Two Mates, a Few Pints and Twenty Years of Creativity

Two Mates, a Few Pints and Twenty Years of Creativity

From art college and Britpop to building Verso Creative. We get behind the designs with the two blokes who helped bring The Revival Line to life.

There's something pretty special about seeing an idea you've had in your head finally become something real. Even better when other people get behind it.

The Revival Line 
The response to our new Revival Line has been absolutely brilliant. The pre-orders came flooding in, everything went out on time, and now the collection is on general sale we're already running low on certain sizes.

So firstly, a massive thank you to everyone who's ordered, shared a post, left a comment or just shown a bit of support. It genuinely means a lot.

But there's another couple of people I wanted to give a proper shout-out to.

When I first came up with the idea for The Revival Line, I knew what I wanted it to represent. Songs that had found a second life through another artist. Music crossing generations, being rediscovered and becoming part of somebody else's story.

What I needed was someone who could take that idea and turn it into something you'd actually want to wear.

Enter Verso Creative.

Based in Stafford, Verso is celebrating 20 years in business this year. Behind it are two old mates, Greg Smith and Gary Botten, whose friendship goes all the way back to art college in the late eighties.

Two blokes with a shared love of music, design and creativity. Exactly my sort of people.

Greg, who's also part of our very own Underground & Sound community, worked with me to bring the three Revival designs to life. And I couldn't be happier with how they've turned out.

Rather than just say thanks and leave it there, I thought it'd be good to find out a bit more about the people
behind the work.

How did it all start? What music shaped them? What makes a design stand the test of time? And, perhaps most importantly, which cover version should never have been allowed anywhere near a recording studio. So I fired a few questions over to Greg and Gary.

And fair play to them, they didn't hold back.

Twenty years of design, a lifetime of musical influences and a few strong opinions.

1. Twenty years is a long time in any industry, especially one where trends come and go almost overnight. Take us back to 2006. What brought the two of you together, what was the original idea behind Verso, and how different is the company today from the one you imagined back then?

While Verso is celebrating 20 years of trading, the friendship between our two Creative Partners goes way back to the late 80s when two enthusiastic teenagers met at art college and took their first tentative steps into the design industry. Greg and Gary spent three years working together before taking slightly different career paths, and even though they technically reunited in a professional capacity in 2013, they remained great friends throughout. Greg established Verso in 2006 while Gary was developing his own enterprise alongside a very senior design role elsewhere. When the opportunity arose for the two to join forces again their fate was pretty much sealed over a couple of pints. Verso has always been about offering highly skilled, creative design to a myriad of business sectors, but two brains are better than one, and Verso has far exceeded it's original expectations and capabilities since the dynamic duo reformed.

2. Every creative person has influences, whether they realise it or not. Growing up, what shaped your individual tastes? We're talking music, record sleeves, fashion, magazines, films, even the people you admired. What stuck with you and still finds its way into your work today?

Adam & The Ants have a lot to answer for as far as Greg is concerned. The flamboyance, the rhythm, the sense of tribal belonging. A flame was lit and a creative path was really the only route to follow. During art college days the surfing brand Ocean Pacific became a major influence for Greg, not just because of the clothing, but also because of its groundbreaking marketing. The power and creativity of the brand's typographical execution made a huge impact on the young designer and still has an influence to this day.

3. Music and design have always gone hand in hand. Think Peter Saville and Factory Records, Jamie Reid and the Sex Pistols, or the unmistakable artwork of classic album covers. Is there a particular record sleeve, band or moment in music history that made you look at design differently? And do you both agree, or are your tastes worlds apart?

Our music tastes are similar. We've both got a penchant for Britpop vibes – Shed Seven, Cast, Oasis obviously. There's an earlier rock influence too with G'n'R and Def Leppard living with us since college days – we could even throw in a bit of Extreme too! From Greg's perspective one album cover that particularly captures more than just the music it envelopes is Bruce Springsteen's 'Born In The USA' – the American Dream, a period of hope, the battle between the classes, the readiness to stand up and be counted. Granted, the good old US of A has been tainted somewhat since then! However, Stateside talent is still prevalent in Greg's musical armoury and the typographical band logo from Rival Sons is something that especially resonates – in its purest form it reflects the entwined intricacies of powerful vocals, thought-provoking lyrics, mesmerising guitar riffs and classic drum solos. So yes, music and design will always go hand-in-hand.

4. That brings us nicely to The Revival Line. The whole collection is inspired by songs that were originally recorded by one artist before finding a new audience through another. When the idea first landed on your desk, what was your initial reaction, and how did you go about turning that musical concept into three individual designs?

The Revival Line brief was a breath of fresh air. A pinch yourself moment. Here was an opportunity to combine our interests in fashion, music and graphic design. We had a few initial thoughts about suitable songs and shared early concepts. These concepts were then refined in order to align with Underground & Sound's own beliefs and aspirations. What we've ended up with is way more than a vanity project. It's a strategically considered range of tees that have to deliver from a commercial point of view. That's often something that gets forgotten when creative juices start to flow!

5. Let's put the design work aside for a moment. If you could each take one song from any era and hand it to another artist to completely reinvent, what would you choose, who would you give it to, and why? No pressure, but we're judging your musical taste on this one.

Back in 2002 DJ Sammy & Yanou featuring Dutch female vocalist Do decided to deliver a version of Bryan Adam's 1985 classic 'Heaven'. Greg recalls the first moment he heard it blaring across the airwaves and still recoils with a sickening shudder. Here was one of the best power ballads of all time and some talentless trio blitzed it, annihilated it and distorted it beyond all recognition. So Greg would like to see remnants of this cardinal sin handed back to its rightful owner for dutiful restoration and eternal preservation. Gary, on the other hand chooses 'A Town Called Malice' by The Jam, a song that fuelled his early teenage years. "I’d give it to The Black Keys and think they’d infuse it with real grit and swagger. Their raw bluesy rock edge would give the brilliant driving rhythm a fresh, edgy twist. I’d love to hear them reinvent it while maintaining the urgency and attitude of the original. It would become a fantastic rock track once more" explains Gary.

6. Twenty years of Verso, countless creative projects and now a collaboration with Underground & Sound. When you look back at everything you've built, what are you most proud of? And looking forward, what still excites you about getting up in the morning and creating something new? After all, the best ideas surely can't all be behind you.

Yep, we've achieved a lot. Worked with so many clients in so many different industries. Variety has always been our spice of life. It cultivates our creativity and broadens our horizons. Knowledge gleaned from one sector can often be the catalyst for solutions in another so I guess our ability to never stand still and rest on our laurels makes us proud. Yeah, taking pride in our overall approach to brand design, feeling a responsibility for a transitioning profession, knowing that our peers take note of what we do. Pride is about more than just one project, client or campaign. It's a truly holistic belief in something we were born to do. 

The Rivaval Line


GOOD PEOPLE. GOOD IDEAS. GOOD MUSIC.

And there you have it.

Two mates who met at art college in the eighties, built their own creative business and, twenty years later, are still doing what they love. There's something I really like about that.

When I started Underground & Sound, one of the things I wanted to do was bring together people who genuinely care about what they create. Not just big names or established businesses, but people with ideas, passion and a bit of character.

Greg and Gary are exactly that.

A huge thanks to both of them for taking the time to answer these questions, and particularly to Greg for all the work that's gone into The Revival Line.

And if you're wondering, I'm with Greg on the DJ Sammy version of Heaven. Some things really are best left alone. 🤣

The Revival Line is available now. Three designs, three colours, with certain sizes already running low.

If you've had your eye on one, now's probably a good time.

Twenty years of Verso. Three new designs. And plenty more music still to come.

Born Underground. Made With Substance. ✊🏼