COLOR: john pasche and the rolling stones

in 1969 mick jagger, lead singer of the rolling stones, approached the royal college of art   in london in search of a designer to do some artwork for the group.  john pasche, a student at the school, created “the tongue”.  according to pasche, the inspiration behind the logo’s wide, open mouth and wagging tongue was inspired by his meeting with the rock and roller.  the first thing he noticed was mick jagger’s famously oversized mouth.  pasche included the tongue as a reference to the group’s rebellious streak, as well as its overt sexuality in their loose barroom sound and jagger’s gyrating stage persona.  pasche also cites inspiration from the hindu goddess kali, goddess of everlasting energy, as an homage to the wild onstage antics of jagger.

the now famous logo was first used on the label of the band’s sticky fingers album, who’s famous album art was designed by pop artist andy warhol.  “the tongue” was created as a logo for the band’s new label.  the stones had recently left decca, and were now completely in control of their own music.  to coincide with the release of the record, the rolling stones released a barrage of merchandise incorporating pache’s design.  the logo soon became synonymous with the rolling stones, as well as rock and roll overall.

more recently, the band incorporated the logo on their 40 licks best-of compilation in 2002.  it features the classic logo, but uses a vibrant gradation of red, blue and yellow.  in 2008, the original artwork by pasche was sold at auction to the v&a museum in london for $92,500.