Colganology2: ALWAYS meet your heroes

Way back in 1976 I took on a second after-school job working at a petrol station so that I could earn enough money to buy a moped. After eight months I had enough and purchased a Mobylette Maxi. I wish I'd hung onto it as they command a good price from collectors now.

The reason I wanted this epic machine was to travel beyond the confines of my hometown of Helston in Cornwall. In particular I wanted to be able to ride the 12 or so miles to Falmouth where there was a bookshop that stocked good art books. And it was there that I bought my third edition copy of Roger Dean's groundbreaking book Views.

Views was very different to other art books. For a start, it was 12" x 12" - the same size as a viny LP cover. But that was quite deliberate because Dean was famed mostly for his album cover art for bands like Greenslade, Budgie, Asia, Osibisa and, in particular, YES. His artwork inspired so many artists - myself included - and was so popular that a company called Big O started to reproduce his album covers as posters. I had several on my bedroom wall and so did most of my friends.

Over time Dean's art matured and just got better and better. Two more collections of his work were published - Magnetic Storm and Dragon's Dream - and his imprints, Dragon's World and Paper Tiger, published some of the best art books I own with work by Rodney Matthews, Ian Miller, Bruce Pennington, Chris Foss and more.

Then, in 2001, I heard that Roger had an exhibition going on at the Cork Street Gallery in London. So I went along and took my now fairly battered and oft-read copy of Views with me on the off-chance that Roger would be there.

Sadly, I'd missed him by a day.

All of which brings us bang up to date and 2024 when I heard that he was having another exhibition in London at the Ubicua Gallery in Fitzrovia. Even better, there were tickets available for a private view and the opportunity to meet the great man.

I wasn't going to miss him this time.

So I grabbed a ticket and I wasn't disappointed. I got to spend an hour in his company where we discussed art and music and he enjoyed hearing my moped story. He then happily signed my 48 year old copy of Views. He's a genuinely warm and lovely man.