelsea where he originally trained to be a teacher, and briefly taught Art and English in Southampton before pursuing a full-time career in design.
IN 1970
Andie left for the USA, Canada and Mexico, funding his travels by selling psychedelic paintings to poster firms in New York and San Francisco. after a spell back in the UK he headed to the Himalayas in India where he spent two years painting and completing a 500 kilometre trek across the Great Himalayan Range to Leh in Ladakh. The work he did there would inform his 40 year career as a - now legendary - graphic designer in the rock music industry.
UPON HIS RETURN TO THE UK IN 1976
Andie came across a sign announcing a soon to be opened Country Cousins supper club, nightclub and gallery on the Kings Road in Chelsea, London. The owner, restauranteur Christopher Hunter, loved his work and mounted an exhibition of Andie's work for the opening of Country Club and hired Andie as the in house designer.
BLITZ AND THE 80s
Andie was hired to revamp the Blitz club style, creating a logo, letterheads, menus, and fliers. From that point, Andie's graphic design company Satori was born, and the connections he made at Blitz brought about his first jobs, including the cover for the Thompson Twins' quick Step and Side Kick.
In 1983 his remarkable cover for Def Leppard’s diamond certified Pyromania album would help revamp the band’s image ready for mainstream success. He also worked with the band on their huge 1987 follow-up, Hysteria, which went on to sell more than 20 million copies.
"DEF LEPPARD are different to your average heavy rock band – the sleeve needs to reflect that. We’ve all had enough of tattoos, terrible pictures of half-naked women riding motorbikes and fire-breathing monsters - it’s all too cliched now. We need something different – more modern.” Andie Airfix
VIEW THE DEF LEPPARD HYSTERIA PRINT BY ANDIE AIRFIX
His early collaborations with Def Leppard established his reputation for bold, conceptual album art. Airfix became a go-to designer for some of the biggest names in music.
“Somebody once wrote to Andie saying that he had designed the look of the Eighties. At the time I thought maybe that was an exaggerated compliment but, looking at the styles and themes of his work, I’ve come to agree.” Ricky Clark-Monks - husband of Andie Airfix
IN THE 1990S
Andie teamed up with Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Guns N’ Roses to create artwork for their tour programmes. He also began a long partnership with Metallica by designing their Binge and Purge live album boxset. Other designs included the Live Aid and Live 8 DVDs, covers for Metallica. Led Zeppelin, Paul McCartney and Judas Priest, and many more for Def Leppard.
THROUGHOUT THE 2000s
Airfix continued to work with high-profile clients while also reflecting on his career through his blog, ‘B*B G€LD*F STOLE MY SUNGLASSES: A Guide to Graphic Design as an Extreme Sport*’ in which he shared behind-the-scenes stories and insights into the music industry and design process.
AIRFIX DIED IN OCTOBER 2018
He remained active in design until his death at the age of 72 following a short illness. When it was announced via his social media accounts, tributes poured in from across the music and design worlds.
He was celebrated in an exhibition mounted at the Warrington Museum and Art Gallery in 2024 will live on though his significant influence on the genre of album cover design.
Andie Airfix was known for his fearless creativity, technical precision, and ability to translate sound into image. His work often blended photography, typography, and surrealist elements, creating album covers that were as iconic as the music they represented. Through Satori, he helped define the visual identity of rock and metal in the late 20th century.
