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 PG Tips and The Sun: Memorable Moments celebrates the front covers that have caught the attention of the great British public for the past forty years – from the hard-hitting to the light-hearted. The exhibition unfolds at the Proud Galleries, Camden this week.
“Newspapers provide a rough draft of history,” says Kelvin MacKenzie, renowned editor of The Sun for thirteen years and the man behind some of its most scandalous front covers.
Unforgettable leading lines will be on display, including the infamous ‘Gotcha’ following the sinking of the Belgrano during the Falklands War, which has MacKenzie's hallmark stamped all over it.
"'Gotcha' was mine, which I'm very proud about. It didn't last a whole lot of editions, but it actually reflected the real atmosphere of war - either kill or be killed - and the fact that the enemy were killed was to my mind a bloody good thing and I've never had a moment's loss of sleep over it."
Other headlines included ‘Tears We Go’ on England’s 1990 World Cup defeat by Germany and the self-explanatory ‘Freddie Starr Ate My Hamster,’.
“All human life is there,” says Kelvin MacKenzie, now Chairman of Media Square. “The exhibition is both fun and homework at the same time – history, but with a smile.
So what makes a memorable headline? According to Mackenzie: “A headline has to work on two levels – it has to have humour and it has to make a point.”
CMW Advertising Planning Director Ben Rachel conceived the exhibition concept three years ago when it struck him how the front cover of The Sun resembled a piece of Pop Art capturing history.
“I thought it would be a wonderful thing to have all those iconic headlines up there in one place and see the reaction. I hope people will leave the exhibition with a smile on their face," says Rachel.
“As a Planning Director you have to tap in to the collective subconscious and essentially it is this ability that makes The Sun so successful,” says Rachel.
Now, with the support of MacKenzie and a partnership with PG Tips, the exhibition comes to fruition and presents a picture of British culture over the past four decades.
PG TIPS AND THE SUN: MEMORABLE MOMENTS runs from October 12th to 31st October at Proud Camden, Stables Market, The Gin House, Chalk Farm Road, London NW1 8AH
Opening times: 10am–7pm Mon–Thurs 11am–6pm Fri –Sun
Entry: Free
For more information visit www.proud.co.uk
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