As an artist, cartoonist, songwriter and film-maker, Martin Sharp has made tremendous contributions to Australian and international culture since the early 60s, and he is hailed as Australia's foremost Pop artist.

The "acknowledged king of the UK poster scene in the 60's", his famous psychedelic posters of Dylan, Donovan and others rank as classics of the genre, alongside the work of Stanley Mouse, Rick Griffin, Hapshash & The Coloured Coat and Milton Glaser. His covers, cartoons and illustrations were a central feature of OZ magazine, both in Australia and in London. Martin also co-wrote one of Cream's most famous songs, and in the '70s he became a champion of singer Tiny Tim, and of Sydney's embattled Luna Park.

During the life of Australian OZ Sharp, Neville and Walsh were twice charged with printing an obscene publication. The first trial was relatively minor, and should have been a non-event, but they were poorly advised and pleaded guilty, which resulted in their convictions being recorded, As a result the second obscenity charge was a considerably more serious affair -- they were tried, found guilty and given prison sentences. Their convictions caused a public outcry and were subsequently overturned on appeal, but the pressure was on and the "OZ Three" realised that there was little future battling such strong opposition.

Swinging London was by then the mecca for young artists, writers and musicians, and after the distasteful experience of the first trial, Martin and Richard Neville needed little encouragement to leave Australia. They set off on a overland trek through Asia, parting company in Katmandu and making their separate ways to London.

On arrival, Martin stayed for a short time with Richard Neville's sister Jill in Knightsbridge. It was at this time that he was introduced to a musician in the famous London nightclub, The Speakeasy. During the evening Martin told the musician about a poem he had recently composed; the musician in turn told Martin that he was looking for a lyric for some new music he had just written. Martin obligingly wrote out the poem and his address on a serviette and gave it to his new aquaintance.

The musician turned out to be no less than acclaimed Cream guitarist Eric Clapton. The song that resulted from the meeting, Tales of Brave Ulysses, was recorded as the B-side of their smash hit Strange Brew and included on Cream's second album Disraeli Gears. The friendship with Clapton led to Martin designing the famous dayglo psychedelic collage cover for that album, which also included photography by Robert Whitaker. The following year Martin designed the spectacular gatefold sleeve for Cream's third album, the double LP set Wheels of Fire (1968), for which he won the New York Art Directors Prize for Best Album Design in 1969.

Martin's famed cover art for Cream's albums Disraeli Gears (1967) and Wheels Of Fire (1968)

Not long after his meeting with Clapton, Martin moved into The Pheasantry at 152 Kings Road, Chelsea, an historic Georgian building on King's Road, Chelsea. As the name suggests, the site was originally used to raise pheasants for the royal household. In the early 1900s it was the home of Eleanor Thornton, the favourite model of artist Charles Sykes. Thornton is believed to have been the model for Sykes' most famous work, his Rolls Royce mascot The Spirit of Ecstasy. In the 1920s and '30s it housed the studio of renowned dance teacher Serafina Astafieva, who trained several of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes dancers and who taught prima ballerinas Alicia Markova and Margot Fonteyn. By the time Martin moved in there, Pheasantry was a well-known 'artists' colony', its rooms rented out as apartments and residential studio space. The basement also housed a nightclub which operated into the 1970s. The Pheasantry was the venue for early gigs by Lou Reed, Queen and Hawkwind among others and the place where singer Yvonne Elliman was discovered by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice. The Pheasantry currently houses apartments, shops and a noted gourmet pizza restaurant, which has retained Madame Astafieva's practice barre as a feature on its first floor.

The exterior of The Pheasantry as it looks today.

Martin shared this remarkable domicile Pheasantry with some remarkable people, including Eric Clapton (who moved in not long after Martin), Germaine Greer, filmmaker Phillippe Mora, artist Tim Whidbourne, prominent London "identity" David Litvinoff (later an adviser on the production of Nic Roeg's PERFORMANCE), writer Anthony Haden-Guest (author of The Last Party: Studio 54, Disco,and the Culture of the Night) and Martin's friend Robert Whitaker, photographer of choice for many leading rock groups on the scene, including The Beatles. Whitaker was already famous for the controversial "butcher" photo used on the original cover of the Beatles' album Yesterday & Today.

Many years later, Martin recalled the story of his meeting with Clapton:

Returning to London in 1972, Martin continued his interest with the idea of appropriation. He created "Art Book", another miniature production, approximately 5" x 6" in size and incorporating 36 colour collages cut from the pages of glossy art books, bringing together the work in single images of Magritte and Van Gogh, Matisse and Magritte, Botticelli and Picasso with occasional overlays of Van Gogh on Van Gogh, Van Gogh on Botticelli, or Vermeer on Vermeer.

Distributed in the United Kingdom, France and Italy in 1972, "Artbook" was released in Australian in 1973 to coincide with Martin's 1973 "Art Exhibition" at the Bonython Gallery, Sydney. The previous collage images were presented as completed paintings, returning them to their original medium. Extending viewer involvement, one work, "Self Portrait' was simply a mirror in an ornate gold frame while another more iconicised work was a linen, cheap reproduction of the "Mona Lisa" in an equally ornate gold frame, entitled 'Tea Towel''.

For the rest of the 70s and beyond, Martin's work was dominated by two major obsessions -- Sydney's Luna Park (located close to the Sharp family home in Lavender Bay) and Tiny Tim. Martin was engaged as a designer and artist to oversee the restoration of Luna Park, including the commission to renovate the enormous laughing face at the entrance. This long commission had all the ingredients of Pop art -- nostalgia, huge sculptures, powerful images, wonderful paintings by Arthur Barton along with bright colours and lights. In 1978 he and fellow artist/designer Richard Liney, also an avid collector of memorabilia, loaned their combined collection of hundreds of fairground. circus, Luna Park and sideshow artifacts to the Art Gallery of NSW to coincide with the Festival of Sydney.

In 1979 the tragic fire in the Luna Park Ghost Train claimed seven lives, and silenced the optimism for a newly restored Fun Park. Martin's work on the Luna Park Face was ruined, and the park's theme "Just for Fun" lost its meaning. Like many others, Martin firmly believes the fire was a deliberate act of terrorism aimed at destroying the park and establishing alternative interests. The reason is not hard to fathom -- Luna Park's unique location on the northern foreshore of the harbour, adjacent to the north-western tower of the Harbour Bridge, makes it a prize of inestimable value to property developers. Along with various other artist friends and sympathetic supporters, Martin was instrumental in forming the Friends of Luna Park in an endeavour to lobby the State Government and remind Sydneysiders of what they stood to lose if the park was lost. Martin's painting "Snow Job" is a poignant reminder of his feelings about this matter, and if it had not been for the efforts of Martin Sharp, Sydney may have lost an important part of its character.

Besides Van Gogh, Tiny Tim has been one of Martin's strongest inspirations.

Martin's appreciation of Tiny Tim manifested itself in many ways, including record production, costume design. Martin created a five-metre painting now hanging in Macquarie University was painted during the mid seventies with Tim Lewis. His cherished Tiny Tim film project STREET OF DREAMS is described in the painting "Film Script". Martin laboured for over a decade on this film and it almost led to him selling his house to finance it. However, the story goes that on the eve of the sale, Martin received a surprise cheque in the mail -- it was a substantial royalty payment for his lyrics for Tales Of Brave Ulysses! This enabled him to continue working on the film without selling his house.

Martin's workd has been celebrated in many exhibitions including a special Yellow House retrospective at the Art Gallery of NSW.

The late, great Tiny Tim, pictured in the '80s, in one of the suits specially designed for him by Martin Sharp.