...art arms itself with a Sex Pistol.

I read recently (Englands Dreaming of the Sex Pistols - Jon Savage) that you were keen on the work of Jackson Pollock. Did he have an influence on your Sex Pistols work? and if so, how?

I am, indeed a great admirer of Jackson Pollock's work, though this influence can probably be most easily seen on my painted works. The work I did for the Pistols was, to a large extent, more 'graphic' (though I tend not to differentiate, and am happy to fuse whatever elements are most relevant at the time). My abstract paintings are the 'serious stuff' to me, and attempt the 'grids' and discipline's that underlie the works of Pollock. In the context of the Pistols, the 'I'm A Mess' image (of Sid Vicious) was probably the most 'painterly' I got. This image, photographed by Bob Gruen, was used as a promotional poster for the 'Something Else' single in 1979.

Through research, I have noticed comparisons with the work you did for the Pistols and that of Kurt Schwitters.Were there any influences there?

Kurt Schwitters' collage works were definitely something I looked at, and was fully aware of from art school days; a pioneer and master of 'cut and paste'.

...and also any influences from the work of Man Ray?

Man Ray: again, aware of his works, though I can't really say that they had any direct influence on my Pistols works. Dada, John Heartfield, George Grosz, Raoul Hausmann, (and Richard Hamilton's 'Just What Is It.......' collage in particular), though not directly, did have more of an influence on these works, more so than Man Ray.

I have some understandings of the magenta and yellow design for the 'Never Mind the Bollocks' cover. Possibly; the yellow = happiness and the magenta = anarchy? Or even; yellow = piss, and magenta = blood? Either way, this is what punk was all about. However, I am extremely interested on your analysis of this great design?

A bit of a nightmare with printers on this one. The yellow in particular is extremely difficult to print, as any impurities are actually emphasised in the process. As for the colour scheme, there weren't any hidden meanings or symbolism in the colours used; they just 'worked' together as a design (eventually). On release, the cover was criticised for being both 'shoddy', plus there was no band picture anywhere within the design. Despite this, Rolling Stone voted it no.2 best LP cover (Sgt. Pepper took the no.1 slot).

Whilst researching your work between 1975-1978, only the Pistols work is discussed? I was wondering - were you working on any other projects during your stint with the Sex Pistols?

March 1976: moved back to London (from the Hebrides) after getting a telegram from Malcolm. Initially got a job with the Rye Press in Peckham (Labour Party press), and slowly moved towards being full-time with the Pistols. The early posters and flyers were actually printed there. From late '76, it was pretty much full-time (24 hours a day), so there wasn't really time for other projects, though I did continue to paint throughout this period.

And finally... Its clear that you have had an effect on todays designers as I often see work reminisent of your Sex Pistols "style" today. Which designers, in your opinion, have been influenced by your style of work?

Difficult for me to answer, as I may be way off the mark. Though a lot of the 80's style mags did realise the importance of graphics in terms of selling 'lifestyle'; personally, I found many of these to be too 'Apple Mac', and much of a muchness. As for today, there are still echoes of the 'style' to be seen everywhere from high-street banks, to 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks'. I have always been happy to see these graphics imitated, though obviously there are good and bad imitations.