Robert Wyatt album covers among gallery exhibits

By Scott Munro
( Prog )
published

His wife and creative partner Alfreda Benge’s work goes on display in London

Alfreda Benge, wife and creative partner of Soft Machine founder Robert Wyatt, has opened an exhibition showcasing a range of her work.

She’s created every cover for Wyatt’s solo career and last year they put the original sleeve artwork of his albums Rock Bottom and Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard up for sale to tie in with the publication of his authorised biography Different Every Time.

The exhibition, which runs until April 5, is being held at Space HQ in London and is named P.L.A after a track on Wyatt’s 1985 album Old Rottenhat. The cover of the album also features in the collection.

Also included are other record sleeves along with portraits of Wyatt and previously unseen self-portraits, photographs and doodles from the couple’s Lincolnshire home. For more visit the Space HQ website.

Last year Wyatt released a two-disc compilation featuring rarities and collaborations which shared the title of his biography.

Scott Munro
Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers and magazines as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. After initially joining our news desk in the summer of 2014, he moved to the e-commerce team full-time in 2020. He maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott grew up listening to rock and prog, cutting his teeth on bands such as Marillion and Magnum before his focus shifted to alternative and post-punk in the late 80s. His favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Ned's Atomic Dustbin and Drab Majesty, but he also still has a deep love of Rush.