The Stones Perfect Logo

Lil' Logo Lesson

The Tongue and Lips logo was the icon of of the world famous English rock and roll band.  The logo spoke volumes for the band and helped make them one of the most recognizable groups ever.  The band formed in 1962 and put their first album out in 1964.  As many know, they formed in the U.K. and shortly after became part of the British Invasion movement in the U.S. alongside their musical rivals the Beatles.  

In 1971 the album Sticky Fingers was released and was the first Rolling Stones album to feature the Tongue and Lips logo.  The logo was designed by a student at the time by the name John Pasche.  Pasche, in my opinion, was lucky to have his design chosen by the band.  Or should I say the Rolling Stones were lucky to stumble upon Pasche at the Royal College of Art.  Needless to say, the collaboration created one of the worlds most popular images.  This largely came from the status of the band itself, but may have been helped by the powerful logo as well.  

The album Sticky Fingers was also designed by Andy Warhol.  The cover was designed by Warhol and the original vinyl covers were made with a real zipper that would open the pants of the person on the cover.  

The concept of the logo is pretty straight forward.  Mick Jagger has a huge mouth.  Pasche even commented on the issue about the logo design.  The tongue also represents the hard rock, gritty, rebellious attitude the Rolling Stones radiated.  The solid bright red color provokes deep emotions.  Passion and excitement are strongly suggested through the color and image combination.  The band strongly focused on the raw emotions people experience in life.  All in all, I really don’t think a better logo could’ve been made for the band.  It represents the frontman, their emotion, their passion, and their attitude perfectly.  Its so raw.

John Pasche Bio

John Pasche, most recognized for the tongue and lips logo for the Rolling Stones, is a British designer that has done work for various music artists, a few event and advertisement posters, and has claimed several awards from his endeavors.

Pasche attended Brighton College of Art from 1963 until 1967 when he received his Bachelor of Arts in graphic design.  He then went on to the Royal College of Art in London and received his Master of Arts in 1970.  While at the Royal College of Art Pasche designed a poster for the film Judex in 1969, and then another poster for the film And God Created Woman in 1970.

After graduating from the Royal College of Art, Pasche began working with the Rolling Stones on poster designs and eventually their iconic logo.  From 1970 to 1974 he created four different tour posters for the Stones.  In 1970 he created the tongue and lip logo and it was first used in 1971 on the album Sticky Fingers.  Mick Jagger had apparently gone to the Royal College in 1969 hoping to find images to represent the band.  Pasche’s image was chosen and history was set.  Referring to the logo, Pasche said that one of the first things one could notice about Jagger was the size of his lips and mouth.

Pasche’s also done other work for musicians like The Who, Paul McCartney, The Stranglers, Dr. Feelgood, Jimi Hendrix (his studios not the actual person) Judas Priest, and David Bowie.  He is also known several projects done for Chrysalis Records.

Throughout his career, Pasche has received several awards.  His first award, and one of the most notable, is IPA award Best Graphic Design Student at the Royal College  of Art.  He’s also won several awards for album sleeves and commercial and sale designs.  He now works as a freelance graphic designer in Surrey, England.

Here's pics of the original design for the logo, the logo now, the album cover of Sticky Fingers designed by Andy Warhol, and an inner slave with the first published Rolling Stones logo.