Artist John Pasche, who sold the artwork, was originally paid £50 for creating the design. Pasche was studying at London's Royal College of Art when Stones frontman Mick Jagger, disappointed by the bland designs put forward by record label Decca, began looking for a design student to help create a logo. The singer went to see Pasche's degree show, which eventually led to the iconic pop art design's creation, first used on the Stones' Sticky Fingers album in 1971. The artist went on to design a series of Rolling Stones posters for their tours during the 1970s and early 80s.
The logo, which combines Jagger's famous lips with the band's rebellious edge, has been used as a backdrop on their various world tours. Pasche later worked with other musicians including Sir Paul McCartney and The Who, later becoming art director at United Artists, Chrysalis Records and London's South Bank Centre.
Scottish News - A spectacular fireworks display lit up the Edinburgh skyline as the city's international festival drew to a close. About 250,000 spectators turned out on Sunday night to watch the extravaganza from vantage points across the city. A team of international fireworks technicians used more than four tonnes of explosives and thought up hundreds of firing sequences. The Scottish Chamber Orchestra provided a musical back-drop to the festivities, conducted by Nicolae Moldoveanu.
Theatre News - The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has launched an appeal to raise £1m in public donations to help rebuild its main theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.The theatre closed for redevelopment in 2007 and the RSC has already received more than £100m towards the work. Now the company is seeking a further £10m and is hoping £1m will come from public donations. Donors will be able to sponsor a brick for £50, or have a seat in the theatre in Warwickshire named after them.
Internet News - Google is launching an open source web browser to compete with Internet Explorer and Firefox. The browser is designed to be lightweight and fast, and to cope with the next generation of web applications that rely on graphics and multimedia. Called Chrome, it will launch as a beta for Windows machines in 100 countries, with Mac and Linux versions to come.
Broadcast News - Virgin Radio is to be rebranded as Absolute Radio as its Indian owner aims to turn it into a global business. The name change will be completed by 1 October, and comes after TIML, part of the Times of India media group, bought the radio station for £53.2m in May. An Absolute spokesman said the radio station wanted to target US listeners and those in mainland Europe.
(Jim Evans)
